Over 1,000 Australians who were previously homeless or at risk of homelessness have found a job this year through the government’s AUS$94m (£62.5m) Wage Connect initiative.

These are among the 9,000 people to have benefitted from the scheme, which provides a wage subsidy of around AUS$5,900 over 26 weeks to people who have been receiving income support for two years and have little or no work experience in that time.

As previously reported on recruiter.co.uk, the company beat its six-month placement target by 20% within the first five months of its operation.

Minister for employment participation Kate Ellis says: “The programme helps businesses to take on a new worker who may require some additional training, but will become a valued member of their teams. The six-month period of support also gives jobseekers the opportunity to get the skills and confidence they needed to rejoin the workforce.”

• Meanwhile in South Africa, the government news agency SAnews reports the comments in parliament of the minister of economic development Ebrahim Patel yesterday [16 August] that “we cannot address joblessness on the scale left by apartheid with tax incentives alone, but they can play an important role”.