Members of the welfare sector in Ballarat are calling for a permanent raise to the JobSeeker allowance above the previous Newstart rate.
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The federal government is expected to announce the future of the JobSeeker and JobKeeper payment on Thursday.
The payments are currently in place until the end of September, but the federal government has acknowledged support will be needed past then as the pandemic continues.
It is expected the JobSeeker rate will not fall back to its pre-pandemic amount of $560 a fortnight and JobKeeper will be switched to a tiered system.
Salvation Army Ballarat team leader John Clonan said it would be 'devastating' if the current JobSeeker payment with the coronavirus supplement was dropped to the previous rate.
"That would be a major concern for all welfare agencies. There would be a gradual flood of people coming to seek assistance," he said.
Salvation Army Ballarat has advocated for the unemployment benefit to be raised for many years and most recently called for an increase of at least $150 a fortnight to the base rate.
"There certainly needs to be a rise in the base unemployment benefit to a reasonable level, but I think it needs to be a step down process from the current payment to what that level is," Mr Clonan said.
Mr Clonan referred to a food security survey conducted in Ballarat two years ago that showed people would buy more fruit, vegetables and meat if they had an extra $20.
"That is the reality of it," he said.
Mr Clonan said the coronavirus supplement had restored dignity for people on the JobSeeker payment.
"They have been able to pay their bills, pay their utilities and pay their rent," he said.
"We know people who have been able to get their car up to speed so it is more safe to drive around in and families who have been able to buy clothes for their children."
Uniting senior manager community services Ballarat and Wyndham Cathryn Ryan said Uniting would advocate for the continuation of JobKeeper and JobSeeker with a coronavirus supplement.
"Let's get a baseline that makes sure people can afford to pay their bills, pay their rent, pay for transport. pay for health care and send their kids to school, the basic things we all expect we can do," she said.
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Ms Ryan said it was important JobKeeper was continued due to the continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
"We have a significant number of people that are coming through the emergency relief service who have never accessed services before," she said.
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"We have a lot of people who are concerned about job security and what that is going to look like when we do come out of COVID-19.
"To get the workforce back into some of those regional businesses is going to take time... It is a longer term planning we need to be thinking about."
Ms Ryan estimated demand for support from services in Ballarat would double to triple if coronavirus payments were stopped or too dramatically reduced from September.
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Salvation Army, Uniting and other welfare agencies are continuing to support people experiencing financial difficulties.
Ms Ryan said she encouraged people to seek help early rather than waiting until they were at crisis point.
Donations of non-perishable food items can be made to the Salvation Army Ballarat Community Church on Eureka Street.
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