Transition to Work 2016-2020

Request for Proposal

Question and Answers

Table of Contents

1. Transition to Work.............................................................................................................................2

2. Organisation Eligibility.......................................................................................................................6

3. Participant Eligibility........................................................................................................................10

4. Participation....................................................................................................................................12

5. Start-Up Caseload............................................................................................................................17

6. Caseload..........................................................................................................................................17

7. Referrals..........................................................................................................................................20

8. Servicing..........................................................................................................................................24

9. Delivery Area and Service Coverage................................................................................................30

10. Payments.......................................................................................................................................39

11. Wage Subsidies..............................................................................................................................46

12. Utilisation of Places.......................................................................................................................49

13. Outcome Performance Targets......................................................................................................54

14. Quality and Performance...............................................................................................................65

15. Department’s IT Systems...............................................................................................................66

16. Selection Criteria...........................................................................................................................69

17. Procurement..................................................................................................................................72

18. Deed..............................................................................................................................................88

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1. Transition to Work

1.1. What is Transition to Work?

The Transition to Work service will provide intensive, pre-employment support to improve the work readiness of young people aged 15–21 to help them into work or education.

The new service has a strong focus on helping young people to understand what is expected in the workplace and to develop the skills and behaviours required by employers. It will operate as a separate service to the Government’s mainstream employment service known as jobactive and targeted employment services such as the Disability Employment Service and the Community Development Programme.

Transition to Work will help around 29,000 young people each year who face a difficult transition to work and increased risk of long-term unemployment.

Transition to Work will be delivered by organisations with strong employer links and demonstrated expertise in working with young people and achieving employment and education outcomes.

1.2. How long will it take to set up?

Transition to Work services will commence from January 2016 through to April 2016 on a rolling basis. Priority areas will be identified and providers who are able to leverage existing resources will be encouraged to commence as soon as possible.

1.3. How is this service different from other services already available?

Transition to Work is designed to support a small targeted cohort of young people, particularly early school leavers with a high risk of long-term unemployment. The Transition to Work service will provide intensive, pre-employment support to improve the work readiness of young people aged 15–21 to help them into work or education.

1.4. What are the major differences between jobactive and Transition to Work?

Transition to Work is a very different service from jobactive. Transition to Work specifically targets young people, particularly early school leavers who require intensive support to address the significant barriers they have to entering and maintaining employment. Transition to Work has a significant upfront payment and Providers of this service will have experience working with disengaged youth.

1.5. How does Transition to Work interact with jobactive?

Transition to Work will operate as a separate service to the Government’s mainstream employment service, jobactive. Transition to Work providers and jobactive providers will be expected to cooperate in helping young Participants move between the two services when required.

1.6. How does Transition to Work interact with Disability Employment Services?

In terms of participation in a programme or a service, a person can only participate in one employment service at a point in time. That would include Transition to Work, jobactive, Disability Employment Service, or the Community Development Programme. If a young person was identified

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as needing the support of a Disability Employment Service provider, they would be referred to the Department of Human Services for an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) to test eligibility for that service.

DES already offers an intensive employment support for people with a disability. It will not have a specific referral path to Transition to Work.

1.7. Who are the peak bodies for employment services?

The employment industry has two National Peak providers. One is the National Employment Services Association: www.nesa.com.au and the other is Jobs Australia: www.ja.com.au There is also Disability Employment Australia: http://disabilityemployment.org.au.

1.8. Will the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) referrals to Transition to Work reduce the jobactive caseload?

Transition to Work is designed to meet the needs of a small targeted cohort of young people, particularly Early School Leavers with a high risk of long-term unemployment. Group One Participants (referrals from DHS/Centrelink) are expected to make up about 70 per cent of a Transition to Work provider’s caseload. These young people will initially be referred to a Transition to Work provider rather than jobactive for 12 months intensive assistance. Participants who are unsuccessful in achieving employment or education will be referred to jobactive after 12 months in Transition to Work.

The impact on jobactive is very small at less than 3 per cent of all jobactive commencements each year. Group Three will be referrals from a jobactive providers’ caseload and this will be capped at approximately 10 per cent of a Transition to Work provider’s caseload.

