The deal with independent senator David Pocock to pass Labor’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill will lead to an annual independent review of JobSeeker, with recommendations to be made before every budget:
[Labor] agreed to set up a “statutory advisory committee” to review ways to boost “economic inclusion”. It will look at “the adequacy of social security support payments every year before the federal budget”…
The new group will be appointed by the treasurer and social services minister. Ministers won’t have to accept what it recommends. But it has the potential to exert substantial leverage on the government, because its review will be published a couple of weeks before the budget.
