Single Mums with 4 kids or more - are you forced to work when smallest child is 6?

[e_p]

further clarification here ladies - from the 1st of July, recipients of parenting payment (single or partnered) and newstart can have an exemption from the activity test (looking for work, working, studying, voluntary work) if they are the principal carer or 4 or more dependent children - the exemption is applied for 12 months at a time. Also, changes to the activity test from 1st July mean that voluntary work is also an approved activity and you can meet your requirements through a combination of paid work, voluntary work and study as long as the total hours is 15 hours per week.

[deletedit]

Voluntary now too? That's fantastic. It always seemed weird that they'd haul you off for work for the dole at somewhere you didn't want to be when somewhere you *did* want to be was begging for volunteers but weren't WFTD registered.

3 years ago when WFTD was in full swing our local school lost several of their most dedicated volunteers (the most active being a very soft-spoken Asian woman who had an 8yo but suddenly became widowed at 40 so went from being a kept woman with no qualifications who had never worked to having to look for work on parenting payment) because Centrelink didn't allow it. Noone was happy, lose-lose all around.

The woman in question has since remarried and is a kept woman again ...

[briggsy's girl]

if you have four children between 6 and 16 you will receive an exemption from looking for work until your eldest child turns 16 - on that date (or when your exemption expires), you will have that exemption removed and will be under the same mutual obligation requirements as any other single parent. you mutual obligation activity is negotiated with c'link and may be work/study/training/volunteer work (with an approved organisation) for 15 hours per week, or, if you're not engaged in any of these, you wouldbe expected to be looking for work to meet these obligations

[Double Re-Cracker]

Some women fall pregnant every 5 years to avoid working, but isn't raising a family the equivalent of working 2 full time jobs/ they want us to work 3 now and then all these men still get away with paying CS! Australia is so slow, women have no rights in this country! think about it!