Year 10 Commerce

Commerce –Final Exam- Notes

Government

What is a government?

Governments are people in power who make laws that set limits on the way we behave

• Role of Government

Provide law and order

Control economic problems

Provide goods and services

Protect individuals

Protect the environment

• Types of Government
• Socialism

System of government where the ownership of all the factors of production are in the hands of the community

• Eg. Sweden

• Anarchy/Chaos

Occurs when system of government has broken down and there are no laws or the laws are no longer being enforced

• Eg. Somalia was in anarchy in 1991

• Communism

There is no private ownership

• Eg. North Korea

• Based on the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

• True Monarchy
• System of Government where the monarch has total supreme power

• Eg. Saudi Arabia

• Constitutional Monarchy
• Where the powers of the monarch have been limited by laws (normally democracies)

• Eg. Australia

• Republic

Democratic form of government that has a president

• Eg. USA

• Military Dictatorship

Where the armed forces of the country have formed the government

• Eg. Indonesia

• Democracy

Rulers have been elected by citizens under a free electoral system

• Eg. France

• Important Political Leaders
• Adolf Hitler
• Mussolini
• Karl Marx
• Stalin
• Yasser Arafat

• J.F. Kennedy
• Nelson Mandela
• Mao Zedong
• Yitzak Rabin
• Lenin

• Democracy in Australia
• The freedoms that we are given

• Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest
• There are three ways that people can be brought to court
• Issued summons (order to appear in court) in writing for minor offences

• Eg. Speeding or illegal parking

Arrested on a warrant (official order signed by a magistrate)

• Eg. Against someone who failed to pay a fine or who has ignored a summon

Arrested without a warrant for the following reasons

• Committed offence like robbery or being drunk and disorderly
• Suspect that an offence has been committed
• Suspect a felony (serious offence) is about to be committed

• Australians have protection against police abusing their powers

• The right to a fair trial in Australia
• A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court
• Charge must be proven beyond reasonable doubt

• But,

these safe guards are not always effective

• Eg. Vagrancy
• A vagrant must prove to the court that they have sufficient lawful means of support
• It is up to the vagrant to prove their innocence

Freedom of Expression

Most basic of civil liberties

Most people in the world live without it (EG. South American Countries)

But even in democracies there are limits:

• Eg. Defamation

• Laws are designed to protect the individual from having material published which could:

• Make them hated
• Look ridiculous
• Ruin reputation

• It is done to inhibit freedom of the press

Freedom of association/assembly

Anyone planning to hold a meeting in a street or a public place must get the consent of the authority in charge of the area

Police permission may also be needed to make traffic arrangements

Arrests are usually NOT because the assembly is unlawful but because of traffic blocking or offensive behaviour

The benefits of a democracy

Equal rights and privileges for all members of the community

There is a written constitution which features fundamental liberties although they cannot be guaranteed

• How can we participate in a democracy
• All people of voting age are required to vote in elections for who should represent them
• Electors vote for a person to represent them in parliament

• These people are elected for a three year period and may stand for re-election at the end of their parliamentary term

• How a constitutional monarchy works in Australia

• The role of the Queen and the Governor General

• The Queen is considered as the Head of State and the Governor General is her representative

• The Governor-General’s duties include:

• The signing of all acts of Parliament before they become official
• Swearing in of the Government
• The issuing of writs for an election
• Acting as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, even though in reality this duty is carried out by the Prime Minister

• How the constitution works

• The constitution is the basic law of the Commonwealth of Australia

The federal government has the legislative power of the Commonwealth.