1.9. Can we work with state funded programs, for example those provided by the Western Australian Government Department of Training and Workforce Development?

The Australian Government aims to minimise the duplication of services or outcomes that are already paid for by Government. A programme will be considered to be complementary if it provides funding to support

participation in education and training, including the training guarantee, Skills for Education and Employment programme (the SEE programme) and alternative education programmes, or

programmes that support employers to hire, train or sustain employment, including wage subsidies, Vocational Training and Employment Centres and apprenticeship support.

If a young person is already enrolled and participating, for example in alternative education, they would not be eligible for Transition to Work.

Participants cannot be participating concurrently in:

a Commonwealth employment service including jobactive, Disability Employment Services, the Community Development Programme or

activities or programmes fully funded by the Commonwealth including the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme, Green Army and Work for the Dole or

activities or programmes funded for the specific purpose of supporting the young person to be work-ready.

Further details on complementary and Excluded Services will be provided in Guidelines.Page of

In Western Australia this will include major state initiatives, including those provided by the Western Australian Government Department of Training and Workforce Development.

1.10. I would like clarification on the rolling announcements - is the earliest time that you will make an announcement January?

Yes.

1.11. Is the Skilling Queenslanders for Work (SQW) a complimentary or excluded service?

The principles to determine whether a service is complementary are:

• programmes with funding to support participation in education and training, including training guarantee, Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme and alternative education programmes

• programmes that support Employers to hire, train or sustain employment including wage subsidies, Vocational Training and Employment Centres (VTEC) and Apprenticeship support.

The principles to determine whether a service is excluded are:

• Participants cannot be participating concurrently in a Commonwealth employment service including jobactive, Disability Employment Service or Community Development Programme

• activities or programmes fully funded by the Commonwealth including New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS), Green Army or Work for the Dole

• activities or programmes funded for the specific purpose of services to support the young person to be work-ready for employment.

Further details on Complementary and Excluded Services will be provided in Guidelines, including Skilling Queenslanders for Work.

1.12. When is the Innovative Youth Trials tender being released?

The intensive support for vulnerable job seekers measure under the Youth Employment Strategy announced in the 2015–16 Budget included the Innovative Youth Trials initiative. The Innovative Youth Trials will seek innovative approaches from community organisations to run projects that help young people who are at risk of long-term welfare dependency to overcome barriers to employment, become job ready and sustain employment.

The Government is currently finalising the arrangements for the Innovative Youth Trials with details to be publically released shortly. Please monitor the Employment Services Procurement Information website for updated information (www.employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information).

1.13. Are we able to use complementary funding, such as C3G, with any of the participants?

Yes. The Australian Government aims to minimise the duplication of services or outcomes that are already paid for by Government. A programme will be considered to be complementary if it provides funding to support

• participation in education and training, including the training guarantee, Skills for Education and Employment programme (the SEE programme) and alternative education programmes, or

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• programmes that support employers to hire, train or sustain employment, including wage subsidies, Vocational Training and Employment Centres and apprenticeship support.

1.14. Are we able to refer young participants to accredited training provided under Smart and Skilled Training (NSW)?

Complementary Services include programmes with funding to support participation in education and training, including training guarantee, the Skills for Education and Employment programmes and alternative education programmes.

Smart and Skilled is a NSW reform which entitles eligible students to government-subsidised training.

There are no rules to preclude a Transition to Work Participant accessing Smart and Skilled Training funded by the NSW State Government where they are eligible.

1.15. We would like to enquire as to whether the 25 hours of engagement or participation in the program would be satisfied by the participant being engaged in full time study?

For example, if a participant was to engage in a Cert III which had a study load of 15 hours per week, would the TTW provider be expected to engage this participant in another 10 hours of activity within the same week, to reach the 25 hours threshold?

I have noticed that an Education Outcome is paid if a participant completes 26 weeks of full-time study (which for some RTO’s may not be many hours per week), then an outcome is achieved? This is why I would like to enquire as to whether the 25 hours of service per week is a specific measure of this program, or whether engagement in study, with access to support from the Provider, would be considered as full service.

