ACOSS calls for protection to prevent youth internship exploitation

ACOSS has welcomed the government’s shift away from ‘the compulsory and ineffective work for the dole program’ towards a focus on real work experience.

However, ACOSS has stressed that clear protections must be in place to prevent exploitation of young people, or displacement of jobs.

“Over half a million people who are unemployed long term are at grave risk of being locked out of the labour market. If a long-term unemployed young person gets a job as a result of being given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities, that’s good for them, good for society, and it also increases employment in the long run,” said Dr Cassandra Goldie, ACOSS CEO.

Currently, the main form of employment assistance for a young person locked out of a job is compulsory Work for the Dole, which an official evaluation found only improves their chances of securing a real job by 2 per cent.

“We welcome the diversion of almost $500 million towards a new approach based on real work experience in real workplaces,” said Goldie.

“Work experience in a regular workplace can make a real difference for people who are out of work a long time and for young people seeking their first job. ACOSS supports pre-employment training as long as it is useful and linked to real job opportunities and wage subsidies to provide paid employment opportunities in real workplaces.

“The PaTH policy also proposes an internship phase. The internship can be from 4 to 12 weeks, from 15 to 25 hours per week, with a $100 per week payment on top of a young person’s income support payment.”

ACOSS has said it supports internship opportunities for young people who are long term unemployed as long as there are clear protections in place against exploitation and risks of replacing real job opportunities.

“It is clear that active measures need to be available to help disadvantaged young people locked out of paid work to get real work experience. The lack of experience is a major barrier to improving employment prospects,” said Goldie.

To minimise the risks and maximise the benefits,  ACOSS has suggested the internship phase would need to include the following supports, limitations and protections:

• Internships should only be available to young people who are unemployed for at least six months and disadvantaged in the labour market.
• Participants should receive at least the equivalent of the minimum hourly wage or a training wage where appropriate training is provided. This requires either a cap in the proposed working hours (under 21 hours for a young person on Newstart Allowance) or an increase in the proposed $100 per week additional payment.
• The health and safety of participants should be assured through work safety assessments, access to insurance, and appropriate monitoring. Reasonable excuse provisions should also apply so young people who are not able to attend the workplace due to illness or other reasonable circumstances are not penalised.
• Participation in the internships should be truly voluntary, with participants able to opt out at any time without penalty.