Before I found it necessary to become a fulltimecarer for my parent, I left a long term job which had relocated to an unsuitable location, and tried to find a part time job closer to home so that I could combine work with caring duties.Unfortunately there wasn't anything suitable available, either I didn't have enough admin skills or the job was shift work, etc etc.

I then was on Newstart and obliged to find volunteer work. I rang all sorts of places, most did not get back to me - I believe there was a glut of volunteers at the time - and when I did find one place, it took me over an hour to get there, and the physical aspects of the job left me with severe pain(I have osteoarthritis, no trouble if well managed and I do not do the wrong kind of movements).

Most of the volunteer work that was available was in op shops. So you had all these 55+ folks in op shops, often more staff than customers. I tried to find something that would give me more to do but most of the time I met with a blank wall. I don't really see the point of volunteer work unless you are getting some beneficial experience from it.I had enough to do at home with a huge yard and an elderly parent.

I had worked for many years in customer service, but the firms I worked for had only used their own in-house computer programs, so I was lacking in such skills as Excel etc. I couldn't afford the expensive private computer training and my local tafe had discontinued the short courses,(they were held at another tafe about 2 hours travel from me).

I believe it would be better if Centrelink, instead of insisting that we do futile volunteer work, would run some training programs that really provide some of the mature aged workers with the updated skills they need in order to compete in the job market.

When will the Govt (us?) realize the older citizens who are receiving benefits are doing so because they need money to live , they should be given the option of helping with their own families before getting involved in outside community work which requires them to neglect their own personal commitments, plus inconveniences them with having to travel distances which take up many hours which could be spent in a more productive way.

Anyone who is finding it difficult to obtain suitable volunteer work for Centrelink should contact a local sporting club.

I am the secretary of a metropolitan football club and we are always looking for volunteers to undertake a wide range of tasks of varying physical and mental difficulty from the very easy to the more complicated.

Every other club I know of is in the same boat.

Centrelink is usually fairly specific about who you can and can't volunteer with, not sure about sporting groups. Must say that the nearest sporting group to me is too far to walk to even for a good walker like me, and I don't have a car.

Point is, it costs money to get there and back however you travel. The Newstart allowance is quite small and if you are putting out say, approx $5 - 10.00 a week for travel, it adds up.(I am referring to public transport costs here).

My experience was that I would contact any local charities to ask if they wanted volunteers. I had to do a minimum of 15 hours per week. Many of them never got back to me(because the person you had to speak to about volunteering was somehow never available) or they would only be able to offer a few hours work.

I still think that it would be more to the point to get mature aged unemployed in for a few hours training at something useful, then they might actually get a job. And employers need to offer more jobs that are 2-3 full days a week, (not shiftwork) so that mature people with elderly parents can still have time to do what needs to be done.

Oh and incidentally, the public transport here in Brisbane sucks bigtime when you are looking for work!