Participation in a full-time approved education or training course will meet a Participant’s requirements even if the full-time course is less than 25 hours per week. Full-time is at least 75 per cent of the course-load of an approved educational course. To be eligible for an Education Outcome the Participant would need to participate full-time for 26 weeks in a in a Cert III or higher course, secondary education leading to Year 12 or the Skills for Education and Employment programme.

Although a Participant will not be required to complete additional hours in Services where meeting their requirements through full-time education or training, the Provider will be expected to deliver support to ensure the Participant is settled and continues in the education or training.

Where a Participant is not undertaking full-time education or training, they will be required to participate in suitable activities, including part-time education and training, for a total of 25 hours per week.

1.16. Is there potential for increased funding? We anticipate that our organisation will continue to grow, and if there potential for growth within the service (more participants seen that initially tendered for at one site), or the development of new sites once the service has commenced?

The number of funded places in each Employment Region will be dependent on the demand for services particularly Group One. If demand exceeds expectations, the number of funded places in an Employment Region or specific location may be increased. An increase in places will require a reduction in places of lower demand. There is $322 million in funding available over four years for

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the Transition to Work service. A process for changing the allocation of additional places to Providers that are servicing the Employment Region or location will be established as required.

1.17. Will there be a project officer or designated manager with the Department of Employment to relate to for each Provider?

There will be a designated Account Manager and Contact Person within the Department of Employment for each Provider.

There will be a wide variety of Indigenous Advancement Strategy projects occurring across Australia. Transition to Work Providers should familiarise themselves with the overarching Strategy, any local projects and explore how those projects intersect with Transition to Work. As there will be a variety of Indigenous Advancement projects it is not possible to have an overarching rule about concurrency, but Transition to Work Providers must avoid duplication and can contact the Department if they have any questions.

1.18. What mechanisms will be in place to protect specialist Transition to Work providers against the potential for jobactive providers, who also provide Transition to Work services, to favour their own operations in situations where they are within reasonable proximity?

Around 70 per cent of the flow of referrals (Group One) will come from the Department of Human Services. A further 20 per cent will be disengaged young people (Group Two), the Provider is expected to develop networks to source this group. Only 10 per cent of the flow of referrals will come from jobactive (Group Three) and this is a capped number.

During the commencement of Transition to Work around 6000 Early School Leavers will be moved from jobactive to Transition to Work during the three month phase-in period. The Department will advise jobactive providers which job seekers are eligible for Transition to Work and will work with jobactive providers to determine which job seekers are best to move to Transition to Work.

2. Organisation Eligibility

2.1. How will organisations be selected?

Organisations will be selected through a competitive tender process run by the Department of Employment.

2.2. What organisations are eligible to apply? Will jobactive providers be eligible to apply?

The service will be delivered by organisations with a demonstrated track record of delivering high quality services to young people and achieving sustained employment and education outcomes.

The Department will accept Transition to Work proposal submissions from jobactive providers. They will need to demonstrate how they would maintain a clear delineation between jobactive and Transition to Work services.

2.3. Is the Government looking at organisations who are embedded in local communities?

All organisations applying will need to demonstrate strong community networks with employers, community services and schools in the region. They will also need to demonstrate experience in

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working with difficult to engage young people and have a track record of achieving employment and education outcomes.

2.4. I am concerned about the 40,000 Noongar people living in Perth. Is Transition to Work seeking organisations experienced in working with Indigenous people?

The Request for Proposal outlines that: ‘All Respondents will need to demonstrate existing community networks with Employers, community services and schools in the Location(s) and/or Employment Region(s). Selection Criterion 2 is also seeking information on the organisation’s past experience in working with young people, including those from vulnerable Groups and the types of youth services currently/recently delivered. They will also need to demonstrate experience in working with difficult to engage young people and have a track record of achieving Employment and Education Outcomes in the Location or Employment Region they are bidding in.’

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people have high unemployment rates and high rates of early school leaving.

Where organisations have particular expertise and abilities in working with young people, including vulnerable groups, this should be outlined in their Selection Criterion.

2.5. The RFP for Transition to Work states that Australian Government entities are not able to apply but does not say anything about State Government. Are State Government Organisations eligible to apply?

