Those with mental health conditions on Newstart are suffering because of the payment’s ‘inadequacy’ and cost of living pressures, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
People suffering mental health concerns on Newstart are at risk of having their conditions worsen by the restrictive nature of the payments, mental health advocates have warned.
"At best the Newstart payment is fundamentally inadequate to sustain reasonable and necessary cost of living for people with mental illness.” Mr Lovelock told the inquiry the number of people on Newstart with mental health problems had increased from 30 per cent in the early 2000s to “around 50 per cent” of those on the payment.
Its researcher David Richardson arguing the Newstart payment should no longer be considered a ‘temporary’ income support measure.“The average duration on Newstart is now 159 weeks, now they’re not all going to leave tomorrow,” he told the inquiry.
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