The Government’s Internship Program Doesn’t Actually Define What An Internship Is

    And that has people worried.

    Community and industry experts want the government to define "internship" and put in place safeguards to stop young people being exploited before parliament approves the Youth Jobs PaTH internship program.

    The voluntary internship program, announced in the 2016 budget and due to start in April 2017, will pay up to 30,000 young people who are unemployed or disadvantaged an $200 extra a fortnight on top of income support payments to complete an internship of up to 12 weeks.

    Businesses will be paid an upfront bonus of $1,000 for taking on an intern and an additional $6,500 if they offer the young person a job after the internship.

    A government-dominated Senate committee recommended on Monday that the bill be passed, but acknowledged the significant lack of detail around what the internships entail. It advised that the employment minister needs to offer "clear guidance on all aspects of the PaTH program" before it is voted through the Senate.

    Interns Australia, UnitingCare Australia, per Capita, Anglicare Australia, Jobs Australia, ACOSS, and Children and Young People With Disability Australia also raised concerns that the PaTH program doesn't have a definition of the term "internship".

    "We wish to see a definition of 'intern' under Australian law that: ... Allows for appropriate remuneration for an intern, whether that be provided by the business engaging the intern or by government funding," Interns Australia said.

    Instead the bill specifies that to be eligible a person must be 17 to 24 years old and have been receiving unemployment benefits for six months or more.

    The 15- to 25-hour-per-week internships will be classified as "unpaid work experience" and the young people undertaking them won't be employees of their host business.

    Labor and the Greens have slammed the PaTH program as "poorly constructed" and "flawed" with a "concerning" lack of detail, saying they'll block the bill because there's no definition of what constitutes an intern.

    In a dissenting report, Labor senators said their key concern is remuneration: that interns will be receiving less than the minimum wage.

    "The government has not listened to repeated warnings about the outcomes of this program and legislation," Labor senators Gavin Marshall and Don Farrell wrote.

    Submissions by ACOSS and Interns Australia suggested fortnightly hours should be capped at 30, instead of 50, or payments should be increased to between $600 and $1,000 per fortnight, to ensure participants are compensated properly.

    Labor wants the government to include safeguards guaranteeing existing workers won't be ditched for cheaper interns, protection for participants from exploitation, and conditions to prevent employers from churning through young people.

    A Greens dissenting report also recommends the bill not be passed in its current form.

    It points to the discontinued Irish Job Bridge program on which Youth Jobs PaTH is partially based, which became known as "Scam Bridge" because of its high levels of exploitation of young people and displacement of existing workers.

    "Replicating these unsuccessful overseas schemes is unlikely to assist in decreasing the high levels of youth employment," the Greens said. "The government should instead be investing in individualised supports and qualified training programs."

    A government spokesperson told BuzzFeed News "very clear advice will be given to participants (both job seekers and employers) but such advice is typically not contained in legislation".

    The Department of Employment will consider the concerns raised in all submissions to the committee and "clear guidance on all aspects of the Youth Jobs PaTH will be provided to host organisations, job seekers and employment services providers in the Youth Jobs PaTH guidelines, the Youth Jobs PaTH internship agreement and related communication material", the spokesperson said.

    The Youth Jobs PaTH guidelines will also be published on the website of the Department of Employment prior to the commencement of the program.