The Request for Proposal for Transition to Work does not exclude State/Territory Departments from applying to deliver Transition to Work services.

All organisations applying will need to demonstrate strong community networks with employers, community services and schools in the region. They will also need to demonstrate experience in working with difficult to engage young people and have a track record of achieving employment and education outcomes.

2.6. Has the eligibility to submit a proposal changed?

No. The Request for Proposal for Transition to Work 2016-2020 is open to any organisation with a current and valid Australian Business Number (ABN).

Section 4.6 states that Australian Government departments, agencies, employees or agents are not eligible to respond to the Request for Proposal procurement process. Further, Australian Government departments, agencies, employees or agents cannot assist potential Respondents in responding.

This excludes people who are, or may be, regarded as authorised agents of Australian Government departments including the Department, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under existing employment service arrangements or arrangements for the administration of the Social Security Act 1991. For example, this includes jobactive providers currently contracted with the Department or entities currently contracted with the Department of Human Services to perform Centrelink functions.

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2.7. Our organisation does not currently have a deed with the Department of Employment, but does have deeds with other Government Departments that include audited quality assurance frameworks and practices. We note that the Department of Employment introduced the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) for employment service providers holding contracts for the 2015 – 2020 period. Will Transition to Work providers who have no other deeds with the Department of Employment be required to have a specific QAF audit regarding this framework?'

The Department at this point in time is not proposing to implement a Quality Assurance Framework, such as the one that applies to jobactive, for Transition to Work service providers.

Consistent with the Request for Proposal, Transition to Work Providers will be subject to a Performance Management Framework that includes assessment of quality through the Provider’s performance against Key Performance Indicators and compliance with the Service Guarantee and Service Delivery Plan.

2.8. In terms of service delivery, if another provider in the region is providing mentoring services can we work with these providers? Are services complementary?

Transition to Work providers are expected to work with local community and education organisations that offer complementary services to support young people with employment and education. If the Participant would benefit from mentoring, then the provider can work with mentoring services. Each Participant will have different needs and the support provided by the Transition to Work provider should be tailored to those needs.

The principles to determine whether a service is complementary are:

• programmes with funding to support participation in education and training, including training guarantee, Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme and alternative education programmes

• programmes that support Employers to hire, train or sustain employment including wage subsidies, Vocational Training and Employment Centres (VTEC) and Apprenticeship support.

2.9. Do we need to list any Registered Training Organisations used to deliver any training or workshops as subcontractors?

As stated in section 4.4 of the Request for Proposal, Respondents must indicate if they intend to subcontract all or part of the Transition to Work services.

Respondents do not have to notify the Department of fee for service arrangements.

2.10. Our organisation is contracted to deliver a Centrelink agency in rural areas. Are we eligible to apply for this funding?

You organisation is eligible to apply if your organisation is contracted with the Department of Human Services to perform functions for the administration of the Social Security Law. If, however, there is no contracting arrangement in place (e.g. you are employees of the Department of Human Services) then your Department/agency is ineligible to apply.

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2.11. Does the Request for Proposal uses a definition of sole trader which is different to the Tax Act (the meaning used is any 'single organisation ' not someone trading as a sole trader under the Tax Act)?

In respect to section 4.1 of the Request for Proposal, does this means a company limited by guarantee would be counted as a sole trader?

For the purposes of section 4 of the RFT a company limited by guarantee when not part of as a ‘Group Respondent’ it is considered as a sole trader. The term ‘sole trader’ may have other meanings in other contexts.

2.12. We currently run a program funded by Family and Community Services to work intensively with young people who are linked in with a Specialist Homelessness Service, and are homeless, to link in with education, training and employment. Are we able to apply for Transition to Work as long as we keep the programs separate?

(Note- the clients have to be engaged with a Specialist Homelessness Service caseworker to receive the program. We do not give this service to any other young people but would like the chance to do so through the Transition to Work program as we have developed strong relationships with education, training, community and employment providers).

The Request for Proposal for Transition to Work 2016-2020 is open to any organisation with a current and valid Australian Business Number (ABN).

As stated in section 7.4.1 ‘ an organisation cannot claim payments from the Department that would constitute double funding, that is, receiving a fee from another Government, state, territory, or local public funding source, including a different source within other departments, for providing the same or similar services’.

