sounds like a job for the "Employment" Fund https://twitter.com/BanderaBeau/status/1275332929086881792

Now, some of you might be thinking, 'What's the (un)Employment Fund?'

So let's take a minute to break it down.

Last week employment service providers (our faves ) "warned the newly unemployed will have to wait three months to claim up to $1,200 for training and other expenses from July" – article by @lukehgomes https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/20/new-jobseekers-three-months-access-1200-fund-training-expenses

The Employment Fund is *supposed* to provide funds for people on JobSeeker and similar payments to pay for the kinds of bare necessities one might expect to afford on the basic welfare payment.

Stuff like hair cuts, new shoes, train tickets, that sort of thing.

Let's put aside for one second that we should never have had to rely on something like the Employment Fund to help meet basic needs.

It's paternalistic, demeaning and it just gives job agencies even more power over us.

But the reason you probably haven't heard of it?

Yeah, the funds don't actually find their way into many of our pockets.

Why's that?

Now – take a seat, cos this might come as a shock – job agencies have *consistently* failed to use the Employment Fund to help us!

For a start, it's discriminatory: "although 51 per cent of participants are women, only 44 per cent of participants assisted by the Employment Fund are women"

That's from the senate inquiry report, 'Jobactive: failing those it is intended to serve' https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/JobActive2018/Report

The inquiry also heard that the Employment Fund was that is often not fully utilised.

People who've been in the system for years don't even know anything about it because JobActive and employment services providers don’t let tell them it exists.

We hear reports from people who tried and failed to access the scheme even though they meet the criteria. Eventually they give up.

One of our members tried to get some help to pay for work clothes and was told he could only get it if he signed up to Work for the Dole, but non-Work for the Dole Activity costs are supposed to be included.

We’ve been asking the department for years why they don’t do more to make sure this fund benefits JobSeekers and we've never had an answer.

So little of the money ends up going to JobSeekers because there are no targets for the job agencies, no incentive for them to help us use it.

The program entitles people to these funds – and yet, most of the time job agencies don’t even tell JobSeekers about it. And if we ask, we're denied.

So. Right now, you *should* be able to get these funds.

Here's how it works.

"When a participant is registered with a provider, the provider is paid an amount into the fund. However, this funding is not assigned to any individual participant and can be used as needed across the provider's client base." – that's right, your JSP gets full discretion

And here's some of what they're allowed to help you use it for:

- interpreters
- training
- work-related clothing, hygiene packs and basic haircuts
- driving lessons
- Indigenous training and mentoring***

***Wondering what's 'Indigenous training'? Well, one of our Indigenous members was offered the job of being the trainer.

She was asked to teach Blak folks about 'good manners' and 'being presentable'