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Initiatives targeting Recommendation 18CommonwealthDeadly Vibe promotions The promotion of the National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, Indigenous education programmes and the Ambassadors Programme through a targeted Indigenous youth magazine. The magazine assists to increase the awareness of these policies and programmes to the wider Indigenous community, educators and students. Target Group: Indigenous young people Coverage: National. Timeframe: August 2000 - August 2002 Contact: Branch Manager Website: www.vibe.com.au Responsible Agency: Department of Education, Science and Training ECEF - WADU Indigenous Youth Partnerships Initiatives The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) has provided funding to the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation (ECEF) to manage and deliver the Wadu Indigenous Youth Partnership Initiative (IYIP) from June 2000 to the end of 2002. IYPI builds onto ECEF's existing Wadu strategy. Wadu IYPI is addressing young Indigenous people's relative disadvantage in education, training and employment. This involves a 'whole of community' approach to supporting Indigenous youth to remain at or return to school, and provides a reliable pathway from schooling to training and employment and onto independence. IYPI complements and forms part of the broader Federal Government's National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. To May 2002, twenty IYPI projects had been run nation-wide with the two most recent additions being in the Cape York and Newcastle regions under a model of collaboration between ECEF, DEST, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), Family and Community Services (FaCS) and the Department of Health and Ageing. Target Group: Indigenous Young People Coverage: National Timeframe: June 2000 - December 2002 Contact: Branch Manager Website: http://www.ecef.com.au/web/km/kmgateway.nsf/ECEF/WADU_Resource4ZLA3B Responsible Agency: Department of Education, Science and Training, through the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation CROC Eisteddfod Festivals Two to three day events that primarily promote a drug and alcohol free environment, and provide an opportunity for sponsors to conduct career marketing expos. Target Group: Indigenous Young People Coverage: In 2002 seven festivals have been proposed at Weipa, Nhulunbuy, Kununurra, Kalgoorlie, Port Augusta, Swan Hill and Moree. Timeframe: Funded on a yearly basis Contact: Branch Manager Website: www.crocfestivals.org.au Responsible Agency: Department of Education, Science and Training The Government's civics and citizenship education programme, Discovering Democracy, aims to help students understand Australia's democratic heritage, the operation of our political and legal system and the principles that support Australian democracy and civic life. Discovering Democracy supports the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century agreed by all Education Ministers in Australia. These state, in part, that students, when they leave school, should "be active and informed citizens with an understanding and appreciation of Australia's system of government and civic life. Discovering Democracy includes funding for curriculum resources, teacher professional development and strategic national activities. Target Group: Primary and secondary school students (particularly students in Years 4-10). Geographical Coverage: National Timeframe: May 1997-June 2004 Contact details: Initiative Website address: http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au Responsible agency: Department of Education, Science and Training Stronger Families and Communities Strategy The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy is a program intended to strengthen local communities and families through a range of linked initiatives. Youth are targeted under the Strategy, particularly through the following measures:
53 local projects directly benefit young people. These projects have been funded under the Potential Leaders initiative (19 projects), the Local Solutions initiative (16 projects) and Early Intervention Parenting and Family Relationship Support (11 projects). The 53 projects also include 6 projects of national significance. Target Group: Families and communities generally, youth are targeted as described above. Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au/sfcs/index.htm Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services National Youth Week National Youth Week is an annual Commonwealth, State and Territory Government youth initiative, coordinated by the Youth Bureau in collaboration with the departments responsible for youth affairs in all States and Territories. The theme of National Youth Week (NYW) is to "celebrate and recognise the value of all young Australians to their communities". In pursuit of this theme, NYW aims to:
The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) delegated responsibility for the planning, development and delivery of NYW to a National Planning Group (NPG), which consists of youth affairs officers representing the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments. At a national level, to ensure youth participation in the planning and development of NYW, six National Youth Representatives are also appointed to the NPG. These young people play a vital role in directing the shape and success of NYW and ensuring the relevance and vitality of events and activities. The national website (www.youthweek.com) is the focal point for major NYW activities including: four national online talent competitions, RockIT (music), WriteIT (writing), ShootIT (video) and DesignIT (digital art); chat sessions with young Australian achievers; the chance to win prizes in the 'Win Free Stuff' competitions; online polls; messages from all Youth Ministers; and a comprehensive calendar of events and activities held within every State and Territory. The Youth Bureau's Multi Media Unit plays an integral part in the development and support of the above activities to achieve a seamless and high quality product. The Commonwealth is seeking to build on the success of NYW 2002 and maximise the positive outcomes to deliver an enhanced event in 2003. The fourth NYW will be held in April 2003. Target Group: Young people Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.youthweek.com Responsible agency: Family and Community Services Australians Working Together - Helping people to move forward is a major package of initiatives offering