2.13. We act for a client who is submitting a joint bid in relation to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Transition to Work 2016-2020.

We have reviewed the RFP and note that it is appropriate to ask questions about the RFP via this email address or via the Employment Services Purchasing Hotline.

The Request for Proposal is due to be submitted by 5pm on 1 December 2015.

The Request for Proposal requires key personnel of my client to include personal information such as place of birth in the tender documents. As our bid is a joint bid this means the personal information of my client’s key personnel will be collected by the other party to the bid as well as by the Department of Employment who is evaluating the tenders.

Is there a way we can submit the personal information regarding our client’s key personnel directly to the Department of Employment instead of within the response to the Request for Proposal? This will ensure the personal information is not collected by the other party to the bid when this is an unnecessary use and disclosure of personal information.

Section 4.2 of the Request for Proposal states:

“If lodging a response as a Group Respondent…the Group Respondent should lodge the response on behalf of all members.”

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As such, Financial and Credentials forms for all members must be lodged as part of the group response on AusTender. The confidentiality of personal information shared between group members is an issue that should be discussed between the members themselves.

3. Participant Eligibility

3.1. Who will participate in Transition to Work services?

To be eligible to participate in Transition to Work, a young person must be:

aged 15–21 years on commencement in the service, an Australian citizen the holder of a permanent visa New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holders (a protected SCV holder; and non-protected

SCV holder) Nominated Visa Holders (including Temporary Protection Visa Holders and Safe Haven Visa

Holders).

The Transition to Work service targets three groups of Participants. These are:

Group One – Early School Leavers o have not been awarded a Year 12 certificate or a Certificate IIIo are receiving Youth Allowance (other), or any other activity tested Income Support

Paymentso are assessed as eligible for Stream B in jobactive, but excludes a person with a pending

Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) Group Two – disengaged young people

o have not been awarded a Year 12 certificate or a Certificate III, or have completed Year 12 but have not engaged with employment or education for six months or more

o are not already participating in employment services o are not currently working an average of 8 hours or more per week for a period of 13

weeks (104 hours)o have not attended education for a period of 13 weeks, or are not currently enrolled in

education, or have an approved exemption from legal requirements to attend schoolo this group includes young people who are not receiving income support or who are

receiving non-activity tested income support such as Parenting Payment Group Three – jobactive referrals

o are Stream C in jobactive o are identified by their jobactive providers as having a capacity to benefit from Transition

to Work services (e.g. a young person who has addressed their unstable housing or mental health issues)

3.2. Are Transition to Work places capped?

Transition to Work places for Group One and Group Two Participants are not capped and the Department anticipates some flexibility between these two groups. For Group Three each provider

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will receive a separate cap on places for any referrals from jobactive (excluding the start-up caseload referrals) that will be approximately 10 per cent of their total annual places allocated.

3.3. If a participant has non-employment barriers are they still eligible and will they still be referred?

If a Stream C participant is identified by their jobactive provider as having a capacity to benefit from Transition to Work services, they will be referred providing they meet Group Three eligibility requirements. It is expected that jobactive providers will address major non-employment related barriers experienced by the young person prior to referring them to Transition to Work. Other Participants from Group One and Group Two may have some non-vocational barriers that require support. Transition to Work can help to refer them to such services.

3.4. Will disadvantaged job seekers be targeted?

Transition to Work services will target young people aged 15-21 years who have disengaged from work and study and are at risk of long-term welfare dependence, particularly early school leavers.

It is expected that organisations will use community networks and linkages, including available specialised services, such as mental health, homelessness, disability, cultural or indigenous services etc. to deliver Transition to Work services.

3.5. What if a young person with a disability doesn't wish to access a Disability Employment Services (DES) provider?

Where a young person comes into the Department of Human Services and is applying for income support, if they have a compulsory approved activity requirement they will be directed to the service that they are assessed as most suitable. For example, if they are assessed as suitable for Disability Employment Services, that is where they will be directed.

If a Participant does not have activity requirements and meets eligibility for Group Two they may volunteer to participate in Transition to Work.