• The federal government consists of the Queen, a Senate and a House of Representatives

The Queen is represented by the Governor-General

The Parliament meets at least once a year

The Senate is composed of senators for each state

The House of Representatives is composed of members directly chosen by the people of the Commonwealth

The parliament has the power to make laws

The executive power is exercised by the governor-general acting on the advice of the federal executive council

The highest court in Australia is called the High Court of Australia

No money shall be drawn from the treasury except by the law

 

 

 

 

The history of the Australian government

Federation

• Sir Henry Parkes (often called ‘Father of Federation’) in 1889 at Tenterfield in Northern NSW, called upon the Colonies to federate into one united nation
• On 1 January 1901, the new nation of the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed. This is known as federation and a constitution was written up. Australia received self government from Britain
• Edmund Barton was the first Prime Minister of this Commonwealth (Australia)

• The Whitlam Dismissal
• The Liberal Party (Malcolm Fraser) was blocking the supply of the Government in 1975 which was possible because the NSW and QLD premiers replaced missing Labor senators with Liberal supporting senators
• The PM (Gough Whitlam) was going to call a half-senate election to threaten the Opposition
• On the 11^th of November, Gough Whitlam was dismissed by Sir John Kerr due to Malcolm Fraser’s statement that he would guarantee supply
• The constitution allowed a government to be dismissed if supply could not be guaranteed.

• Was erased from the constitution after the dismissal

• Some past Prime Ministers

Edmund Barton

Alfred Deakin

Robert Menzies

John Curtin

Gough Whitlam

Malcolm Fraser

• The names of our current political leaders
• The Liberal Party/the Government

• John Howard

The ALP/the Opposition

• Mark Latham

• The Three levels of Government
• Three levels are needed because:
• There are numerous areas of responsibility and therefore the power to govern is shared between Federal and State Parliaments

• There are three levels and their purpose:

• Federal Parliament

• To control matters which affect everyone equally - whatever state they live in

State Parliament

• Makes laws on the matters they control

Local Councils

• Control matters which affect our everyday life

 

• Local Government

• Different types of local governments

• City Councils
• Look after large cities such as Sydney, Newcastle and Woollongong

• Municipal Councils

Look after larger country towns such as Moree, Marrickville

Divided into a number of areas called wards

• Each ward elects aldermen (councilors) to the Local Council.

• The aldermen usually choose the mayor

• The mayor becomes the head of the council

Shire Councils

Usually govern the outer suburbs of larger cities and its rural areas of the state.

• Eg. Sutherland Shire and Baulkam Hills Shire

Where they get their money (revenue)

Rates (tax on land)	Government grants and subsidies
Council works and service charges	Borrowing
Rent from hire of halls	Paying tax towards financing the council
Rates can be worked out according to how many adults are living in a house	A surcharge could be added to income tax

What they spend their money on (expenditure)

Providing services	Sport areas and parks
- Roads - Drainage - Car Parks - Street lighting	Garbage collection and disposal
- Senior citizen health centres - Baby health centres - Meals on Wheels - Child Care Centres	- Libraries - Rest Centres - Life Saving Clubs - Kindergartens
Giving permission for new buildings	Controlling town planning
Administration costs	Paying staff

 

 

 

 

 

• State Government

The Houses of State Government

• Legislative Assembly

Government leader - Premier :: Opposition leader - Leader of the Opposition

Laws are initiated in the Legislative Assembly

• Legislative Council

Laws framed in the Legislative Assembly are reviewed

Where they get their money from (revenue)

Grants of money from the federal government	Payroll tax
Motor registration fees	Taxes on Pools and Lotto - Profits on lotteries
Racing taxes and income from TAB	Stamp duty on financial transactions like buying a car
Tax on deposits in financial institutions like banks	Income from government businesses Eg. Railways, Buses, the State Bank, and Government Insurance Office
Loans

• Where they spend their money on (expenditure)

Water resources Eg. Dams and reservoirs	Justice Eg. Police and state law courts
Hospitals and Health Care Services	Child welfare
Public transport and main roads	Department of Housing homes
Education

• Federal government
• The two houses of federal government
• House of representatives

• Consists of

• the Government

• Political party with majority of seats
• Leader of the major party becomes Prime Minister

• Introduces Bills

The Opposition

• Formed by party with next largest number of seats
• Leader of the opposition party is called Leader of the Opposition

