In a little over one month, the Government’s new Wage Connect Subsidy has already seen more than 1000 long term unemployed Australians find work.

Minister for Employment Participation Kate Ellis said she was pleased to see the early success of this new initiative, which has delivered 1131 job placements since 1 January.

“Each of the people who have found a new job because of this subsidy has been unemployed for at least two years, many for much longer,” Ms Ellis said.

“I want to congratulate each and every one of these newly employed Australians and their employers, who have had their lives and the lives of their families transformed by this Government initiative."

The Wage Connect Subsidy is part of the Government’s Building Australia’s Future Workforce package. The initiative supports jobs for long-term unemployed people who have been on income support payments for at least the last two years, with little or no recent work experience.

Wage Connect pays a wage subsidy to employers who take on and retain an eligible job seeker.

"I refuse to accept that it is simply some people's lot in life to simply collect the dole every week and become trapped in a cycle of welfare dependency," Ms Ellis said.

"We know that people who have been unemployed for a long period of time have difficulty finding full time employment because they often don't have the necessary skills and work experience employers are looking for."

"Our Government is committed to ensuring that through initiatives like Wage Connect, the benefits of paid work are extended to more Australians, particularly disadvantaged job seekers."

The subsidy of around $5700 — the equivalent of the average rate of Newstart Allowance over 26 weeks — helps offset wage and training costs for the first six months of the person’s employment.

The placements are coordinated by two of the Governments employment programs—Job Services Australia and Disability Employment Services.  

The Australian Government will invest almost $95 million over the next four years in Wage Connect and $8.5 billion in broader employment services.

Job seekers and employers interested in participating in the scheme should speak to their employment services provider.

Interested employers who would like to learn more about Wage Connect can visit www.deewr.gov.au/wageconnectsubsidy or contact a local employment services provider on 13 17 15.