significant support and services to help people to help themselves. Young job seekers will benefit from many Australians Working Together (AWT) initiatives announced in the 2001-02 Budget. Young people will also benefit from the improvements to employment services under AWT. AWT builds on the Government's employment assistance and mutual obligation policies that have attracted widespread support amongst participants and the broader community. The new system is providing improved personalised assessment and service, more opportunities for training and work experience, better incentives, and reasonable requirements for people to find work, increase their earnings or contribute to their communities. Centrelink will be the gateway to the new system. Centrelink Personal Advisers will provide a high level of service to people needing additional help to overcome personal or other barriers. Under AWT young people will have access to more places in Literacy and Numeracy Training, Job Search Training, and Work for the Dole and can earn Training Credits by participating in Work for the Dole and Community Work. Vulnerable and at risk young people will benefit from the better assessment processes in Intensive Assistance and the linkages between Intensive Assistance and other programmes. Young people will also benefit from other initiatives such as the Working Credit (which encourages people on income support to take up full-time, substantial part-time or casual work) and the new Personal Support Programme (designed to help people with problems such as homelessness, and drug and alcohol addiction) that replaces the Community Support Programme. Coverage: National Timeframe: July 2001 - June 2005 Contact details: together@dewrsb.gov.au Initiative Website address: http://www.together.gov.au/ Responsible Agency: Shared policy responsibility between Family and Community Services, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and Department of Education, Science and Training 'Reconnect' (formerly Youth Homelessness Early Intervention Program) Reconnect provides early intervention support to young people aged 12 to 18 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and their families. The objectives of Reconnect is to improve the level of engagement of homeless young people, or those at risk of homelessness, with family, work, education, training and the community. As at March 2002, 93 Reconnect services are operating nationally and a further 7 are being established through community development processes. This will bring the total number of Reconnect services to 100. Six Reconnect services specifically focus on Indigenous young people, their families and communities. The Department is working with an additional seven Indigenous communities in remote, rural and metropolitan areas to establish specific services to address the needs of local young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families Target Group: Young people aged 12 to 18 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and their families Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Youth Activities Services Program The Youth Activities Services Program consists of Youth Activities Services (YAS) and YAS Family Liaison Workers (FLW.) The YAS provide activities, generally after school, to adolescents living in disadvantaged areas. The YAS program supports young people and their families through offering positive peer support and creative and challenging alternatives to activities that place young people at risk. The program helps to prevent young people from developing and continuing with patterns of behaviour that place them at risk of disconnecting from their families and community and which may have long term effects on their family relationships, schooling and labour force participation. The FLW program supports young people and their families by helping them deal with issues affecting their well being as a family through offering positive practical support and guidance. The FLW fills an identified service gap between YAS and other intensive support and counselling services currently available Target Group: Young people aged 11-16 years living in disadvantaged areas, who still live at home and attend school. 19 YAS/FLW services identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people as their target group. Coverage: There are 90 YAS and 83 FLWs across Australia Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/aboutfacs/programs/youth-yas_flw_good_practice.htm Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Innovative and Collaborative Youth Servicing Pilots (ICYS) The ICYS Pilot Projects will promote more effective collaboration among service providers at the local community level and encourage greater ownership and accountability by communities for initiatives designed to assist young people. Projects will be required to test avenues of cooperation between and across Commonwealth/State/local government policies and programmes and community initiatives in order to deliver more effective services and improved outcomes for young people. Target Group: Young people aged 12-25 are the target group for the pilots, although variation to the age range will be considered in response to local conditions. Coverage: Around 25 pilots in a variety of urban, rural and remote locations will be funded across Australia. Timeframe: Pilots are planned to commence in May/June 2002 Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Job Placement, Employment and Training Programme (JPET) JPET provides a holistic approach to assisting young people overcome problems preventing them from maintaining stable accommodation and entering into full-time education, training or employment. JPET offers ongoing support and referral services to young people to help them overcome a range of problems, including housing, substance abuse, family difficulties, sexual or other abuse, lack of self esteem, income support, and other barriers to employment, education or training. The most common strategies implemented across all target groups were personal support, job search assistance and training assistance. Income advocacy and financial assistance were also common strategies; Target Group: JPET assists students and unemployed young people between 15-21 years who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless (with priority to be given to those aged 15-19 and to homeless young people). Assistance is also provided to young people who are/or have been wards of the State, are refugees or have been in the juvenile justice system. Coverage: 136 agencies are contracted to deliver services throughout Australia Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: http://jpet.facs.gov.au/ Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services The Mentor Marketplace The goal of Mentor Marketplace is to assist young people realise their full potential by:
