Will the federal budget help young job seekers?

One that fed off the government's pre-budget announcement of punitive measures for the 3 per cent of people gaming the welfare system had demonised them as cheats. A campaign launched by the Brotherhood of St Laurence presented fresh-faced teenagers as job-seekers, not dole bludgers.

Bianca Barnard joined the ranks of the young job seekers after leaving school halfway through year 11 last year.

"School just wasn't for me. Work is more my ethic," she said.

The 17-year-old hopes to get a job in childcare, but discovered this was not realistic before she turned 18.

"I found out I had to be 18 to get into the courses and to try and get work experience," she said.

So for the next year, the teenager from Richmond, west of Sydney, hopes to work in retail to gain some work experience and new skills.

"For me, finding work is quite hard. I look almost every day," she said. "You do need more experience to get into certain jobs."

Barnard is battling to get a job at a time when youth unemployment is double the overall national unemployment rate.

The federal budget will continue to help genuine job seekers like Barnard. But it contains a mix of measures including punitive ones that target the estimated 3 per cent of jobseekers who do not meet their mutual obligations. These include cuts to welfare payments if jobs are rejected or if Centrelink appointments are missed without good reason. Drug testing will also be introduced.

That young welfare recipients have been targeted with punitive measures while older pensioners are further protected is no political accident, according to Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie.

"This is demonising and vilifying people who are unemployed when we have far fewer jobs than people needing work and a tripling of long-term unemployment since the GFC," she said.

"People who are unemployed are the easiest to kick when it comes to the government wanting to make sure it is looking tough in making sure every dollar is spent well."

Dr Goldie said she was disappointed with the random drug testing and demerit welfare crackdown and further funding of the "failed" Work for the Dole program.

"If you are unemployed and relying on social security you are already subject to multiple checks and balances and interviews and required to work for the dole," she said.

"The $200 million in savings is about cutting people off welfare and putting them at greater risk of destitution and needing to come to charitable organisations.

"If we believe it is time for another look at compliance, let's take the politics out of this and have an independent review and bring in the best experts."

Unlike the budget changes to the health system which were formulated in consultation with the medical profession, Dr Goldie said the welfare changes were decided behind closed doors.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash defends the mutual obligation policies and the controversial Work for the Dole program and says the government is ready to help genuine job seekers through a $55.7 million Indigenous employment package over five years.

"The Coalition firmly believes that the best form of welfare is a job, which is why we are making substantial investments in assisting all Australians into work," Senator Cash said.

"The overwhelming majority of those receiving welfare benefits do the right thing and comply with their mutual obligations, however the Turnbull government makes no apologies for implementing measures which will stop a small number of recalcitrant offenders from gaming Australia's safety net."

The Brotherhood of St Laurence welcomed the Indigenous employment program and the federal government's $263 million expansion of the ParentsNext pre-employment program for parents of young children. A new Career Transition Assistance Program was another positive measure that would help disadvantaged mature-aged job seekers.

A program announced in the 2015 federal budget is helping job seekers like Barnard make the transition from school to work by giving her the confidence to hand out her CV to retail managers.

The Schools Industry Partnership in Windsor showed Barnard that she had good teamwork and communication skills that would help her find a job.

"They have taught me to be confident to walk into a shop and ask for the manager and hand in my resume," she said.

Alex Webb, youth development coach, for the Transition to Work Program said it is open to young people aged 15 to 21 referred by Centrelink. The service opened in April last year as part of a four-year federal government contract.

"They come to us to help build their skills and get them job-ready and make them more employable through workshops and different activities," she said.

Tony Nicholson, executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, said the Transition to Work program has been a success story, but there are mixed messages in the latest budget.

The new three-strikes demerit system will reduce or cancel welfare payments for up to four weeks for people who refuse to work without a valid reason or who miss Centrelink appointments

"The risk is that the proposed demerit system, devoid of administrative discretion and not accounting for a full understanding of individual circumstances, will cause increasing levels of homelessness through reduced and cancelled payments," Mr Nicholson said.

"We know that about half the homeless people sleeping rough on our streets are unemployed and rely on unemployment benefits."

Mr Nicholson was "puzzled" by the proposed trial of American-style random drug testing for new welfare recipients. However, the incorporation of drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs into job plans was welcomed.

"Let's not replay the same old inaccurate story - that Australia's young unemployed people are lazy and don't want to work," he said.

"Employers demand more skills and experience from all of us. And the entry???level jobs that used to exist for school leavers - from the mailroom, to the factory, to the farm - are disappearing in our globalised economy. We need to concentrate efforts as a community in creating opportunity for young people and building up their capacity for work."

The government last week announced a proposal to claw back $52 billion in outstanding student loans, raising concerns about university graduates looking for full-time work.

???The government said it would increase student fees by up to $3600 for a four-year university degree and people would need to start repaying their loans as soon as their income reaches $42,000 instead of the current $55,000.

Steve Shepherd, CEO at career coaching firm TwoPointZero, said this was a time when entry-level jobs for graduates were diminishing, house prices rising and their levels of debt was increasing.

"Many will turn to part-time work to support themselves but, with the HECS threshold lowered, they'll still be required to start paying back over $20,000 in fees and course funding," Mr Shepherd said.

"If we can offer young people consistent work, more will be able to repay their debts and in greater quantities.

"Considering it now takes on average 4.7 years for young people to find full-time work, targeting those underemployed or struggling to find work isn't going to resolve the problem."