The Social Security Legislation Amendment (Increased Employment Participation) Bill 2014 was introduced in the House of Reps on Thur 27.2.2014. It proposes to amend the Social Security Act 1991, the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, and the ITAA 1997 to enable the implementation of the Government’s Job Commitment Bonus and the Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job programme. The changes would apply from 1 July 2014.
The Job Commitment Bonus will provide an incentive to encourage young long-term unemployed Australians to remain off income support payments and increase employment participation among a group which is recording significantly higher rates of unemployment compared to the general population.
Young Australians aged from 18-30 who have been receiving Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance (other than as an apprentice or a full-time student) for a period of at least 12 months will be eligible to receive a tax-free payment of $2,500 if they remain in gainful work and off income support for a continuous period of at least 12 months. Recipients will also qualify for a further tax-free bonus payment of $4,000 if they remain in continuous gainful work for an additional 12 months (that is, a continuous period of 24 months in total).
[LTN 39, 27/2/14]