Summary of

Better Futures, Local SolutionsMeasures – August 2011

Table of contents

Overview of Building Australia’s Future Workforce

Better Futures, Local Solutions Measures

Community Innovation Through Collaboration

Compulsory Participation Plans and Supports for Teenage Parents

Compulsory Participation Requirements for Jobless Families

Improved Services – Tailored Support For Job Seekers (Local Connections To Work)

Extension of Income Management

Overview of Building Australia’s Future Workforce

The Australian Government is committed to improving social inclusion and building Australia’s future workforce. One of its key objectives is to support communities, families and individuals, particularly those experiencing long-term social and economic disadvantage, to improve their own wellbeing.

With a strong focus on skills development and employment participation, the Building Australia’s Future Workforce package in the 2011-12 Budget invests $3billion over six years in skills and training initiatives to contribute to Australia’s future economic growth and prosperity.

Better Futures, Local Solutions Measures

A range of place based measures have been identified as part of the Building Australia’s Future Workforce package. These measure aim to improve the circumstances of some of the most disadvantaged members of society, by supporting their ability to gain, or prepare to eventually enter employment.

Ten local government areas have been selected as priority locations for the place based measures nationally. These locations are:

  • Playford in South Australia;
  • Hume and Greater Shepparton in Victoria;
  • Burnie in Tasmania;
  • Bankstown, Shellharbour and Wyong in New South Wales;
  • Logan Rockhampton in Queensland; and
  • Kwinana in Western Australia.

The measures involve extra responsibilities and more assistance for teenage parents on income support, jobless families and other vulnerable groups to support children and families, and help parents enter or return to the workforce.

The measures include new participation requirements for some parents receiving income support, expanded Communities for Children services and the introduction of income management in five of the ten locations.

Implementation is in its early stages. Rapid progression is occurring, and many developments have taken place to date.

Community Innovation Through Collaboration

The Government will provide $38.2million over four years to support the implementation and delivery of innovative local programs in ten targeted locations. This measure will boost engagement, capability and workforce participation among disadvantaged target groups.

The measure includes a $25million Local Solutions Fund which will make available for innovative projects that draw on local expertise, including from state, territory and local governments and the notforprofit and private sectors.

The measure will also fund Government Action Leaders(GALs) and Community Action Leaders(CALs) in each location. The GALs will be based in DHS Service Offices and will ensure that all employment and social participation initiatives are accessible to DHS clients in receipt of a Centrelink payment. CALs will be based in leading community organisations and will collaborate with GALs to ensure client’s needs are being met and that they are supported to meet their obligations.

10 GALs have been appointed and have taken up their positions in each location. They have undergone some training and are currently providing weekly reports highlighting any emerging issues.

The Government Action Leaders are Department of Human Services (DHS) employees based in each location and are responsible for coordination of services, implementation of package measures and working with the community to improve participation outcomes.This role will work with local community organisations to facilitate the identification of a Community Action Leader for each location and the establishment of a Local Advisory Group. They will have a particular focus on identifying new opportunities for coordinating and enhancing Australian government service offers.

The process for identifying CALs in each location is currently being developed. A CAL information pack is under construction which will outline the role of the CAL, the engagement and recruitment process.

The Community Action Leader will be employed by a community organisation and will help build community capacity, identify opportunities to improve service standards for Australian government service offers, and encourage and assist applicants to develop high quality applications for funding through the Local Solutions Fund. The CAL will work in partnership with the Government Action Leader and with members of the Local Advisory Group. They will be employed by a community organisation with experience in delivering local level community initiatives.

A National Place-Based Advisory Group and one Local Advisory Group in each of the ten locations will be established to draw on local intelligence, provide advice to government on best practice and identify and address systemic barriers to implementing local, tailored solutions that encourage participation.

In order to maximise good outcomes under this initiative and complementary measures, the Commonwealth Government is seeking to and has commenced:

  • engaging with state and local governments to avoid additional red tape by drawing links across existing governance structures , local processes, existing resources and services at the state and/or local level; and
  • working together with stakeholder departments and local stakeholders to develop protocols for effective and coordinated governance, information sharing and shared funding mechanisms.

