At first glance, young jobseekers would have been heartened by new flyers apparently from a Canberra cafe seeking interns.
Until they read the fine print.
"It's an exciting time to be unemployed! We are looking for students to take part in an internship opportunity for $4/hour," the flyers say.
They appeared across the city centre and university campuses as part of a union campaign against the government's proposed internship program.
"This is not a real internship opportunity but under the federal Liberal government internships like this one could be legal," it goes on to say.
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UnionsACT secretary Alex White said most students the organisation had spoken with were not aware of the policy, which would offer 12-week internships to jobless youth.
Participants will be paid $200 to top up their fortnightly Newstart payment, while host employers get $1000 for each person they accept.
Unions say the policy could lead to cheap interns replacing full-wage workers.
"This was a semi-serious way to raise awareness with students who will be the chief victims of this disastrous policy," Mr White told AAP on Monday.
He's directing people to contact Liberal senator Zed Seselja, the ACT's sole federal government representative, to discuss the scheme.
The UnionsACT flyers are part of a national union campaign against the program.
