In order to make the Sick Pay Guarantee Program more easily accessible, the government is making some changes to ID requirementsm making it more simpler.
Minister for Employment Jaala Pulford today said, “We are making some changes based on feedback from people. We will accept more types of identification documents, making it simpler for people who are not Australian residents or permanent residents.”
This March, in an Australian first, the Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee program was introduced to provide vulnerable workers the safety net they need to take time off when they are sick or need to care for loved ones. Few months into the program, the government is working hard to communicate the existence and benefits of this program to multicultural communities and those from migrant or refugee backgrounds.
Going through the details of the sick pay guarantee leave, Pulford said, “We are trying to get people to sign up before they get sick or before they have a need for using this scheme, it is just easier to get that sorted early.”
“All it takes is four minutes, a simple form of ID. You don’t have to be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, you have to have a right to work in Australia,” said Pulford at an online media conference.
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Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ros Spence, who was also present at the conference, said, “We know the multicultural communities were the hardest hit by the pandemic and much of this was due to insecure work. People can now benefit from this new initiative with translations made available in 19 languages. They can also call the National Translating and Interpreting Service on 131450 and ask for the Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee Hotline.”
Under this program, workers who sign up can apply for up to 38 hours’ of sick and carer’s pay per year, paid at the national minimum wage. To be eligible, workers need to work an average of 7.6 hours or more each week, do not get paid sick or carer’s leave across any job and are above 15 years of age.
Casual and contract workers covered in the program include retail and sales assistants, hospitality workers in hotels, bars, cafes and restaurants, food trades workers and food preparation assistants such as cooks, bakers, fast food workers and kitchen hands, supermarket and supermarket supply chain workers, aged and disability care workers, cleaners, laundry workers and security guards.
“One of the things we will be looking at is also expanding the groups of industries that are eligible to apply,” said Pulford.
Workers are encouraged to register for the two-year pilot program. More than 150,000 workers will be eligible in this first phase.
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