When you have been jobless for a period of time after having worked for a number of years and been laid off, or if you have never worked because of a sickness or disability, finding work is always a job in and of itself. This is especially true if you have been underemployed for a period of time.
It might be disheartening when you are desperately looking for job and are aware that you possess valuable abilities to offer, but you just can’t seem to find an employer who is prepared to give you a chance! Are you someone who fits this description? If so, you have probably heard about Workforce Australia by this point, and you are probably curious about what it is and what it might be able to do for you.
The names have been changed multiple times, and the whole thing might be a little bit complicated. Therefore, let’s start by defining the organization and learning about its history. This is because in order to properly grasp something, we need start with where it came from. Workforce Australia is a network of private, community, and local government organizations that have been contracted by the Australian government under the auspices of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to provide employment services to job seekers who are currently without employment and who are receiving income support payments from the government. Workforce Australia is funded by the Australian government.
Initially, the providers were chosen for the network and given business through a competitive public bidding procedure. The Australian government was responsible for defining the contract lengths, which ranged from a few months to several years. In the beginning, there were over one thousand locations all around Australia that provided work services. The individual who was looking for work had to be receiving income support payments that were qualified for the program in order to be eligible for assistance. These payments included the Youth Allowance, Parenting Payment, Newstart Allowance, and the Disability Support Pension.
In 1994, the Employment Services Act was passed by the Keating administration, which led to the establishment of the Employment Service Regulatory Agency, also known as ESRA.
The official policy paper entitled “Working Nation” indicates that ESRA was established in order “to promote the development of community and private sector case managers, and to ensure fair competition between the Commonwealth Employment Service, or CES, and other agencies.
” After that, this new legislation went on to establish what would later be known as Employment National, which would be responsible for taking over the duty that was initially assigned to the CES. During that time period, the CES was the place where practically all employment services that were supported by the federal government were obtained. However, as time went on, ESRA received a larger amount of funding to carry out the function.
The structural reforms that Keating had implemented were maintained by the newly elected Howard government in 1996. 1998 marked the year when the CES was dissolved, and the surviving employment services were transferred to ESRA, which subsequently changed its name to Job Network. It was under the Rudd administration that Job Network was rebranded as Job seeking Services Australia.
In 2009, the Abbott administration changed the name of the program to “jobactive” in 2015.We stated that everything was a little bit confused! After that, in the year 2022, the New Employment Services Model took the place of the jobactive network, which ultimately led to the establishment of WorkForce Australia as it exists today!
The “Points Based Activation System” is another name for the web-based self-service responsibilities approach that is utilized by the current system. Applicants for jobs are required to accumulate a total of one hundred points each month, with each and every job application that is submitted counting as five points. During this time, you will be required to submit applications for twenty different positions each month; however, you will be compensated with a stipend that will assist you in your search for employment.
Happy job hunting and best of luck to you!
