Time to Work Employment Service (TWES) 125-19092604

TWES is a national, in-prison programme, that focuses on pre-release services for adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. TWES assists adult, sentenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners to access the support they need to better prepare them to reintegrate into the community and find employment following release from prison.

TWES aims to improve the timeliness, coordination, appropriateness and quality of employment services provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait prisoners, providing each participant with a tailored Transition Plan and facilitated transfer to their post-release Employment Services Provider, where possible.

As TWES is a pre-release programme, it is not designed to find jobs for participants and operates separately from other employment services.

Community Development Program (CDP) TWES providers service 8 remote prisons that are managed by the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

From 30 June 2024 TWES ceased in non-remote areas.

The role of Services Australia in servicing pre-release prisoners who have participated in TWES is different to servicing pre-release prisoners who are not TWES participants.

Where a prisoner has volunteered to be a TWES participant, the TWES provider will conduct the Job Seeker Snapshot and arrange for an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) where possible.

Services Australia will conduct the ESAt where access can be arranged prior to release.

As part of the pre-release interview, where the Job Seeker Snapshot and the ESAt have been completed, Services Australia staff are required to make the referral to the post-release Employment Services Provider where possible. The Process page contains information about TWES servicing.

The TWES programme consists of:

• face-to-face, in-prison employment servicing by a TWES provider, including the Job Seeker Snapshot
• offer for referral to an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) to identify employment-related support requirements or barriers, regardless of the outcome of the Job Seeker Snapshot
• a Transition Plan, developed with the TWES provider, incorporating activities to address and/or acknowledge these barriers identified in the Job Seeker Snapshot and Employment Services Assessment (ESAt), and
• where possible, a facilitated transfer of the participant by the TWES provider to a post-release Employment Services Provider

All components of the TWES programme are voluntary and a participant may withdraw from the program at any time by advising their TWES provider that they no longer want to participate. This will not have any impact on future claims or income support payments.

Where a TWES participant withdraws from the program prior to release, they are treated the same as any other prisoner who has not participated in TWES.

To participate, a prisoner must be:

• self-identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (no proof of ancestry required),
• 18 years of age or over, and
• sentenced, with 3-4 months (and not less than 2 months) remaining before their earliest possible release date

Pre-release, the TWES participation indicator is found in the Participation Summary screen, under Job Seeker Registration Information. Once they have been released and a provider referred actioned, the post-release Employment Services Provider details will display here.

TWES providers are Employment Services Providers who connect with participants face-to-face in prisons to provide in-prison employment services.

Although a Commonwealth program, participating prisons are run by the State and Territory governments and private organisations. There are local variations to how the program is delivered, between States and Territories, and sometimes between different prisons within the same State or Territory.

Services Australia staff must not answer any enquiries from TWES providers. The Resources page contains information that Services Australia staff can use when contacted by TWES providers.

TWES providers conduct a Job Seeker Snapshot with the TWES participant. This Job Seeker Snapshot contains the following additional questions specific to TWES participants:

• Do you still have the paperwork for your qualification?
• Would you still like to work in a job where you can use the skills you learnt?
• Are you eligible to get a driver's license?
• Is your car/motorcycle registered and roadworthy?

Where the TWES provider has conducted the Job Seeker Snapshot, the agency is not required to conduct the Job Seeker Snapshot as part of the pre-release interview or as part of the post release claim process, unless the agency staff member identifies there has been a change of circumstances since the Job Seeker Snapshot was conducted, other than prison release.

Regardless of the outcome of the Job Seeker Snapshot, all TWES participants are offered a referral to the agency for an ESAt.

Where a participant agrees to undergo an ESAt, the TWES provider is responsible for:

• obtaining medical evidence and providing it to Services Australia, and
• arranging the ESAt appointment

Services Australia is responsible for:

• conducting the ESAt with the participant, via telephone where possible, and
• submitting the ESAt report

Once the ESAt report is finalised in Services Australia's system, the TWES provider is notified of the recommendations via the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations IT System.

Where an ESAt has been conducted through the TWES programme, another ESAt is not necessary as part of the post-release claim process, unless there has been a significant change in circumstances, other than prison release, which will change the outcome of the ESAt.

A service officer in Face to Face Incarcerated Customer Servicing team conducts the pre-release interview with TWES participants up to 21 business days before the participant's release from prison, and where servicing can be arranged prior to release occurring.

The pre-release interview is conducted using the standard methods for that prison and/or zone. During the pre-release interview, in addition to routine procedures, the service officer in Face to Face Incarcerated Customer Servicing team uses information from the Job Seeker Snapshot and ESAt to refer TWES participants to an appropriate post-release Employment Services Provider.

Pre-release interview not completed

Where a pre-release interview was not completed and/or a referral to a provider was not made at the pre-release interview, the referral should be completed as part of the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow when the job seeker makes contact post-release.

If a job seeker recently released from prison participated in TWES, they are not eligible for a Major Personal Crisis (MPC) exemption solely on the basis of prison release. See Mutual obligation requirement exemptions and Exemptions from mutual obligation requirements for prison release customers.