Tonight on Four Corners

4C HOME  PAST EPISODES  HAVE YOUR SAY  ABOUT US  CONTACT US The Jobs Game Monday 23rd February, 8.30pm "I want to work but it's hard to get a job with an 8 year gap in your resume" filming Kym who will feature in tonight's Four Corners Unemployment in Australia is at its highest in 12 years. The Government's solution is an innovative billion-dollar scheme called Jobs Services Australia. But the initiative is failing. Now, a Four Corners investigation shows how the scheme is being manipulated and, at times, systematically exploited. Reporter Linton Besser reveals the corruption at the heart of the program aimed at helping some of this country's most vulnerable people. Unemployment is now big business in Australia. Each year the Government spends about $1.3 billion on its welfare to work scheme. But what happens when there are simply not enough jobs to go around? What Four Corners discovers is a system open to abuse where the unemployed have become a commodity. Some agencies bend the rules, others break them. "I would say about 80 percent of claims that come through have some sort of manipulation on them." - Agency whistleblower Hours are bumped up, wages are inflated, and in many cases, vital evidence to support claims from the taxpayer appears to have been falsified. One former jobseeker tells Four Corners her paperwork appears to have been completely forged. In recent years Government checks have forced some companies to pay back millions of dollars, but few are sanctioned. Former job agency employees say crucial internal records are adjusted in preparation for government audits. "That, I guess, caused alarm bells for me... Claims that have been claimed, signatures that weren't on them, and we were sort of told, you know, if the signature's not on it, get it any way that you can." - Former job agency employee "THE JOBS GAME", reported by Linton Besser and presented by Kerry O'Brien, goes to air on Monday 23rd February at 8.30pm on ABC. The program is replayed on Tuesday 24th February at 10.00am and Wednesday at midnight. It can also be seen onABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview or abc.net.au/4corners . abc.net.au/4corners Recent Episodes and Features Making a Killing Like us on Facebook Receive Four Corners posts in your News Feed and discuss our programs with other viewers. Follow us on twitter See our latest tweets and use #4Corners to join the conversation about our programs. You are subscribed to this newsletter with the email address: livefriendie@gmail.com If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe here. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, please feel free to subscribe here. Watch Past Episodes Visit the Four Corners archive to watch our programs, extended interviews and extra footage on demand. Four Corners on ABC iView Watch Four Corners streamed on-demand and at a high resolution from ABC iview. Four Corners 50 Years Celebrate the rich history of Four Corners: visit our special website, download the free iPad app or buy the ABC DVD Collection.