Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I said earlier we have seen good news on the jobs front in January when we went through the last change in gear on JobKeeper and JobSeeker. We have always maintained that these were temporary measures designed to taper off as economic confidence recovers and momentum builds and we're seeing that recovery underway. We recognise there are some challenges ahead though, that's why we're making some permanent changes to our social security system, as announced yesterday. As at 1 April 1.95 million Australians who are currently accessing working-age payment will see a permanent $50 per fortnight increase in their rate of payment. It is the single biggest year-on-year increase to the rate of unemployment benefits since 1986 but comes at significant budgetary cost of around $9 billion. In addition, we are also permanently increasing the amount of money jobseekers can earn before they lose a cent of payment to $150 per fortnight. This is a continuation of the carefully considered, balanced approach our government has taken through the pandemic to supporting Australians and the Australian economy.