Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that the Australian government will spend $1.9 billion (US$1.3 billion) over the next three years to expand the support payments scheme that is offered to single parents.
Currently, the Parenting Payment Single (PPS) can only be accessed by parents whose youngest children are up to 8-years-old, transfering onto JobSeeker after the youngest dependent child turns eight.
The federal budget will raise that cut off to 14 years of age which the government argues will better enable single parents to take on paid employment as children 14 and over require less supervision.
The prime minister, who is a product of a single-parent household, said that the changes coming up in the budget will “make a big and immediate difference for tens of thousands of mums, dads and children right across Australia.”…