Inquiry into Workforce Australia Employment Services

Submission 21

ParentsNext
Submission
NOVEMBER 2022
 Inquiry into Workforce Australia Employment Services
Submission 21

INTRODUCTION

Workskil Australia is a not-for-profit employment and community services organisation that operates across
South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Workskil Australia has delivered employment services for 36 years.

Workskil Australia is a ParentsNext Provider in two Employment Regions:

• North West Melbourne; and

• Inner Metropolitan Melbourne.

We currently support just over 900 ParentsNext Participants. A high proportion of the caseloads in both
Regions, that we support are refugee and recent migrant Parents. The program participants are 98%
female.

VIEWS ON PARENTSNEXT

Workskil Australia is supportive of the continuation of ParentsNext and believe it is a valuable and positive
program. We would support changes to some aspects of the Program.

The Program provides valuable support for parents of young children and babies in receipt of Government
payments.

The Program helps families to be successful, helping “They have helped me in more
predominantly women to become socially and financially ways than I could imagine” Current
independent. Workskil Australia, ParentsNext Participant Nov 22

The Program supports the safety of women, children and babies.

The Program is a relatively low-cost program, which generates improved productively for parents on
welfare, and reduces the risk of long-term welfare dependency.

The strengths of the Program include the:

• Participation Fund
• Participant led services (ParentsNext Advisory Committees)
• Increasing social connections for parents at home with young children
• Motivation and confidence of parents at home with young children
• Flexibility to provide broad vocational and non-vocational support, particularly,
• Domestic Violence support and

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Submission 21

• Parenting support.

Areas we would like to see changed include:

• Make ParentsNext voluntary for parents on welfare who have tertiary qualifications and a recent
work history. Some of these Participants are not getting value from the program.
• Change the eligibility scope of ParentsNext to not refer Participants whose children are under 12
months old. Many of these Participants are still on Parenting Leave at the time of referral and also
find it hard to participate.
• Greater scope for ParentsNext Providers to exit Participants from the Program. Currently there is no
option for Providers to exit inappropriate referrals, causing frustration for some Participants.
o Parents of children with high needs and need constant care, are often referred.
o Parents on Parenting Leave from their jobs.
• Greater flexibility to engage with customers virtually on occasion, rather than face to face, so
customers can engage easily with children and babies at home, reducing stress on Parents.
• Making Participants undertaking Activities more flexible and voluntary, rather than as a compliance
requirement. The services should be tailored to Participant needs, and at the pace they can
manage.

A survey of current Workskil Australia ParentsNext Participants was undertaken during November 2022
and this has informed our response.

Participation Fund

ParentsNext Participants see value in the Participation Fund to assist them.

In order of size of spend these are the most common items funded for ParentsNext participants by Workskil
Australia from July 2021 to October 2022 (16 months).

Driving Lessons
Accredited Training
Purchase of Lap Tops
Interpreter Services “Been helpful to get back to
Work Related Clothing and Items work and are still very helpful at
Professional Services – Counselling my every request” Current ParentsNext
Non-Accredited Training Participant Nov 22
Pre-Employment Checks
Education Assistance (paying for tertiary training)
Work Related Licences
Transport Assistance (including Fuel Vouchers)

Being able to support ParentsNext participants with education and work related costs, such as the above
should continue as a core component of any future program. One of the most common activities
coordinated for ParentsNext Providers is helping Participants to gain their car licences, particularly for

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refugee women. This is an activity that most participants can undertake, is greatly valued and this improves
Participant wellbeing, independence and employability.

A core offering of ParentsNext is quick and free access to professional counselling services. There is
currently significant wait times and cost associated with seeing psychologists and counsellors.

Domestic Violence Support

Approximately 8% of ParentsNext Participants disclose they are in a violent relationship. The compliance
aspect of the program, means partners/family members will let them attend/engage in the service, so
payments remain.

The Program provides significant support to Participants with regard to advice and support, referral to DV
agencies, culturally appropriate services and supports very vulnerable women and children.

Parenting Support

The program supports recently arrived refugees and migrants to understand how to engage with Services
Australia, how child care works as well as the role of pre-school and school.

We operate Play Groups each week in the program, helping many isolated women to bring their children
and form important social connections. Speakers attend these sessions to talk about different parenting
topics.

Perceived Value by Participants

A Workskil Australia survey conducted of Participants in the program conducted in November 2022 found
the following insights:

• 79% of Participants strongly agree or agree they are happy with the service they receive from
ParentsNext.

Of those 21% who do not see value in the program are:

• those referrals who have tertiary qualifications and a recent and high skilled work history;
• inappropriate referrals we are unable to exit from the program; and
• a small number of participants who do not see value in the program, nor agree with the compliance
components.

Feedback includes:
“ Thank you for funding my driving lessons”

“Helped me with goals and planning my future”

“ Good consulting support”

“Helped me with staying at school”

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“Helped me with setting goals and timelines to achieve those goals”

“Perfect”

“They help me to look for work and courses to study”

“To prepare for when I return to work and help me to want to do something good with my life”