• Senate

• The ‘house of review’
• Reviews and amends or rejects proposed laws sent to it by the House of Representatives
• Can initiate some laws

• Definitions
• Prime Minister

• Duties:

• Lead the govern in the House
• Prove leadership for the political party
• Act as a spokesperson for the government and the community

Ministers

A person with a certain area of responsibility to look after (this is know as a PORTFOLIO)

Liberal party ministers are nominated by the Prime Minister

Labor

party members are elected by the Caucus (consisting of all Labor party members)

Shadow ministers

Member of the opposition

Has been made responsible for a particular area

Their job is to criticise the government’s policies in their area and to provide alternative policies

Cabinet

Cabinet consists of all the ministers

They work out the policies that the government should follow

Shadow Cabinet

Shadow Cabinet consists of all the Shadow ministers

The group that decides on many of the opposition’s tactics

And alternative policies

Backbenchers

Member of Parliament that is not in the cabinet or shadow cabinet

Speaker

Acts as the chairperson in the House of Representatives

Is elected by the house

Duty is to ensure that the rules of the House are obeyed

Hansard Reporter

Records everything that occurs in Parliament

Serjeant-at-arms

Keeps order in the House at the direction of the Speaker

President of the Senate and Usher of the Black Rod

The president of the senate has the duties of the speaker in the senate and the usher of the black rod has the duties of the serjeant-at-arms in the senate

• How a bill is passed through Federal Government
• Stage one

• A minister in the government introduces a bill to the House of Representatives.
• The Bill must pass through at least three readings, where the opposition will debate any contentions (controversial) points
• A vote is then taken in the lower house

• If a majority say ‘yes’, the Bill is passed onto the Senate

• Stage two
• The Bill is carefully analysed and evaluated and committees scrutinise it
• The Senate must then vote on the Bill

• If a majority say ‘yes’ then the bill will continue

• Stage three
• The Bill becomes a Law, or Act of Parliament when:

• The governor-general gives it royal assent

• The approval of the Queen

• Where they get their money from (revenue)

Income tax - Tax paid by individuals and companies	Customs Duty - Tax on goods imported to Australia
Excise duty - Tax paid on goods produced in Australia	Sales Tax - Tax paid on goods produced and imported in Australia
Loans from within Australia and Overseas - Usually for public works	Income from profits of Federal government businesses -Eg. Australia Post, Telex, and Quantas

• What they spend their money on (expenditure)

Payments to the states	Defence
Postal services and telecommunications	Foreign Affairs
Social Services -eg. Welfare payments	Veteran Affairs -eg. Caring for returned servicemen
Immigration and quarantine services	Civil aviation and shipping - Airports and Wharves
Aboriginal Affairs

• The Budget
• Surplus

• Revenue is greater than expenditure

• Effect:

• Brings down inflation

Deficit

• Expenditure is greater than revenue

• Effect:

• Reduces the rate of unemployment

Balanced Budget

• Revenue is equal to its expenditure

• Political Parties
• The Australian Labor Party
• Oldest political party- formed because of the 1890s depression
• Aims:

Abolition of poverty	Full employment
Fairer distribution of political and economic power	Greater equality in the distribution of income, wealth and opportunity
Maintenance of world peace, and an independent Australian position in world affairs	Equal access and rights to employment, community services and education

• Liberal Party
• Formed by Robert Menzies in 1944
• Main policies:

Raise the living standard of all Australians	Encourage private enterprise
Encourage competition, efficiency and increased productivity	Reduce government spending and lower taxation

• National Party
• Formerly known as Country Party - began in WA in 1914
• Mainly concerned with country/rural issues and frequently combines with other parties with similar beliefs (coalition)
• Major policies are:

Maintain Australia’s security	Promote economic growth especially with regard to our export industries
Encourage private enterprise	Be loyal to the Queen of Australia and defend the flag
Defend the family

• Australian Democrats
• Formed in 1977 by Don Chipp
• Holds balance of power in the Senate
• Policies are:

Opposition to nuclear arms and energy	Protection of the environment
Anti-discrimination	Equal rights and opportunities for women
Reduce poverty

• Elections
• Electorates
• Certain area which members of parliament represent at Parliament House.
• FEDERAL
• 148 electorates

and there is one person representing each electorate HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES


• 8 electorates

for the SENATE and each state has equal number of senators (12 senators) and territories each have equal senators (2 senators)

STATE

• 99 electorates

the representing person is called a member of the Legislative Council (MLA)

1 electorate

- 42 members of the Legislative Council (MLC)

LOCAL

There are 177 councils

• How the electoral roll works

• When you are 18, you have to fill out the electoral enrolment form which can be obtained from post offices in order to be listed on the electoral roll

How often elections are held

Federal elections are held every three years unless called earlier by the prime minister

State elections are held every four years unless an early election is called by the premier

Council elections are also held every four years

How to vote

People go to cast their votes at a polling place

Once they are inside, an electoral officer marks their name off the roll as having voted and then given the ballot paper

They are given ‘how to vote’ cards and then they fill out a ballot paper

Method of secret ballot

• You take your ballot paper into a voting booth
• You mark your vote on the paper
• You then place your paper in a locked ballot box

Different methods of counting votes

Three types:

• Preferential

• The ballot paper lists the candidates’ names and the voters must number each candidate in order of preference
• Voter’s ‘1′ pref. Are counted and the one with the least is eliminated, then the 2^nd pref. Are counted and continues until one candidate has absolute majority

Optional preferential proportional representation

• The ballot paper is divided into two sections by a horizontal black line
• These candidates don’t need absolute majority, just to fill a quota and the succeeding follow preferential system of counting

First past the post

• Majority of first preference wins no matter the people against

By elections (???)

 

Law

• What is a law?

Laws are rules that are binding on the people in a certain community

• Role of laws

Govern behaviour	Govern activities
Set out rights	Set out duties
To create order	To help each person have a sense of security
To tell people what is expected of them	To tell people what they can expect from other people

• Features of a good law

Fair and Just: To gain acceptance in the community	Clear: With clear intention so the community understand what the law requires
Understood by the community: To be effective	Flexible: As community standards, needs and expectations change, so too, the law must change
Enforceable: It is pointless having a law which cannot be enforced or which can only be enforced with considerable difficulty	Stable: If laws change too often, there is the danger that people may become confused or even be unfairly treated

• Why do we need to change laws?

Political parties: Different political parties tend to emphasise different aspects of the law	Environmental groups: These organisations try to see laws implemented that will protect the environment
Technology: As technology changes, laws must continually change	Civil Liberty Groups: Organisations that advocate that society be as free from rules and regulations as possible
Trade Unions: Generally try to pressure governments to change laws so as to improve workers’ wages and conditions	Employer Groups: Try to pressure governments to change laws so that company profits and the business environment benefit
Social Attitudes: People’s attitudes change over time

• Law in different cultures and religions
• English Common Law
• Foundation of modern Australian law
• Consists of an enormous body of judge-made law

Canon Law (Christianity)

Applies to members of the clergy and Christians

Many principles and rules of procedure are borrowed from the Roman law

Laws of Manu (Hinduism)

Caste system where each Hindu traditionally belongs to the caste associated with their occupation

Based on the four orders or varnas of Hindu society set out in the laws of Manu

Talmudic code (Jewish)

Early written laws found in the first five books of the Old Testament called the five books of Moses, or the Torah

Changes to the law were regarded as the laws of Moses to show that all laws were based on the will of God

The Koran (Islam)

Consists of Allah’s oral revelations to Mohammed which were written down after Mohammed’s death in 632AD

Absolute authority in traditional Islamic life despite the controversy surrounding its interpretation

Aboriginal law

Highly moral system especially concerned with the tribe’s relationships with each other and the land

Kinship or the way in which each member of a tribe is related to every other member, is an important part of Aboriginal society.

