The JobSeeker unemployment benefit will not return to the pre-pandemic level of $40 a day after federal cabinet approved a new, increased flat rate on Monday night.
Mortgage Business
75k tenants dealing with deferred rent debts By Grace Ormsby 15 February 2021
A new report has raised concerns as to whether there has been enough support for tenants who lost their income in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The COVID-19 Rental Housing and Homelessness Impacts analysed the impacts of COVID-19 on the rental market and the government’s response to the crisis as part of a partnership between UNSW Sydney and the Australian Council of Social Services.
According to Australian Council of Social Services CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie, local and federal governments did the right thing in increasing support payments for existing tenants during the pandemic, which included putting in place eviction moratoriums and encouraging landlords to consider rent variations.
Australia s emergency economic measures to the COVID-19 pandemic fended off a potential housing crisis.
But with JobKeeper and additional JobSeeker payments about to be wound back, there are concerns renters will be trapped with major debts.
A new report from the Australian Council of Social Services and the University of New South Wales has also found many homeless people who were given emergency accommodation during the pandemic did not transition into long term housing.
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Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy at the University of New South Wales
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And so it added a $250 bonus, which was later reduced to $150.
In April the bonus will be removed and people will be back to getting by on $41 a day.
Last year the Australian Council of Social Service found the rate was some 33% below the poverty line – down from about 5% below in the early 1990s.
In the early 90s, the dole was about 23% of average full-time earnings. Now it is down to 17%.
Adding the bonus kept millions of out of poverty and also helped sustain the economy such that retail spending has surged even in the face of a deep recession.