First Australians, like all Australians, should have access to jobs with superannuation on every dollar: AIST
On the eve of National Reconciliation Week, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Institute (AIST) is calling for jobs through the Federal Government's Community Development Program (CDP) to be replaced with jobs that pay superannuation.
AIST is concerned that the CDP – which operates across regional Australia with an estimated 80% of participants identifying as First Australians - denies participants workplace rights, including superannuation.
Participants in the program do not receive superannuation nor other employment protections while they are employed in the program. These participants are required to work up to 20 hours per week without receiving super on their salary, while others working in non-CDP jobs doing similar work in the same communities do receive superannuation and are building their retirement nest eggs.
AIST CEO Eva Scheerlinck who is the chair of the Indigenous Superannuation Working Group (ISWG), said First Australians, like all Australians, should have access to jobs at Award rates of pay, with employment protections and superannuation on every dollar.
"The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is already among the most disadvantaged people in Australia," Ms Scheerlinck said. "It's been estimated that indigenous men have an average super balance just half that of non-Indigenous men while the average super balance of Indigenous women is more than a third less than non-Indigenous women."
AIST modelling has revealed that every year the total amount of super lost to CDP participants is around $67 million.
If CDP participants received super, they would end up with around $79,745 more in retirement.