• The rules of kinship govern the behaviour of members of a tribe and set out what is to be done or not done

• Have no separate system or notion of law

They have rules of behaviour and the means of settling disputes are part of everyday life.

• Disputes are usually resolved by general agreement among the members of a tribe

Passed on by word of mouth

When a law is broken, the person who broken the law had to meet in public with the person who had been affected by the action and the rest of the tribe would witness

The tribe as a group would carry out the punishment

• Punishments ranged from withdrawing of a right to banishment from the tribe or even death

How the British legal system was brought to Australia

Captain Cook arrived at Botany Bay and imposed English law on Australia when he arrived

• It was to be obeyed by everyone who lived here

• This included not only the convicts, free settlers, and soldiers, but also the Aborigines who had been living in Australia for thousands of years

As far as the new settlers were concerned, the Aboriginal people had to accept English law.

Aboriginal Land Rights

In recent years, some groups of Aborigines have claimed that they should not have to obey English law and they want traditional Aboriginal law to be used in cases involving Aborigines.

Land rights cases have been heard in which Aborigines claimed sacred burial sites as tribal land

The Native Title Act was passed by the federal government in 1993 and came into effect in July 1994 as a result of the Mabo High Court decision made in the previous year

• Made land claims by Aborigines less difficult by recognising that they occupied Australia before Europeans arrived.

However, Native title can only exist where:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were inhabitants of the particular area of land before 1788
• They continue to inhabit that area of land
• The title has no been extinguished or overruled by other people’s title

• Structure of the legal system
• Legislative
• The Australian government and each of the state governments have houses of Parliament which legislate or make the laws

• The Australian Parliament makes laws which apply to all Australians
• The State Parliaments make laws, which apply to residents of their states

Laws passed by Parliament are called Statute Law

Judiciary

The law courts which interpret statute law are known as the judiciary

The courts also decide disputes between individuals and ‘try’ people who are accused of having broken the law

The way that the courts interpret particular laws comes to be accepted as the law itself

• Laws of this type are known as common law or judge-made law

Administration

• The people who administer the law, enforce it or carry it out are known as the Administration
• The police force is the main part of the Administration

Branches of law

Police Law

Constitutional Law

Administrative Law

Criminal Law

Private/Civil Law

How law is made in Australia

Common Law

Law made by judges when they hear cases in court by making decisions depending on whether the case is a criminal case (form of punishment/not guilty), or a civil case (solving a dispute/damages)

Statute Law

Creation of national laws:

The idea is introduced

• The first reading

• The second reading

• Committee stage

• The third reading

• The upper house

• Royal assent

Delegated Legislation

Parliament delegates to subordinate bodies, the making of laws in areas which it doesn’t have time to debate, draft and consider

Three bodies:

• Local Councils

• Laws made by councils are called ‘ordinances’

State and Federal Statutory Authorities eg. The Reserve Bank of Australia and the State Electricity Commission

Administrative bodies eg. The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission

The Executive Council

• Includes the governor general and some of the Cabinet Ministers

Laws by the bodies are known as Statutory Rules, Regulations or by-laws

 

• What the police can do and the rights of an arrested person
• Role of police
• Prevent and detect crime
• Protect life and property
• Enforce the law
• Maintain peace and good order

Police can (plus rights of a person):

Control traffic

Question anyone whom they think will be able to assist them with their inquiries

• A member of the public is under no obligation to answer police questions, unless it is with regard to a traffic offence or a motor vehicle accident

Search and Detain people

• Only if the person has been arrested UNLESS:

• The police feel that a person could reasonably be suspected of having possession of stolen goods or items that could be used to commit a criminal offence
• A person is found drunk in a public place or acting in a manner whereby they may cause injury or damage

Arrest people (seize and detain somebody with regard to a legal matter)

• Three ways of being arrested

• Citizen’s arrest
• Police arrest with a warrant
• Police arrest without a warrant

Arrested people must be told by the police officer and by touching the person to symbolise that the person is detained. They also have to tell the person why the arrest is being made

• Arrested people:

• Are under no obligation to answer any questions or sign any statement, or record of interview
• Have no legal right to have a lawyer present during police questioning if over 18
• Must have a parent/guardian present if they are a child under sixteen
• Can only be photographed and have fingerprints taken by the police if they are to be used for identification purposes and if charges are later dropped/proven innocent, you are entitled to have both photographs and fingerprints destroyed.

