| > anyone that isn't earning much (or doesn't have a job, or has never had one) can get around $250 per week. Forever. Very few strings attached. Sorry but that's just flat out incorrect. The maximum payment possible is $528 a fortnight through Newstart (not available to everyone, and only available for 6 months). See https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelin... for more information. $528 a fortnight equates to $13,728 annually (so you're going to get less than this, because you can only get it for 6 months) in a nation where the _median_ income is over $80,000 AUD. What little you get is going to be spent on rent, food, and going to and from interviews (which are a requirement of you getting NewStart). > It's known there are tens of thousands (hundreds? millions?) of people who just don't want to work and sit around on it for their entire lives. Dole bludgers are _few_ and far between. What you're seeing is people doing nothing because they literally cannot afford to do anything, even if they're getting the maximum payment (and it's likely they're not). Welfare in Australia could be a lot better, and I'd be interested to find out how a UBI could affect the process as Centrelink (the welfare department) is incredibly inefficient. |
Have you been on the dole?
I was on it between jobs, and my brother was just on it for a year while he rode a bike around Tasmania, then volunteered at the circus in Perth.
It's very do-able. Obviously you're not owning an iPhone and driving a new Commodore, but if you're willing to have a few roommates and eat 2 minute noodles from time to time, it's an easy life.