Welfare advocates say that while the reforms are a step in the right direction, the privatised employment services model has failed and should be torn up

The government will transform obligations for dole recipients as the number of those on unemployment benefits for five years or more climbs to 20 per cent.

The one-size-fits-all scheme will be replaced by three streams as Labor grapples with the best way to assist the country’s growing cohort of long-term unemployed people.

Employment minister Amanda Rishworth plans to move system from a ‘one size fits all’ employment services model to three streams of support

The $312 million overhaul maintains one element critics say is "punishment as usual".

The system has faced complaints welfare payments are being cancelled unfairly, and that it punishes people with complex needs.

What does Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth's $312 million reform package include?

Requirements for the long-term unemployed to apply for a minimum number of positions a month in return for the dole will be loosened under a new model.

Welfare advocates say that while the reforms are a step in the right direction, the privatised employment services model has failed and should be torn up