Almost half of people using employment providers threatened with payment suspensions, new data shows

Government not maintaining ‘effective oversight’, with majority of decisions being overturned, commonwealth ombudsman found

Almost half of all people using employment services received threats to suspend their payments in the last quarter, new data has revealed.

The data from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) showed a 23% increase in the number of payment suspension notices issued by Workforce Australia, with 618,000 issued from 1 July to 30 September 2025, up from from 504,000 in the previous quarter.