Australia's social security system is being likened to a holey parachute rather than a safety net.
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Welfare advocates want the federal government to provide more assistance, after the budget allocated $40 extra per fortnight for JobSeeker, Austudy and Youth Allowance payments.
Experts and people with experience of living on welfare have described a sense of despair at the government's choice not to commit to a higher rate.
University student Sam Thomas receives welfare support and said the government did not appear to recognise the cost of living crisis affecting people on the lowest incomes.
"I wouldn't call it a safety net, I'd call it a parachute with holes because if you're on JobSeeker you're going to hit the bottom at some point," they told a parliamentary committee.
"It leaves you with a sense of anxiety."
A budget proposal being considered by parliament would expand eligibility for the parenting payment, increase some government support and raise rent assistance by 15 per cent or up to $31 per fortnight.
Anglicare Australia deputy director Maiy Azize told the committee her organisation would not stand in the way of the extra support, but the government needed to do more.
"These payments are still lagging very well below the poverty line and we need a plan to do something about that," she said.
Antipoverty Centre representative Kristen O'Connell said the government wasn't listening to experts and would not learn from the robodebt royal commission.
"It's frustrating to feel that we're constantly being asked to do all of this labour of contributing to processes like this that ultimately end up being a bit of a farce," she said.
"It's really disrespectful to those of us who attend these hearings who put in submissions - and everyone on payments - when we give you the evidence and absolutely nothing changes.
"And $20 a week does not count as a change."
Thomas said the robodebt debacle - where welfare recipients were pursued for debts they did not owe - created a lack of trust.
"I have friends who are fully eligible for Centrelink, but leave themselves in even greater poverty because they are worried they're going to be chased down for a debt that they don't owe," they said.
"Our social security system is less effective if people are actually afraid of using it."
The committee is due to report on Monday.
Australian Associated Press