3.6. If a participant meets all requirement for a 12 week outcome and drops out of employment following the achievement of the 12 weeks, do we still get a sustainability outcome if yes when, if not do we get sustainability outcome after continuous employment for 26 weeks?

No, a Sustainability Outcome can only be achieved for Employment or Hybrid Outcomes over 14 consecutive weeks which immediately follow a 12 week outcome. In the example given, the Provider would be able to claim a 12 week Employment Outcome as soon as the Participant had achieved the requirements for the 12 week outcome. A Sustainability Outcome can be claimed for the same Participant but only if they continued their employment for 14 consecutive weeks immediately following the achievement of the 12 week outcome.

There is a small degree of flexibility within the measurement of a 12 week outcome. The requirement for Employment Outcomes is that the Transition to Work participant must achieve a 60 per cent reduction in income support on average measured through Department of Human Services reporting. If employment ceases but recommences within sufficient time to maintain the 60 per cent reduction in income support then a 12 week outcome could be achieved. For further information on 12 week outcomes refer to the draft Deed published on the Department’s website at: http://www.employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information.

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4. Participation

4.1. How many hours a week does a Participant need to participate in Transition to Work?

Participants are expected to participate in Transition to Work services for 25 hours per week and up to a maximum of 12 months. This may be met by a mix of individual, group and self-directed activities.

4.2. Do activity tested Participants in Transition to Work need to undertake additional activities to meet their mutual obligation requirements?

Participants will fully meet their mutual obligation requirements by participating in Transition to Work.

4.3. Is the Transition to Work service voluntary and what are the incentives to participate in the service?

Yes, Transition to Work is a voluntary service and a Participant may opt out at any time. If they are on activity tested income support payments they will be required to participate in jobactive. The benefits of the service are that it will be targeted to the youth cohort and offers advantages of more specialised assistance.

4.4. Are there any restrictions on the 25 hour participation requirement? Can providers use models that are responsive to Participants needs? For example can a person participate in a mix of work experience and jobs clubs, etc?

The Request for Proposal states there should be a tailored mix of services, be it a mix of individual, group based or self-directed activities. We will be looking for proposals to describe how potential providers will flexibly and innovatively use a mix of activities to help young people become more work ready and achieve employment or education.

4.5. What are the participation requirements and compliance for Transition to Work?

Unlike jobactive, there is no mandatory compliance regime if Participants do not meet their requirements of 25 hours per week. If a Transition to Work provider thinks their Participant is not meeting their requirements, they make the decision to exit them from services. The Participant would return to jobactive services, or if they previously were not connected with a service, they will be disengaged.

4.6. Who determines if a Participant is failing to meet their requirements?

Transition to Work providers will have discretion to determine appropriate participation. Further information will be provided in the Guidelines.

4.7. Will Participants be subject to the same jobactive compliance framework?

Transition to Work Participants won’t be subject to the same Compliance Framework as jobactive Participants, e.g. no Non Attendance Reports etc, but if they don’t participate it will be up to the Transition to Work provider to exit the Participant. Those Participants on income support will go back to a jobactive provider and have Early School Leaver participation requirements.

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4.8. What is the relationship between Transition to Work and Centrelink for a young person’s payment?

In terms of interactions with Centrelink, young people who are applying for income support would go to Centrelink first and where they are identified as eligible for participating in Transition to Work, and meet the criteria, they will be referred to a Transition to Work service. They will still be required to report to Centrelink for income support purposes.

Payment suspension and financial penalties under the Job Seeker Compliance Framework will not be applied while the young person is participating in Transition to Work.

Participants who fail to meet their Transition to Work requirements will be exited from the service and commence early school leaver activity requirements of 25 hours per week in jobactive, noting this may include Work for the Dole at six months of service for some.

4.9. We have a Community Development Programme (CDP) provider in our region, can a young person opt out of CDP and choose Transition to Work?

Participants cannot be participating concurrently in the Community Development Programme and Transition to Work.

Referrals to Employment Services by the Department of Human Services will be influenced by the young person’s address, as well as other factors, such as age and qualifications. Transition to Work will not be based in remote locations, it is available in Employment Service Regions used in jobactive.

