Key Points
- People involved in the ParentsNext welfare program will no longer be bound by compulsory obligations.
- The government said parents had described the program as punitive, counterproductive and harmful.
- Campaigners and advocates say the decision is a win for parents.
When Ella Buckland was a sole parent living on the ParentsNext program, she says it was the "most stressful time of her life".
Under the controversial program, parents were sent to employment providers and required to meet mutual obligations in order to receive financial support.
These compliance activities would vary from person to person but could include attending appointments and training, applying for jobs, and activities for children.
If recipients missed appointments or fail to complete activities, their payments could be put on hold.
At the time, Ms Buckland had a young daughter, had relocated to a regional area with no work available, was taking care of her elderly mother, and going through Family Court proceedings with her daughter's father.
"How are you supposed to fulfil your caring responsibilities, while you're expected to work, and look for work, and take your child to swimming lessons and arbitrary activities?" she asked.
"When you're a mother, you're doing the hardest job you've ever done, and then the government comes and tells you you're not working.
"It was the most stressful time of my life."
Ms Buckland says the combination of caring responsibilities and strict compliance requirements put her under chronic stress.
She says programs such as ParentsNext add unnecessary pressure on parents, particularly mothers, and undervalue the work they are doing at home.
"Parenting is actually work and should be valued significantly and increasingly," she said.
"I think for a lot of women it is a real shock, not just the caring responsibilities but also the lack of work they are doing at home (which is) unpaid usually ... I worked it out, and the government paid me the equivalent of $2.20 an hour."
After examining the ParentsNext policy and legislation, Ms Buckland started lobbying against the program.
She launched a campaign, Facebook page and petition, and contributed to two inquiries into ParentsNext.
Now, the Albanese government has announced the program will be abolished from 1 July 2024.
In a joint statement, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher and Minister for Employment Tony Burke said compulsory requirements for participants will be paused immediately.
"Women around the country have been telling us that the former Government’s ParentsNext program is punitive, counterproductive and causes harm," the statement said.
"At the election we committed to listen to women’s experiences and make decisions that make their lives better and fairer.
"That’s why we will abolish ParentsNext from 1 July 2024."
What is the ParentsNext scheme and why is it being scrapped?
The ParentsNext program sent new parents to an employment provider and required parents to do training, education and parenting courses to maintain welfare.
It covered parents of children aged nine months to six years who are under the age of 55 and have not worked in the previous six months.
It also covered parents who hadn't completed high school and had been on income support for a certain amount of time.
Ms Buckland is one of many parents who campaigned against the program - which drew roughly 100,000 people into the system - alongside advocacy groups.
Senate inquiries heard from participants, advocates, legal bodies and service providers, with many saying the program should be either voluntary or scrapped.
In March, a select committee led by Labor MP Julian Hill called for sweeping changes to ParentsNext, saying the program was "locked into a punitive frame and does too much harm for the good it also does.”
Terese Edwards, executive officer of Single Mother Families Australia, says ParentsNext did not offer sufficient flexibility for situations such as illness or domestic violence.
“You've got a whole lot of stuff going on in those households,” she said.
“And then a letter arrives and sometimes the severity of that letter is not realised … women can have a breach right at the start and all of a sudden their payment is put on suspension.”
The Senate inquiry found 55,000 parents received 159,000 suspensions lasting an average of five days on each occasion since the ParentsNext national rollout on 1 July 2018.
Ms Edwards, who is also a single mother, told SBS News the program was also based on harmful assumptions about single and low-income parents.
“There was not a belief that if you were raising children by yourself and were in hardship … it made the assumption that you would not to the best for your child,” she said.
What do the changes mean?
With compulsory requirements paused, participants will no longer receive payment suspensions or penalties for not engaging with activities under ParentsNext, such as attending appointments.
The government said those who continue participating in ParentsNext will still receive help to plan and prepare for employment, including financial assistance to undertake education or training.
In the coming weeks, longer-term interim arrangements will be considered by the government while a voluntary replacement program is developed.
According to the government, these arrangements will ensure parents and careers can continue to access the support they need, including access to subsidised childcare.
Mutual obligation requirements as part of Workforce Australia - the employment service set up by the government and designed to support job seekers - remain in place for all other participants
-Additional reporting by AAP
