Jesuit Social Services welcomes the Australian Government’s commitment to reforming mainstream employment services. Drawing on nearly 50 years of experience supporting some of the most disadvantaged and marginalised members of the community—including over 8,000 jobseekers with complex barriers to employment since 2009—this submission outlines our vision for a person-centred, tailored and effective employment system.
Workforce Australia’s current market-based model and punitive mutual obligation framework has failed those most in need of support. To create lasting economic security and wellbeing, and build genuine work readiness, the future employment services system must shift from a model based on competition and compliance to one grounded in high-quality, relational support and partnerships between government, not-for-profit organisations, communities and employers.
Key recommendations detailed in this submission include:
- Urgently raise JobSeeker and related payments to at least $600 per week to ensure participants can afford basic necessities while preparing for and seeking employment.
- Abolish mutual obligation and the Targeted Compliance Framework and replace them with positive, voluntary engagement. Should mutual obligations be retained, they should be enforced directly by Services Australia rather than by providers, and must recognise non-vocational activities that build work readiness (e.g. housing support, mental health, or AOD treatment).
- Replace large-scale competitive tendering with collaborative, place-based commissioning. Provide upfront block funding to enable not-for-profit community-based and First Nations-led organisations to deliver tailored support.
- Transition to in-depth, in-person initial assessments conducted by skilled staff. Determine eligibility for intensive support according to individual need and consideration of how barriers to employment intersect—such as justice system contact, housing instability or intergenerational disadvantage—rather than rigid demographic categories.
- Embed links to specialist non-vocational supports alongside vocational training, work experience, and post-placement support – particularly for stream 3 – to address the root causes of unemployment and support sustained labour market engagement.
- Recognise and sustainably fund social enterprises, allowing them to provide supported work environments for complex cohorts. Introduce flexible wage subsidies and strengthen social procurement policies to support long-term job creation.
- Introduce mandatory provider registration against quality standards and establish a permanent Lived Experience Advisory Body within Workforce Australia to drive ongoing system improvements.