Membership of the National Advisory Group and the Terms of Reference has been agreed and the first meeting is proposed for early/mid September.

A Local Advisory Group will be appointed for each location that will inform and advise government on the implementation of a place based approach and the state of services using local knowledge and understanding to prioritise local solutions. These groups will comprise ten to twelve community members with specific expertise in local issues relating to employment, education, families and early childhood learning. They will play a key role in providing advice to government about applications for funding to the Local Solutions Fund.

Community Innovation through Collaboration will be implemented in the ten locations.

Compulsory Participation Plans and Supports for Teenage Parents

From 1 January 2012, for the first time, Teenage parents accessing Parenting Payment will be required to attend six-monthly interviews with the Department of Human Services once their youngest child turns six months old.

From their youngest child’s first birthday, the interviews will be used to develop and implement a participation plan, which will include activities to improve education for themselves and their children.

These teenage parents will also be given support to help them meet these extra responsibilities and milestones, including:

  • support to access quality child care while they are studying or training with close to 100 per cent of their child care costs covered; and
  • support from Communities for Children services to help teens with their parenting responsibilities through playgroups, parenting education classes, mentoring and support groups as well as early learning programs.

Compulsory Participation Plans and Support for teenage parents will be implemented in the ten locations.

Compulsory Participation Requirements for Jobless Families

From 1 July 2012, parents who have been on income support for more than two years and are not working or studying or who are under 23 years and are not working or studying will be required to attend compulsory workshops and interviews with the Department of Human Services. During these workshops and interviews, parents will set participation goals and be supported in accessing services to overcome pre-vocational barriers to employment, encourage community engagement and to improve health and education outcomes for their children.

They will also have access to the Communities for Children program that will support their connection to childhood services and prepare their children for school, as well as additional childcare fee assistance for one year, as they establish themselves in the workforce.

Compulsory Participation Requirements for Jobless Families will be implemented in the ten locations.

Improved Services – Tailored Support For Job Seekers (Local Connections To Work)

Local Connections to Work is a place based approach from which highly disadvantaged job seekers and their families can benefit from better access to existing high quality services.

Local Connections to Work focuses on extremely long term unemployed job seekers disadvantaged youth. Local Connections to Work is also available to any customer in need, dependant on resources.

Commonwealth, State and local government services, Job Services Australia and other Employment Services Providers, education providers and community welfare and service organisations, join the Department of Human Services in providing better connection to, and linkages between services for disadvantaged job seekers. Customers can be serviced in one location either by on-site access or wrap around services including joint interviews with Department of Human Services and Employment Services Provider staff. Having community organisations provide their services from one location enables customers to more easily access the range of services they need and may assist in overcoming barriers to social inclusion and economic participation.

Assistance available may include:

  • Financial assistance;
  • Advocacy;
  • Housing services;
  • Employment services;
  • Health support services;
  • Education services;
  • Counselling services.

Where particular services are not available on site, job seekers will be assisted to connect with the required services as soon as possible.

Local Connections to Work is currently in nine sites across Australia. Local Connections to Work is located in two of the ten Local Government Areas – Playford in South Australia and Burnie in Tasmania.

Extension of Income Management

From 1 July 2012, the Government is introducing a place based targeted model of Income Management, supported by appropriate financial management support services, in five of the ten disadvantaged locations in Australia - with the aim of increasing social and economic participation.

Income Management will be implemented in the following five locations:

  • Bankstown in New South Wales
  • Logan and Rockhampton in Queensland
  • Playford in South Australia
  • Greater Shepparton in Victoria

From 1 July 2012, Income Management will apply to the following people, in the above locations:

  • parents referred for Income Management by state or territory child protection authorities;
  • people assessed by DHS Social Workers as being vulnerable to financial crisis, which could also include people referred by public housing authorities as they are at risk of homelessness due to rental arrears ; and
  • people who volunteer for Income Management.

Financial Management Support (FMS) services will be available in the ten locations, with intensive support available to people participating in the five place based Income Management locations. FMS services will assist Income Management customers to stabilise their existing financial issues through the development of budget and debt plans, and participation in financial literacy education.

PAGE 1 OF 6Summary of Better Futures, Local Solutions Budget Measures