4.10. My organisation works specifically with people with learning difficulties which some participants in this programme will need to have addressed in order to support people into employment, should I apply as a sub-contractor in consideration of our capacity to deliver?

The Department is not able to provide you with advice on how your organisation should bid. Information on eligibility to apply is at Chapter 4 of the Request for Proposal.

4.11. My organisation uses sport to attract and engage young people to prepare them for employment, will five hours a week in a sport participation programme count towards a participant’s weekly 25 hour participation requirement?

Respondents must outline their approach to working with young people and the rationale for their service delivery design in the Selection Criteria for the Request for Proposal. Participation in sport may be considered appropriate as part of a package of activities and should be outlined in a proposal.

4.12. What happens if a young person moves to Green Army?

A young person cannot participate in Green Army and Transition to Work at the same time. If they move to Green Army from Transition to Work they will be exited from the service.

4.13. Can six months participation in the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme lead to an outcome?

26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme is an Education Outcome.

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4.14. For referrals in the first 4 weeks, if there is not sufficient engagement the person can exit the service. It seems fairly flexible that some people can drop out. There is the stick of Work for the Dole, but what happens in terms of KPIs if that person drops out during the 4 weeks.

Transition to Work is a voluntary service for young people. An important part of the role is to attract and engage young people in the service. The Key Performance Indicator 'number of Commencements of disengaged youth (Group Two Participants)' is an indicator of how successful this engagement is.

Transition to Work providers will be able to assess Group Three Participants during the four week Initial Phase of servicing. If a Transition to Work provider determines a Group Three Participant is unsuitable for Transition to Work services during the Initial Phase of servicing, they will be able to refer them back to jobactive without impacting on their Key Performance Indicators on engagement and drop-outs from the service.

Group Three Participants who drop out or fail to meet their Transition to Work requirements will be exited from the service and commence early school leaver activity requirements of 25 hours per week in jobactive, noting this may include Work for the Dole at six months of service for some.

4.15. Are there any restrictions of hours of employment? As you would be well aware the weekends and night time trades are the peak periods, if the candidates are successful and are required to work non normal hours is there any issue with this or does it need to be Monday to Friday 9.00 am until 5.00 pm?

Transition to Work Participants will be required to participate in an appropriate mix of activities for 25 hours per week. Time in paid employment will count towards requirements for participation and outcomes (where other outcome criteria are met including a 60 per cent reduction in a Participant’s income support) unless the employment:

• involves nudity or is in the sex industry• is a position in a training course• is in another country • involves illegal activity • involves income or funds from gambling • contravenes Commonwealth, state or territory legislation.

More information about situations in which employment will not be suitable for meeting requirements for participation or outcomes, will be contained in the Outcomes and Payments section of Transition to Work Deed 2016-2020, which will be published soon.

4.16. Do candidates have participation requirements with us? And if so, are Transition to Work organizations required to submit participation reports for breaches?

Participants are expected to participate in Transition to Work services for 25 hours per week or to their level of assessed capacity. Participants who fail to meet their requirements in Transition to Work may be exited from the service with those on an activity-tested income support payment required to commence in jobactive. Providers will not be required to submit Participation Reports in Transition to Work.

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4.17. We would like to enquire as to whether the 25 hours of engagement or participation in the program would be satisfied by the participant being engaged in full time study?

For example, if a participant was to engage in a Cert III which had a study load of 15 hours per week, would the TTW provider be expected to engage this participant in another 10 hours of activity within the same week, to reach the 25 hours threshold?

I have noticed that an Education Outcome is paid if a participant completes 26 weeks of full-time study (which for some RTO’s may not be many hours per week), then an outcome is achieved? This is why I would like to enquire as to whether the 25 hours of service per week is a specific measure of this program, or whether engagement in study, with access to support from the Provider, would be considered as full service.

Participation in a full-time approved education or training course will meet a Participant’s requirements even if the full-time course is less than 25 hours per week. Full-time is at least 75 per cent of the course-load of an approved educational course. To be eligible for an Education Outcome the Participant would need to participate full-time for 26 weeks in a in a Cert III or higher course, secondary education leading to Year 12 or the Skills for Education and Employment programme.

