Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Australia (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes the observations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) received on 4 October 2017. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Employment services. The Committee notes three main employment service programmes. The Government indicates the commencement of the Jobactive programme and the Community Development Programme (CDP) on 1 July 2015. Jobactive replaced Job Services Australia and aims to better meet the needs of jobseekers, employers and providers through stronger workforce participation. In March 2017, Jobactive had 746,757 participants. The CDP replaced the Remote Jobs and Community Programme and aims to provide assistance to remote jobseekers by focusing on local decision-making and solutions. The Committee notes that from July 2018 the Government aims to introduce changes to the Disability Employment Services (DES) which continue to provide specialized employment services for persons with disabilities. The Committee refers to its direct request on the application of the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), where it notes in detail the employment service policy of the Government. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effects of the changes to employment services with regard to the objectives of the Convention.

Education and training policies. The Government indicates that it provides significant financial support for vocational education and training. In this respect, it has committed US$1.75 billion over five years from 2012 to drive reform of the training system through the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform and it commits to payments of US$1.4 billion per year associated with the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development. The Committee notes that the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services are an important part of the Australian vocational education and training system. As at December 2016, there were 265,000 apprentices or trainees in training, of whom 65.1 per cent were under the age of 25. In 2015, 82.2 per cent of graduates who undertook their training as part of an apprenticeship or traineeship were employed after training. The Committee also notes that the Queensland Government’s annual Vocational Education and Training Investment Plan provides funding for several programmes supporting training such as the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative, and the Certificate 3 Guarantee, Higher Level Skills and User Choice Programmes. Furthermore, the South Australian Government’s WorkReady policy offers subsidized vocational education and skills development opportunities across a broad range of qualifications. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in the area of education and training policies, including apprenticeships, and on their relation to prospective employment opportunities.

Persons with disabilities. The labour force participation rate for persons with disabilities has remained stagnant for the past 20 years, estimated at 53 per cent. The Committee notes that all three employment services programmes aim at assisting persons with disabilities into employment. In March 2017, 26 per cent of Jobactive participants were persons with disabilities. Starting in 2010, the DES has achieved around 360,000 job placements and about 220,000 employment outcomes lasting at least six months. To improve the labour force participation rates of individuals with disabilities, the Government will introduce the new DES on 1 July 2018, following extensive sector consultations in 2015 and 2016. The Committee notes the establishment of the Disability Employment Taskforce which is mandated to develop a new National Disability Employment Framework. The Committee also notes the introduction of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which, in close coordination with the DES, is expected to contribute to increasing the workforce participation of persons with disabilities. In addition, a number of other programmes and services exist to engage employers to employ more persons with disabilities, such as the National Disability Recruitment Coordinator, the Australian JobAccess and the Australian Disability Enterprises. The Employment Assistance Fund encourages and supports the employment of eligible persons with disabilities by providing financial assistance to purchase a range of work-related services. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on labour market measures regarding workers with disabilities and evaluation data on the DES. The Committee would welcome examining in the Government’s next report on the application of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159), information on the impact of the measures regarding persons with disabilities in the open labour market.

Older workers and women. Although the unemployment rate for older workers, at 3.4 per cent, is much lower than other age cohorts, older people continue to experience great difficulty in finding subsequent employment and are more likely to become long-term unemployed when compared with their younger cohorts. The Committee notes that the Government introduced additional assistance for mature age jobseekers in the 2017–18 budget through enhancements to existing programmes and the introduction of new programmes, such as the Career Transition Assistance Programme, several Pathway to Work pilots and the expansion of the National Work Experience Programme. The Australian Government provides increased support for training, work experience opportunities and linkages to employers and it is encouraging businesses to recognize the benefits that mature age people bring to the workforce. Since the Restart Programme commenced on 1 July 2014, there were over 14,500 job placements with a Restart wage subsidy as at June 2017. Furthermore, over 40.2 per cent of mature age jobseekers who participated in the first year of Jobactive were in employment three months later. The Committee notes that the Queensland Government has a number of programmes to support employment levels of older workers, including the Back to Work Regional Employment Package, Skilling Queenslanders for Work and Community Learning. The South Australian Government assists mature age workers and jobseekers through the delivery of training opportunities, skills and employment initiatives. The Committee notes that the female unemployment rate has fallen from 6 per cent in May 2014, to 5.6 per cent in May 2017. Support to female jobseekers is provided through Jobactive, complemented by the ParentsNext programme and Launch into Work. Jobactive has achieved 276,690 job placements for female jobseekers since its commencement. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to encourage and support employment levels of older workers and women.

Indigenous peoples. Indigenous Australians experience low labour force participation and employment rate, and high unemployment rates, compared to the rest of the Australian population. Between 2008 and 2014–15, the indigenous employment gap widened with the indigenous employment rate falling from 53.8 per cent to 48.4 per cent and the non-indigenous employment rate falling from 75 per cent in 2008 to 72.6 per cent. The Committee notes that indigenous jobseekers are more heavily represented in regional and remote employment service areas than in metropolitan areas. Remote locations feature weaker labour markets with fewer employment opportunities. In 2014–15, under half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in very remote areas were participating in the labour force, compared with 67.1 per cent of indigenous people in the major cities. In the 2017–18 budget, the Government announced a US$55.7 million new investment to accelerate progress towards achieving parity in employment outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, as part of the Closing the Gap – Employment Services package. The Closing the Gap – Employment Services package will provide, inter alia, access to intensive servicing through the Transition to Work programme for all indigenous youth who are not in work or study and immediate access to wage subsidies for indigenous jobseekers. The Government refers to the Prison to Work Employment Service which provides pre-employment assistance to indigenous prisoners, and to a number of new programmes which aim to help young indigenous jobseekers such as the YOUth initiatives, Youth Jobs PaTH, Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment and the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS). ParentsNext aims to increase labour force participation among indigenous parents. Jobactive aims, inter alia, at increasing indigenous employment outcomes and, in its first 21 months, achieved around 53,800 job placements for indigenous jobseekers. Furthermore, the Committee notes the Youth Employment Program of the Queensland Government which during 2015–16 facilitated 1,021 jobs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jobseekers across Queensland, and the Training Together – Working Together Aboriginal workforce development strategy of Western Australia. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to increase employment opportunities for indigenous Australians. The Committee also requests the Government to include information on the review of the employment and training initiatives in this regard.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of policies. The Government indicates that the Department of Employment has conducted extensive consultations on the implementation of the Jobactive programme. The Government further indicates that it has special consultation arrangements in place relating to issues affecting persons with disabilities and jobseekers in remote areas and refers to the ongoing consultation on the CDP. Furthermore, the Disability Employment Taskforce led two rounds of public consultation in 2015, the feedback from which will be used for the development of a new National Disability Employment Framework. Furthermore, the Committee notes the establishment of the Queensland Industrial Relations Consultative Committee which discusses changes to industrial relations issues, and the establishment of the Training and Skills Commission of the South Australian Government which consults with employers’, employees’ and community organizations. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the views of employers, workers and other affected groups are taken sufficiently into account in the development, implementation and review of employment policies and programmes.