Courts

Court hierarchy

Different people who play a role in court

Clerk of Courts/Registrar

Court reporter

Tipstaff

Sheriff

Bailiff

Court constable

Magistrate

Judge

Jury

Prosecutor

Plaintiff

Defendant

• Type of Court cases
• Civil

• Involves a dispute between individuals and/or between business firms

Criminal

Involves the breaking of a law

Open

Court case where anyone may enter the court and listen to the case being heard

Closed

Cases heard in private and is closed to outsiders

Appeals

‘Appealing’ to a higher court for the judgement to be reversed

What happens during a trial

Depends on the type of court, but the case is heard by a magistrate, a judge or a judge and jury

The judge/magistrate/judge and jury decide whether the defendant is either guilty or innocent or decides the winning and losing party of a dispute

Children’s Court

A person accused of a crime who is under the age of 18 is tried in a Children’s Court

It is a closed court

The juror is a magistrate

Offenders cannot be sent to an adult gaol and instead they can:

• Be kept in a youth training centre
• Be admitted to the Department of Community Service’s care
• Pay a fine, not exceeding $500
• Be placed on probation or a good behaviour bond
• Have all charges dismissed (if not guilty)

Types of Punishment

Good Behaviour Bonds

Probation

Life Sentence/Imprisonment

Detention Centres

Community Service

Fines

Seizure of property

 

Labour

Reasons for working

Survival	Income
Improvement in living conditions	Interest
Self-satisfaction	Status
Company	Identity

Types of work

Skilled

• Requires specialist training and qualifications

Semi-skilled

• Requires some training and qualifications

Unskilled

• Require very little training and no formal qualifications

Types of income

Wages	Salary
Commission	Royalties

• Types of industry

Primary industry: Producing something provided by nature	Secondary Industry: Taking a raw material and turning it into a more useful and expensive item
Tertiary industry: - Providing a Service - Is divided into two groups…
Quaternary industry: Deals with knowledge and the transfer of knowledge	Quinary industry: Deals with services traditionally performed in the home

• The economy
• Definition of the economy
• The system of financial production, distribution and consumption within a country and the world

The relationship of labour to production, business, government and family

The labour completed by an individual produces income which comes from businesses

Individuals then spend the money on goods and services which goes back into businesses and taking care of themselves and their families

Individuals save in financial institutions which invest back into businesses

Individuals pay taxes to the government which is used as expenditure for businesses

Individuals buying imports sends money out of the economy and into international flows and Australian businesses export for money in return

The labour force

Definitions and equations for the labour force, participation rate, unemployment rate and hidden unemployment

• Labour Force

The number of people in the economy who are aged 15 or over and have paying jobs or are out of work but are actively looking for a job and would take it if it was available.

• LABOUR FORCE= EMPLOYED + UNEMPLOYED

Participation Rate

The Labour force as a percentage of the working age population

• ---

  PARTICIPATION RATE % = LABOUR FORCE x 100

WORKING AGE POPULATION

• Unemployment rate
• The percentage of people of working age who are actively seeking work and would take a job if they could get one

• ---

  UNEMPLOYMENT RATE % = No. of unemployed persons x 100

TOTAL LABOUR FORCE

• Hidden Unemployment
• People who can be considered unemployed but do not fit the Australian Bureau of Statistics definition of unemployed and are thus not reflected in the unemployment statistics because they are not actively seeking work

• Composition of the labour force (trends in the age, gender, and types of work performed by the labour force)
• Trends in age