The Mentor Marketplace will complement existing programs being run primarily by the community sector (often in cooperation with business and only sometimes with government funding) and will consist of two elements:
Mentors will be selected using processes already established by community organisations, including obligatory interviews and police checks. On a service delivery level, the Commonwealth will work with key non-government organisations to implement this initiative. As part of this process, a consultative seminar was held in August 2001 with non government agencies involved in mentoring, such as Dusseldorp, The Smith Family, BigHart, The Salvation Army, Bank of Ideas, to name only a few. It resulted in a range of ideas on what works well in mentoring and suggestions on the role the Government could most usefully play in delivering the Mentor Marketplace program. Similar meetings with business are planned to be held over the coming months to forge closer cooperation with business in relation to youth issues and stimulate interest within business around mentoring in general and the Mentor Marketplace initiative in particular. Target Group: Young people who need assistance/ encouragement to stay connected to family, education, training and the workplace. Coverage: National Timeframe: 2002/03 Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Under Australians Working Together a range of initiatives will be available to those young jobseekers that are indigenous or have special needs. AWT draws on Centrelink's capability to provide a range of assessment tools and its brokering role to assist individuals to improve their economic and social participation in the community. It is recognised that a vast majority of programs are delivered by non-government organisations. A major change with the implementation of AWT is the introduction of 850 new Centrelink Personal Advisers, in order to ensure people's needs are assessed better, so that they get the right assistance. Centrelink Personal Advisers will provide extra help to assist some young people with special needs to get a job or participate as possible in their community. This will involve the formation of partnerships with non-government groups, outside experts and its customers to provide the right help. Target Group: Various Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.centrelink.gov.au/ Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services and Centrelink National Awards for Local Government - Youth Services Category The National Awards for Innovation in Local Government foster and acknowledge innovation and leading practice in local government. The awards identify and reward local government bodies, associations and other collaborating organisations who are developing and implementing innovative, resourceful practices that improve local government outcomes and help build sustainable Australian communities. The Youth Services Category Award acknowledges innovation and excellence in the provision of youth services and amenities with an emphasis on the degree to which young people are actively engaged in their communities and encouraged to participate in policy decision-making that affects them. The Award showcases innovations and excellence that benefit young Australians where they live, study, work and play. It also highlights projects that help young people participate actively in their communities and in the democratic institutions that service those communities as respected young citizens. Target Group: Local government organisations. Coverage: National Websites: www.facs.gov.au and www.dotrs.gov.au Responsible Agencies: Department of Family and Community Services and Department of Transport and Regional Services Australians Working Together - Better Assessment and Early Intervention The Better Assessment and Early Intervention measure provides for a greater focus on the assessment of work capacity, and the identification of early interventions with a view to maximising social and economic participation, for people who are sick, injured or have a disability. The focus will be on what people can do rather than what they cannot do, and on encouraging people to be active and get involved. This approach is consistent with the over-arching goals of the Australians Working Together Package. Other aspects of the package, such as the introduction of Working Credit, the creation of 17,300 additional disability employment assistance places, 11,000 rehabilitation places and 5,200 vocational education and training places will complement this measure. This initiative aims to strengthen the focus on the assessment of work capacity for Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers, and Newstart/Youth Allowance/Other customers who are temporarily incapacitated. It recognises that the current medical model of assessment may not be the best way to assess and enhance people's capacity for work, and represents a first step in the introduction of expert work capacity assessments for this purpose. The new assessment arrangements, to be introduced in September 2002, will provide an integrated process that informs determinations of income support eligibility, and helps to identify appropriate early interventions (such as rehabilitation and disability employment assistance), with a view to minimising welfare dependence wherever possible. The measure recognises that work capacity assessments and referrals to services should be targeted to customers who are most likely to benefit from early intervention - that is, those who are likely to establish or maintain workforce attachment with this assistance. Contact details: Website: www.together.