Gday, this is my first post. Please bear with me.
About 8 yrs ago I was on the dole, Custody despute 5 yrs I used legal aid as I couldnt afford it. Case is over. 2.5 yrs ago got a job about $24hr. (was saving $50 per fortnight, saved 6 grand in 5 years)
My delema.
I live in dept of housing. If I work 4hrs a day 5 days a week my rent goes to market value. As this is a part time job i am still on the dole. Have a disabled kid so my missus is on the pension to look after him. 4hrs a day for 5, I get nothing from the dole. and she gets $10 per fortnight, if i do 2hrs per day i get 120 from the dole and she gets about 300. And the rent drematically dropps. Its mad. Savings are all gone
I despise my job. And the house is a dump. How on earth am i supposed to get ahead

Sadly you are caught in a no win situation, and perhaps the best way out of it is to get elected to Parliament, especially as a senator.

There is a paradox, that happens when you are on welfare and begin earning a wage, where the increase in income created by working is more than off set by the loss of benefits.

So you earn a dollar, but loose a dollar fifty in government assistance, that proves to be a real disincentive to work and to try and get ahead.

'morning seanw,

Truly sorry to hear of your situation and in particular about your disabled child.

If you are unable to get full time work you need to consider several part time jobs. Take as many as you can to make up the hours and pay rates you need to get ahead. This way you can selectively upgrade to better rates as or if they become available and adjust your hours accordingly.

This will also boost your self esteem which appears to have taken a battering.

I confess to being a little skeptical at the circumstances you describe, but I'm sure that once you are able to make up part time or casual work to about 50 hours a week you will be well on the road to financial independence.

Yep, I agree with spindoc.

The way to get ahead is to maximise your earned income, just like most of us do.

Trying to adjust your work & income to maximise your taxpayer handout is just bludging on those who do work 40 or perhaps 60 hours a week, & is immoral to say the least.

Granted you are encouraged to think the way you do by the welfare lobby, & the mess which is the way welfare is calculated, but no one has a right to expect to get ahead while holding their hand out for other peoples hard earned.

You have absolutely no right to "get ahead" on the back of people who work a lot longer hours than you do.

Hi seanw and welcome to the forum,

I understand your plight, I see it all the time. The poverty trap of the working poor. People living as you do, genuine people who through no fault of their own have not been dealt the best hand in life. Sympathy is cold comfort, you have not mentioned your age bracket or location. The options are to move to another location which offers better prospects, but that is not always possible with family commitments and the like, age etc.

It is so easy for some to stigmatize all "housos" as lazy good for nothings. and there is a proportion of people like that, no one can deny it. There is also a goodly number of genuine people who need societies help. Somehow we need to move from the simple handout mentality which results in the abandonment of people, to a holistic approach which sees people who genuinely want to get ahead, succeed.

Dear Sean.

I'm so sorry to hear of your situation.

You obviously need a clear incentive to drop benefits
and go back to work.

"People are better off on benefits than working," is
something we often hear. Many people think this is
a myth however in your case from what you've described
there does seem to be a major problem at the core of
our system.

Spindoc and Hasbeen have given you some good advice
and I'm sure others will come up with more.

All I can add is - you probably do need to get several
jobs (unless your wife can somehow manage to work also -
even perhaps part-time).
It's not going to be easy - that's for sure - but it
sounds like you're ready for a change anyway. Working
will help towards your self esteem and self worth -
and who knows it may lead to bigger and better things.
It may even lead to your considering - applying for an
apprenticeship and
studying at night to get better-skilled
and better paid jobs.

I wish you all the best and hope that things will work
out for you and your family.