- Abused women spared job hunt
- By Patricia Karvelas, Political Correspondent
- The Australian
- 03/09/2008 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: moses ( 9 articles in 2008 )
WOMEN who have been beaten and abused by their former partners will be excused from looking for work for 12 months while they get their lives back together, under a plan to be considered by the Rudd Government.
The Labor-commissioned review of the Howard government's work-for-welfare rules also calls for single parents looking after a disabled child to be elevated to a $38-a-week higher pension payment.
The tripling of the 16-week grace period for domestic violence victims from meeting their welfare obligations is a key recommendation of a taskforce chaired by Australian Social Inclusion Board chairwoman Patricia Faulkner.
The Participation Taskforce report, to be handed within weeks to Employment Participation Minister Brendan O'Connor, argues that rules need to be made fairer to encourage women to work.
"The taskforce recommends that the current 16-week case-by-case exemption for parents experiencing domestic violence be replaced with a new automatic 12-month exemption," it says.
"The new exemption should be available to parents accessing services such as domestic violence or family relationships counselling, or crisis accommodation."
Elspeth McInnes, convener of Solo Mums Australia for Family Equity, said single mothers were the most at risk of violence and could not be expected to function normally while they recovered from abuse.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures suggest that 42 per cent of single women have reported violence at some time during a former relationship.
"One of the things that we know about domestic violence is that it affects women's emotional, psychological and physical health and it also affects the psychological health and functioning of their children," Ms McInnes said.
"It means they are not really available to get a job. It's not saying, well, you can't look for a job for a year. It's saying that we won't be forcing you for a year. I think that means survivors are able to sort out their lives and, importantly, tend to the needs of their children."
She said it was important for children that their mothers were around for a longer period to rebuild their confidence.
"I'm glad they are doing this, it's been a problem in the current system," she said.
The report says parents on the Newstart Allowance granted a 12-month exemption from having to look for work while caring for disabled children should be paid at the higher pension rate.
Under the Howard government welfare-to-work reforms, single parents are forced off the pension and on to the dole to look for work when their youngest child turns eight. Under the Howard rules, they are required to accept any job offered. The report recommends this should be changed so parents can do some training to get better jobs.
As previously reported by The Australian, single parents would also be given more time to find the right childcare. The report says it is unfair that parents are required to look for work when their children need them most.
The report also calls for a significant softening in the rules applied to single mothers.
The report says single parents should be allowed more time to study and be given a break from looking for work at Christmas-New Year to be with their children, and recommends relaxing the number of times they must report to Centrelink.
It says there is a large group of parents who, while generally doing their best, are struggling with the requirements imposed on them.
Story
The Labor-commissioned review of the Howard government's work-for-welfare rules also calls for single parents looking after a disabled child to be elevated to a $38-a-week higher pension payment.
The tripling of the 16-week grace period for domestic violence victims from meeting their welfare obligations is a key recommendation of a taskforce chaired by Australian Social Inclusion Board chairwoman Patricia Faulkner.
The Participation Taskforce report, to be handed within weeks to Employment Participation Minister Brendan O'Connor, argues that rules need to be made fairer to encourage women to work.
"The taskforce recommends that the current 16-week case-by-case exemption for parents experiencing domestic violence be replaced with a new automatic 12-month exemption," it says.
"The new exemption should be available to parents accessing services such as domestic violence or family relationships counselling, or crisis accommodation."
Elspeth McInnes, convener of Solo Mums Australia for Family Equity, said single mothers were the most at risk of violence and could not be expected to function normally while they recovered from abuse.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures suggest that 42 per cent of single women have reported violence at some time during a former relationship.
"One of the things that we know about domestic violence is that it affects women's emotional, psychological and physical health and it also affects the psychological health and functioning of their children," Ms McInnes said.
"It means they are not really available to get a job. It's not saying, well, you can't look for a job for a year. It's saying that we won't be forcing you for a year. I think that means survivors are able to sort out their lives and, importantly, tend to the needs of their children."
She said it was important for children that their mothers were around for a longer period to rebuild their confidence.
"I'm glad they are doing this, it's been a problem in the current system," she said.
The report says parents on the Newstart Allowance granted a 12-month exemption from having to look for work while caring for disabled children should be paid at the higher pension rate.
Under the Howard government welfare-to-work reforms, single parents are forced off the pension and on to the dole to look for work when their youngest child turns eight. Under the Howard rules, they are required to accept any job offered. The report recommends this should be changed so parents can do some training to get better jobs.
As previously reported by The Australian, single parents would also be given more time to find the right childcare. The report says it is unfair that parents are required to look for work when their children need them most.
The report also calls for a significant softening in the rules applied to single mothers.
The report says single parents should be allowed more time to study and be given a break from looking for work at Christmas-New Year to be with their children, and recommends relaxing the number of times they must report to Centrelink.
It says there is a large group of parents who, while generally doing their best, are struggling with the requirements imposed on them.
Story
Source: https://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24285443-2702,00.html
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