Living on a monthly basis as a job seeker forces you to deal with some difficult contradictions. Initially, you are sold the idea of a welfare system that exists to benefit you, to help you live in between periods of work, and to assist those who, for whatever reason, are unable to find suitable work.

You’re sold the idea that you’re getting free money and services to help you and that you should be grateful. It appears to be a wonderful thing, so whenever something seems off, you’re told it’s inappropriate to express such concerns.

You have no right to complain; after all, you receive welfare without having to work for it. But the situation is becoming increasingly oppressive.

If you do not find work within a short period of receiving welfare payments, you are forced to attend appointments with a Job Services Provider (JSP), who is marketed to you as a service to help you find a job that meets your specific needs and respects your barriers to employment.

Things usually start out friendly and amicable, but the system expects exemplary job seekers to demonstrate that these services truly help and are worth keeping. When you deviate from the parameters of an exemplary job seeker, your support suddenly drops.

They stop being friendly and start lecturing you on “hard truths,” putting increasing pressure on you to apply for jobs that they believe you should apply for, regardless of your stated barriers.

Perhaps the barriers to your employment are much higher than they anticipated. Perhaps you ask too many questions rather than accepting everything they say as true. Maybe you, like me, try standing up for your rights when you tell them you can’t do certain types of work because of serious health risks, the least of which is the looming threat of long COVID.

They might characterise it as a “lack of work ethic” or “laziness.” You feel helpless to defend yourself because you don’t want to be labelled an ungrateful ‘dole bludger.’ You are aware that there is some truth to the reality of your privilege, as there are many people in Australia who are in desperate need of welfare payments but are unable to obtain them.

But that is the mindset on which the system preys.

It preys on your shame to keep you from questioning the system’s practises.

With just a little introspection, the oppressive nature of this relationship becomes clear: the services they provide aren’t offered as options for you to take advantage of, but rather as obligations you must fulfil or face being homeless, starving, or dying.

The goal is to find you suitable work no matter what, but what you consider suitable may not be what they consider suitable for you, because getting you a job is more important to them than your needs.

You’re told to apply for jobs that could endanger your health, to work in industries that contradict your entire belief system, or to work in oppressive workplaces where your human rights are a secondary concern.

You’re told that you must accept any interviews that come your way, and that if you question anything, your payments will be cut off without notice.

And they make you feel like everything is your fault.

I’ve known people who have had far worse experiences than I have. They told me how their JSP experiences had left them severely depressed.

Telling their JSP how terrible they’re made to feel during an appointment, even going so far as to say they’re considering suicide just to get away, only to be shamed and told they’re not taking this seriously.

They must toughen up, stop crying, and find work. Any job will do.

To them, you are nothing more than a statistic, and they will do everything in their power to make you a statistic that promotes the status quo and serves the interests of those in power.

It’s a system designed to rob poor people of their autonomy and dignity.

To give people as little money as possible in order to keep them begging for scraps and willing to jump through any hoops to do so, regardless of the cost to their mental or physical health.

It’s perplexing how much money the government has poured into this system when it could be better spent lifting people out of poverty.

They must toughen up, stop crying, and find work. Any job will do.

To them, you are nothing more than a statistic, and they will do everything in their power to make you a statistic that promotes the status quo and serves the interests of those in power.

It’s a system designed to rob poor people of their autonomy and dignity.

To give people as little money as possible in order to keep them begging for scraps and willing to jump through any hoops to do so, regardless of the cost to their mental or physical health.

It’s perplexing how much money the government has poured into this system when it could be better spent lifting people out of poverty.