Yahoo Finance Aboriginal groups sue govt over work-for-the-dole program
Nine Indigenous communities in rural Western Australia have started legal action against the Commonwealth, alleging the work-for-the-dole program is racially discriminatory.
The case has been brought to the Federal Court after two years of unsuccessful mediation negotiated under former judge Robert French, the ABC first reported.
The work-for-the-dole plan for remote communities, officially called the Community Development Program or CDP, has been criticised from the moment it was launched in 2015.
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The program obliges payment recipients in remote communities to complete work-equivalent tasks. Missing a task sees payments stopped or even a penalty of $50 per day being applied.
The nine Aboriginal communities accuse the CDP of being more strenuous than the Jobactive scheme for non-remote populations – even though they result in the same welfare payments.
Each of the plaintiff communities reportedly are located within the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku, which is near the borders with South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The ABC reports the council area is one of the country's most disadvantaged, with a median weekly income of just $307. Nationally $899 is the median weekly income.
Earlier this year, the federal government's own evaluation of the CDP showed it only improved job outcomes by just 1 per cent. And the program was more likely to suspend assistance to the most vulnerable – such as those with low language skills, a lack of transport, or physical or mental health issues.
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