Australia

Social security is delivered in Australia at Commonwealth government through Centrelink under Services Australia, which has over 300 offices across the country. The Commonwealth government commissions employment programs for delivery across Australia. The six states and two territories are at liberty to commission their own individual employment programs to fill gaps in Commonwealth-commissioned services. Since the dismantling of the Commonwealth Employment Service and the privatisation of employment services in 1998 with Job Network, there have been several iterations of the Commonwealth employment services contract.

Currently, Workforce Australia is the employment service delivered by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR). In November 2023 the Select Committee Inquiry on Workforce Australia tabled its report recommending wide-ranging reforms to create a new employment services system in Australia. The Government is due to respond by the end of 2024. Notably, the employment services contract has no basis in legislation, it is purely a procurement arrangement.

Commissioning Departments

Since 2010 successive governments have changed the name and responsibilities of the Commonwealth commissioning department. Throughout this time the department has always retained responsibility for employment but education and business was added by particular administrations. However, these structural changes did not last long enough to make substantive differences to the department as an entity.

From 2007 to 2013 it was the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), renamed Department of Employment (DoE) in 2013-2017, then Department of Jobs and Small Business (DJSB) in 2017-2019, Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business (DESSFB) from 2019 to 2020, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) from 2020 to 2022 and from 2022 the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).

Disability Employment Services (DES) are commissioned by the Commonwealth government Department of Social Services (DSS). DES provides employment support for people with disability, injury or health conditions. However, eligibility is currently based on receipt of a relevant disability payment. The Disability Royal Commission has exposed that Australia has a long way to go in its treatment of people with disabilities both inside and outside of employment. In the October 2022 Commonwealth Budget, the Australian Government announced that it would develop a new specialist disability employment services model to replace the current DES Program from 1 July 2025. The existing DES program will be extended by two years.

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) commissions the Community Development Program introduced in 2015 designed to improve the outcomes in remote First Nations communities by increasing participation in work-like activities, improving employability and providing sustainable work transitions for participants. Prior to CDP was CDEP. The are many criticisms of CDP including of its mandating and approach. Attempts to assist First Nations communities into employment have also been undermined (PDF) by the Northern Territory Intervention in 2007 and ongoing systemic racism against First Nations communities. In February 2024 the Albanese Government announced a new Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program (RJED) to replace the ‘failed’ CDP.

Commonwealth Procurement Framework

The Commonwealth Procurement Framework is maintained by the Department of Finance, which outlines the principles and rules that guide the use of public funds for public procurement. There are three main components of the Commonwealth Procurement Framework and they are the 1) Commonwealth Procurement Rules, 2) Department of Finance procurement guidelines and resources, and 3) procurement connected policies.

The Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) serve as the foundation of the Commonwealth Procurement Framework. Non-corporate Commonwealth agencies must comply with the CPRs when purchasing goods and services. Commonwealth agencies need to comply with procurement connected policies (Indigenous Procurement Policy, Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles and User Guide, Australian industry Participation Plans for Government Procurement, Code for Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016) alongside the CPRs.

Indigenous Procurement Policy

The Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) is one of the procurement connected policies that Commonwealth agencies need to comply with. As part of the IPP, exemption 16 of the CPRs allows portfolios to procure directly with Indigenous SMEs as long as the business can demonstrate value for money. The IPP is meant to “stimulate Indigenous entrepreneurship, business and economic development, providing Indigenous Australians with more opportunities to participate in the economy”.

The IPP works through three main strategies. Firstly, there are annual targets are set for the volume and value of contracts that need to be awarded to Indigenous businesses by the Commonwealth and each Portfolio. Secondly, there are also Mandatory Set Aside requirements for procurements to be delivered in remote areas and all procurements in Australia that are between $80,000 and $200,000 in value.

This is where Indigenous businesses have to be given opportunities to demonstrate value for money before a general approach to market. Lastly, there are Mandatory Minimum Indigenous Participation Requirements that are applied to contracts valued at $7.5 million or more in 10 industries where there are Indigenous employment and business participation targets.