The community expects ... : Public opinion about breach penalties for unemployed people

Unemployed people who fail to comply with their activity test requirements are penalised by having their benefits reduced.

Recent research has shown that the number of breaches has escalated dramatically since 1997 and that breaches are falling most heavily on the most disadvantaged job seekers.

This study investigated whether the Australian public think the current levels of penalties for breaching are fair or not and what they think the penalties should be. This survey showed that the current penalty regime is not supported by the community, and that the public would support a reduction in breach penalties.