• The number of women working is increasing

• More young women train for careers than in the past and they work for longer than before, before having children
• More married women with children return to the workforce too

The number of men working is decreasing

• Men are retiring earlier than they used to
• More young men are staying on at school or doing tertiary studies instead of joining the workforce at an early age

People are working less in menial labour jobs and more with jobs requiring knowledge and skills because machines have replaced some jobs

• Eg. More people are becoming psychologists and less with most other social professionals

Jobs where more (growth industries) or less people are needed

Jobs where more people needed:

• Psychologists
• Social workers
• Economists
• Librarians
• Actuaries
• Computing professionals
• Veterinarians
• Speech pathologists
• Welfare paraprofessionals

• Jobs where less people needed:

• Other social professionals
• Agricultural labourers
• Stationary plant operators
• Other food trades
• Trades assistants
• Machine operators
• Other electrical trades
• Bakers and pastrycooks

• Difficulties experienced by young people, migrants, Aboriginal people and women who want to work
• Young people
• More jobs require qualifications and training that young people do not have as of yet

Migrants

Qualifications may not count or they may not have had any time to learn

Aboriginal people

They are underrepresented at management and professional levels and there are a number of significant barriers placed in the way of Aborigines Eg. Discrimination, low life expectancy, high infant mortality rate

Women

Paid lower wages than men and have to accept higher levels of part-time work

Entering the labour force

When to leave school

You can leave school in:

• Year 10
• Year 12

Finding out about different careers

Internet

Careers Adviser

Job Guide

Books, booklets and texts

Asking other people

• Types of training
• University
• College
• TAFE
• Apprenticeship
• Traineeship
• On the job training

Where to look for jobs that are available

Newspapers

Government Employment Agencies

Private Employment Agencies

Internet

Other Methods (eg. Directly)

How to apply for a job

Sending a letter of application and résumé by post

Applying on the telephone

Applying through the internet

• Going to an interview

Attending an interview

Make a good impression

Speak clearly and confidently

Be prepared

Ask questions

• Being employed
• Rights of employers and employees
• Employers

• To have lawful orders obeyed
• To have employees be careful
• To have employees be faithful and no give out confidential information

Employees

To have wages paid

To be safe from injury

To have income tax collected

Cannot be sacked on the spot

Trade Unions

Involved with negotiating better wages, working hours, holidays and so on for their members

Unemployment (important! Possible extension question-see scaffold)

Types of unemployment (SEE SCAFFOLD)

Structural unemployment:	Hidden unemployment
Cyclical unemployment	Under employment
Frictional unemployment	Long Term unemployment
Seasonal unemployment	Hard-core unemployment

• Causes of unemployment (IMPORTANT- MISSING PART!)

Changes in structure of the economy	Downturn in the level of economic activity
Temporary unemployment due to finishing one job and not starting another	Depending on the predictable and regular times throughout the year because of seasonal work
Considered unemployable by employers because of personal circumstances

• Effects of unemployment

Feelings of failure	Boredom and frustration
Poverty	Ill health
Loss of identity	Isolation and loneliness

• Getting back into the workforce

Participation in programmes made to assist unemployed people from Centrelink like:	Newstart allowance
Mature Age Allowance	Partner Allowance
Youth Training Allowance	Austudy payment
Portfolio agency services

• Industrial Awards
• Safety net of minimum wages and conditions
• Only cover 20 key principles or ‘allowable matters’

• Examples include:

• Job classifications
• Hours of work
• Pay rates
• Piece rates and bonuses
• Annual leave and loading
• Long-service leave

• Collective Bargaining

Work collective (together) usually through unions to NEGOTIATE (productivity) wages, conditions, etc.

‘no disadvantage test’ which ensures that employees are not worse off under the collective agreement compared to the award that would apply if there was no collective

Most popular -> ­
productivity -> ­
wages

AIRC

Enterprise Agreement

1996 Industrial reform

Individual contracts -> Maximum flexibility

Community standards test

Employment Advocate

SCAFFOLD

Unemployment refers to the people who are out of work, but are actively seeking work by regularly checking advertisements from different sources for available jobs, being willing to respond to the job advertisements, apply for jobs with employers and attend interviews and registering with an employment agency that belongs to the Job Network.