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Preparing for Work Agreements All job seekers claiming Newstart or Youth Allowance (other) must negotiate and sign a Preparing for Work Agreement with Centrelink. The Preparing for Work Agreement is designed to give job seekers a plan of action tailored for their individual circumstances. The agreement also allows job seekers to be referred more quickly to the various mutual obligation programmes as they become eligible. The Preparing for Work Agreement is an activity agreement under the Social Security Act 1991 and as such applies to those people in receipt of Newstart or Youth Allowance (other). A wide range of activities may be included in a Preparing for Work Agreement. These activities may include, minimum job search requirements, job seeker diary lodgement, Work for the Dole, Intensive Assistance, Literacy and Numeracy Training, part time work, part-time study and voluntary work. Target Group: All job seekers Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agencies: Department of Family and Community Services and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Mutual obligation applies to all job seekers who are receiving unemployment payments (Newstart and Youth Allowance (other)). In particular, job seekers aged 18 to 24 years who have been on unemployment payments for 6 months, and those aged 25 to -34 years who have been on unemployment payments for 12 months. From 1 July 2002 all job seekers aged between 18 and 49 years will be required to nominate a mutual obligation activity at the six month point of their unemployment. Since 1 July 2000, job seekers have been required to enter into a Preparing for Work Agreement when they claim unemployment payments. As part of the Preparing for Work Agreement, job seekers are required to nominate which mutual obligation activity they will undertake when they have been unemployed for six months. The list of activities available includes, part-time work, Work for the Dole, and Literacy and Numeracy training. Target Group: Job seekers in receipt of an unemployment payment aged 18 to 34 years (18-49 years from July 2002) Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Shared policy responsibility between Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Department of Family and Community Services and the Department of Education, Science and Training. Australians Working Together - Work for the Dole The main objective of the Work for the Dole programme is to give unemployed people worthwhile work experience opportunities in projects of value to local communities. A secondary objective of the programme is to allow unemployed people to satisfy their mutual obligation in return for their unemployment payments, by giving something back to the community which supports them. The Government's mutual obligation policy encourages more active job search and participation in activities which improve their work skills and habits. Under Australians Working Together there will be an additional 16,500 Work for the Dole places for 2002 to 2005 for job seekers through Community Work Coordinators. Each participant will receive personal training that covers resume development, providing written references and updating job seeker skills in the last week of Work for the Dole. Training credits, of up to $800 are also being introduced for job seekers who meet minimum attendance and participation requirements. Training Credits can be used to pay for vocational training. Target Group: Certain types of job seekers may be required to participate in Work for the Dole, if they are not fulfilling their mutual obligation through other means, for six months in each twelve months that they remain eligible. The following people may be required to participate in Work for the Dole if they are on the full rate of unemployment payments:
From 1 July 2002, for job seekers 18-49 years, Mutual Obligation applies after 6 months on unemployment payments. For 18-39 year olds, Work for the Dole will be mandatory if they do not participate in another Mutual Obligation activity. For job seekers aged 40-49 years, participation in Work for the Dole will be voluntary. Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Website: www.dewr.gov.au Responsible Agency: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Australians Working Together - Community Work The Community Work Programme aims to improve eligible job seekers work skills and work experience by actively engaging them with their local labour market and community. Community Work is voluntary work undertaken by job seekers who are registered with and monitored by a Community Work Coordinator. It should be of benefit to the community and the Community Work participant. From 1 July 2002, job seekers will be able to elect to participate in Community Work to fulfil their Mutual Obligation. Job seekers that elect to participate in Community Work gain valuable work experience and on the job training. The purpose of this work experience and training is to improve the job seekers employment prospects. Each participant will receive personal training that covers resume development, providing written references and updating job seeker skills. Training credits, of up to $800 are also being introduced for job seekers who meet minimum attendance and participation requirements. Target Group: All job seekers Timeframe: From 1 July 2002 Website: www.dewr.gov.au Responsible Agency: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth Health A number of specific programs or components of programs address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth health issues at the population health, community, and family level. These programs include:
Target Group: Indigenous young people in general and those at risk of drug and alcohol use, and the broader Indigenous community. Coverage: Timeframe: Responsible Agency: Department of Health and Ageing Website: www.health.gov.au National Crime Prevention Program The National Crime Prevention Program's objectives are to identify and promote innovative ways of reducing and preventing crime and the fear of crime. The program includes both research and practical initiatives including national pilot projects, local prevention activities and communication and training initiatives. Priority issues include property crime; domestic and family violence and violence in Indigenous communities. A significant proportion of National Crime Prevention Program (NCP) funding is for early intervention initiatives with young people and their families under the Youth Crime and Families Strategy. National projects focusing on young people include those addressing public space, public events, domestic violence, truancy, bullying, early intervention and homeless youth. Research reports are already available on the domestic violence, early intervention, homelessness and use of public space. To date key youth related initiatives under the programme include:
Target Groups: The target groups vary from project to project. Coverage: National Timeframe: 2000 - 2003 Responsible Agency: Attorney-General's Department Website: www.ags.gov.au |
