As if bona fide job seekers don’t have enough to worry about.

The Morrison government’s new Employer Reporting Line or ‘Dobline’, allows employers to dob in jobseekers for rejecting employment offers and/or behaving badly in interviews, missing appointments or quitting their job.

Demonised jobseekers without a ‘reasonable excuse’ face having their unemployment benefits cancelled and will have to wait at least four weeks before they can reapply.

Unemployment is high because the government wants to keep inflation low and much of the economy is trying to bounce back from Covid-19 restrictions.

Forcing jobseekers to apply for up to 20 jobs a month leads to them bombing employers with applications.

The government describes the hotline as “a new way to manage disingenuous job applications”.

The hotline can only accept reports about jobseekers who are receiving income support and participating in an employment service program.

Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil said the expanded scope of the hotline “creates a very wide range of subjective reasons that could result in people being cut off payments”.

That includes non-rational and punitive actions by potential employers.

Jobseekers are now required to search for a minimum of 15 jobs a month, increasing to 20 jobs a month from July 1.

Some will also be required to participate in a dodgy training course or work for the dole scheme after being unemployed for six months.