Services to Indigenous job seekers 125-02010040

Indigenous job seekers represent some of the most highly vulnerable customers and many face significant participation barriers. For a variety of reasons, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander job seekers may have difficulty dealing with Employment Services Providers.

This applies to all Indigenous job seekers, including:

• those on income support payments with mutual obligation requirements
• those receiving income support payments with no mutual obligation requirements

For more information, see Identifying barriers to participation for Indigenous customers.

Services Australia will ensure that, at registration or re-registration, each Indigenous job seeker will receive assistance to facilitate the job seeker's earliest possible engagement with a local provider.

As each individual will have different needs for assistance, there will need to be a flexible approach. The range of assistance includes:

• identifying cultural barriers or obligations which may prevent or delay accessing assistance from Workforce Australia/CDP, and helping the job seeker to take steps to overcome these
• spending additional time at interview to ensure the job seeker is aware of the benefits and services offered from Workforce Australia/CDP, and ensuring the job seeker complies with their requirements
• arranging additional Indigenous seminars in areas where these seminars have proven to be of benefit in maintaining connection between Indigenous job seekers and the services offered from Workforce Australia/CDP
• liaising with Employment Services Providers to help to directly link the job seeker to the appropriate provider

The range of assistance which may be provided includes:

• Identifying cultural barriers or obligations which have contributed to the disconnection and helping to find ways to ensure the job seeker can remain engaged with the Employment Services Provider whilst meeting their own cultural obligations
• Identifying, through Workforce Australia/CDP meetings, ways in which Indigenous services can be improved
• Direct assistance (such as networking with the community to personally locate job seekers), where appropriate, to enable the job seeker to attend subsequent Workforce Australia/ CDP appointments and maintain contact with their provider

CDP provides an integrated and flexible approach to participation and employment services for job seekers living in 60 Department of Employment and Workplace Relations designated remote servicing regions.

In recognition of the diversity of its customer groups, Services Australia has a number of key advisory groups and service measures in place to promote and implement best practice on Indigenous services. These services are:

• Indigenous queues in the Smart Centre and Indigenous Service Officers often provide a first point of contact between Indigenous customers and Services Australia
• Indigenous Service Officers (ISOs) and Indigenous Program Support Managers (IPSMs) are located in most Service Zones. ISOs support local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to improve access to and understand our payments and services. They do this by establishing meaningful connections and effective working relationships through community engagement activities

At the Zone level, Services Australia will advise and involve Department of Employment and Workplace Relations liaison officers and Employment Services Providers, as appropriate, of impending visits to remote Indigenous communities.

Other community visits may also be undertaken with key Indigenous community organisations and to appropriate sites (for example, prisons) to promote the benefits and services available through Workforce Australia/CDP to the broader Indigenous community.