Our Members see every day how people are held back by a system that too often measures compliance more effectively than it builds capability, confidence and connection to meaningful work.
From regional communities to specialist services, Members have long argued that a one-size-fits-all model does not reflect the realities people face.
The Federal Government’s proposed redesign is an important opportunity to respond to those concerns through more tailored, community-based support.
The move toward differentiated streams, stronger place-based responses and more individualised pathways reflects what our Members have been advocating for over many years. Members know that people facing entrenched disadvantage need responses that recognise complexity, reduce punitive approaches and draw on the strength of trusted community organisations.
Through Amplify Alliance’s participation in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ Employment Services Reform Advisory Group, that Member expertise is helping inform the broader reform discussion.
Importantly, reform must not become a redistribution exercise that shifts responsibility without adequately investing in the supports people need to succeed.
Long-term unemployment is rarely addressed through transactional servicing alone. People navigating disability, trauma, caring responsibilities, housing insecurity or prolonged disengagement from the labour market need sustained, relational support.
That takes time, workforce capability and proper funding. It takes the full suite of social and human service organisations to be engaged.
A critical part of reform will be how mutual obligations are redesigned.
For too long, parts of the system have prioritised compliance activity over genuine pathways to participation and employment. Mutual obligations should support engagement, build confidence and recognise individual circumstances, not operate as punitive mechanisms that push people further into disadvantage.
Reform must ensure that participation requirements are meaningful, proportionate and connected to realistic employment or participation goals. System design must also avoid creating additional barriers for people already experiencing vulnerability, financial insecurity or social exclusion.
A system intended to support participation cannot at the same time deepen hardship.
The Departmental discussion paper’s recognition of social enterprise and community-based approaches is welcome.
Social enterprises can provide important pathways into confidence-building, skills development and workforce participation, particularly for people who have been excluded from traditional labour markets.
But social enterprise is not a silver bullet to structural unemployment or deep disadvantage. It must sit alongside a broader ecosystem of supports, employers, specialist services and community organisations.
Equally concerning is the increasingly negative public discourse about employment providers.
While there are legitimate critiques of previous system settings, many community-based providers have delivered strong outcomes under difficult policy and funding conditions.
Across the country, our Members support people every day into employment, training, volunteering and community participation, often well beyond the scope of their contracts. Reform should build on this expertise, not diminish it.
We must also be honest about a broader truth: for some people, employment may not be the defining measure of contribution or inclusion in their lives.
A fair and compassionate society values participation in all its forms, including caring, volunteering, cultural leadership, community connection and social contribution. Policy settings must continue to recognise and support people whose pathways may not include sustained paid employment, while still ensuring dignity, participation and belonging.
As these reforms develop, maintaining diversity within the employment services ecosystem will be critical.
Different communities need different responses. Regional Australia, culturally diverse communities, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, specialist disability providers and local social enterprises all bring distinct capability and insight.
A more centralised or overly standardised model risks recreating the very failures reform is intended to address.
This is an important opportunity to redesign employment services around people, not processes. Our Members stand ready to contribute constructively to that work, bringing decades of experience supporting Australians whose pathways to participation are often complex, non-linear and deeply human.
We welcome further discussion about how reform can be designed to better reflect that reality.
To read about the reforms, please visit the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website.
Debra Cerasa is a purpose-driven CEO, Board Director and social sector advocate, known for leading with heart, building strong communities, and delivering transformational change across the Not for Profit human and social services sector.