Unemployment is calculated:

---

Unemployment rate (%) = Number of persons unemployed x 100

 

There are 8 types of unemployment:

Structural unemployment where structural changes are caused within the economy due to changes in technology or the pattern of demand for goods and services, which thus results in unemployment because the skills that were useful in declining industries do not match the job opportunities opening up in newly emerging industries.

Cyclical unemployment which is where there is a downturn in the level of economic activity and the falling demand and production results in fewer employment opportunities.

Frictional unemployment are the people who are temporarily unemployed due to moving from one job to another.

Seasonal unemployment accounts for people unemployed at predictable and regular times throughout the year due to the seasonal nature of some kinds of work.

Hidden Unemployment refers to the people who can be considered to be unemployed but do not fit the Australian Bureau of Statistics definition of unemployed and are thus not reflect in the statistics because there are not actively seeking work because they are not participating in the labour force.

Underemployment includes people who are not classified as unemployed but they represent a significant part of Australia’s unemployment problem as they work for less than full time hours per a week but would like to work longer hours.

Long Term Unemployment is when people have been out of work for 12 months or longer and finally, Hard-core Unemployment refers to long term unemployed people who may be considered unemployable by employers because of their personal circumstances.

 

 

The Unemployed face many problems.

These problems include:

Feelings of failure where people without jobs feel rejection and failure and thus may give up trying to get work.

Boredom and frustration is problem because they need to find something to do to fill in the time they once spent at work but due to a shortage of money, they are limited sot heir ambitions, hopes and career plans are frustrated.

Poverty is a major problem of the unemployed as a lot of unemployed people come from low-wage occupations. Many have changed jobs often and have been out of work before so as a result, they have few savings to fall back on.

Ill health can be the result of lack of money as it can lead to a poor diet which, along with feeling depressed and bad about themselves will make the unemployed prone to illness.

Loss of identity may be a problem as they often feel that they are not fully accepted as members of society because without a job, they feel they have no dear role or identity.

Isolation and loneliness may become a problem because while people work because they need the money, they also work because they like companionship and need to feel that they are doing something worthwhile.

The unemployed can be helped in a variety of ways.

Centrelink, which was formerly Social Security and part of the CES, is a new national network offering ‘one stop shop’ service with a strong customer service focus to make it easy for people to get information about services, benefits and allowances in one location. Thus, it is where the unemployed visit.

Through Centrelink, numerous programmes which assist the unemployed can be accessed. These programmes are:

The Newstart Allowance, Mature Age Allowance, Partner Allowance, Youth Training Allowance, Austudy payment, and Portfolio agency services.

The Newstart Allowance seeks to provide income support for unemployed people who lack adequate levels of income and are seeking to return to paid work.

The Mature Age Allowance seeks to provide income support to older unemployed people who do not have adequate levels of income, who have been in receipt of other income support and face barriers in finding employment due to their lack of recent experience in the workforce.

The Partner Allowance also provides income support to older people, but only to people who are partners of income support recipients and who face barriers to finding employment because of their lack of recent workforce experience.

There is the Youth Training Allowance program which has several aims. These aims are to ensure eligible young people receive adequate levels of income while studying, looking for or preparing for paid employment, to encourage young people to choose further education or training over job search if they do not have sufficient skills to obtain long-term employment and to encourage young people to undertake a wide range of activities which will promote entry into employment.

The Austudy payment aims to provide income support for mature students who do not have adequate levels of income.

Last but not least, there are the Portfolio agency services which have several objectives. These objectives include the provision of effective and efficient policy advice on income support and other assistance for the unemployed and students, effective and efficient design and management of social security programmes for the unemployed and students, and effective, efficient and fair administration of social security payments and services for the unemployed and students.