Evaluating the Impact of the Newstart Australia Program on the Unemployed - Research Paper Example

The Newstart unemployment benefits program aims at shielding the temporarily unemployed from plunging into poverty which may, in turn, limit their prospects of finding employment by providing allowances that enable the unemployed to live quality lives while they search for new jobs or prepare for employment through training(DHS 2012; Davidson 2011).

Over time, there has been increasing concern over the effectiveness of the Newstart Program in achieving its key objective of providing support to the temporarily unemployed. Several concerns have been raised over the viability of the Newstart program activities, adequacy of the Newstart allowance, and the overall impact of the program on the unemployed individual. Reports from program recipients and advocacy groups such as Catholic Social Services Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service, and the Business Council of Australia purport that there are major deficiencies in the Newstart program that have made the program ineffective. These groups allege that the increasing inequality between Newstart allowances, average income levels, and other forms of income support offered to working-age Australians or welfare payments have caused the program to become a poverty trap for unemployed individuals (ACOSS 2012; AAP General News Wire 2012; Grahame and Marston 2012; Hall 2012; Martin and Harrison 2012). Some argue that the allowances that the program provides are too little to support decent living due to the rising cost of living (Bita 2012; Vasik 2012). Consequently, recipients of the program succumb to low living standards and poverty which further reduces their prospects of finding suitable employment (Saunders 2011; Bita 2012; Karvelas, 2012). In addition, concerns have been raised on the likelihood of the program increasing dependency on welfare amongst the unemployed (Ninemsn 2012). Nevertheless, a recent research study conducted by Grahame and Marston (2012) depicted that welfare programs such as the Newstart program could have a different impact on different groups of recipients.