Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

Again, Senator Hanson, as you may know, mutual obligation applies to certain categories of persons. There will be exemptions for some people in relation to discharging their mutual obligation requirements. But, insofar as COVID-19 has occurred, what we now have back in place is the concept of mutual obligation. We expect jobseekers who are out there and in receipt of the JobSeeker payment to be looking for work. In the event that they say no to suitable employment, they can have their payment suspended.

On top of that, we have put in place additional mechanisms for jobseekers to upskill or reskill so that they are able to put themselves forward for a job. In particular, you would be aware that we have put in place our $1 billion JobTrainer agreement. This is specifically about ensuring that as a government, working with the state and territory governments, we are funding areas of vocational education and training. (Time expired)