Although a Participant will not be required to complete additional hours in Services where meeting their requirements through full-time education or training, the Provider will be expected to deliver support to ensure the Participant is settled and continues in the education or training.

Where a Participant is not undertaking full-time education or training, they will be required to participate in suitable activities, including part-time education and training, for a total of 25 hours per week.

4.18. We are just enquiring if the intention of each place in Transition to Work is to be utilised by one participant at a time or is the intent to have up to two participants being service concurrently?

Each funded place is expected to allow participation for two Participants, on average, per annum. This is based on the average length of service for job seekers in Job Services Australia. There is a high degree of flexibility for providers to manage places. If a provider is contracted for 80 places per annum, this would indicate around 160 Participants could be serviced each year. There may be periods of high demand when a provider has more than 100 per cent utilisation of places, that is, more Participants than funded places, while at other times utilisation may be lower.

Providers will be expected to ensure the average utilisation of funded places is at least 90 per cent over each year (excluding the initial Commencement stage for each service). It is expected that Group One has priority access and providers must accept any referrals from this Group, irrespective of the maximum number of places being reached. For Group Two, providers will be expected to manage demand. For Group Three, places will be capped at approximately 10% of funded places.

Any referrals received that are over and above the maximum number of places will assist providers to achieve their Outcome Performance Target.

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4.19. Can we choose a couple of locations within a region? And also it may make sense to provide outreach services to an adjoining region?

Respondents must submit a bid for each Employment Region in which they propose to deliver services. In the case of providing outreach in a Location in an adjoining Employment Region, the Respondent must submit bids for both Employment Regions. The Department will limit servicing of a Location within an Employment Region to only one provider.

The Request for Proposal outlines that Respondents may not specify their provision of Transition to Work services in one Employment Region is conditional on being offered Transition to Work services in another Employment Region.

There is no requirement to cover an entire Employment Region; the Department encourages Respondents to nominate specific Locations.

4.20. Can you please clarify under Part C Bidding for Business, the document provided allows you to insert a location and then choose if it is essential or Conditional as per below, BUT

What is not available in this document, is where to include the information that relates to what the condition is for that location

Example, In jobactive tender you could choose a location and make it conditional to a certain number of places and then also on that basis the condition you could include if that location was serviced, outreach, part-time or full-time.

Another example is that we may consider tendering for the whole region, but would also be open to only delivering services to a number of locations within that region and this would be conditional to the number of places we would be allocated.

How is this clearly articulated in Part C, when there appears to be no provision to given an explanation of the condition.

The Department does not require an explanation of the conditionality that a Respondent has used to determine whether a Location is Essential or Conditional.

Respondents are required to specify the minimum and maximum number of places they are bidding for in an Employment Region. The minimum and maximum number of places and any Location conditionality will inform the Department when allocating Locations within an Employment Region.

The Request for Proposal outlines that Respondents cannot specify their provision of Transition to Work services in one Employment Region is conditional on being offered Transition to Work services in another Employment Region.

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5. Start-Up Caseload

5.1. Will Transition to Work providers have a group of Participants to service on commencement? Which Participants will make up my start-up caseload, i.e. be referred from jobactive to Transition to Work?

To support the Commencement of Transition to Work, around 6000 Early School Leavers will be moved from jobactive to Transition to Work during the Three Month Phase-in Period. The Department will advise jobactive providers which Participants are eligible for Transition to Work and then work with jobactive providers to determine which Participants (based on the needs of the individual) are best to move to Transition to Work.

The start-up caseload will not form part of the provider’s ongoing cap for Group Three.

5.2. How will start-up caseloads from jobactive impact provider performance and will Transition to Work service impact viability of jobactive providers?

The start-up caseload moved from jobactive represents around 2 per cent of the total caseload and is expected to have minimal impact on jobactive. The Department will work with jobactive providers around transition arrangements by advising which young people are eligible and then jobactive providers will have some flexibility to determine which young people are best to move to Transition to Work, as there may be some young people already progressing towards outcomes in jobactive.

5.3. In which quarter is the 75 per cent upfront payment paid? Is it the Jan-Mar quarter or Apr-Jun quarter? What happens to the initial 25 per cent is that withheld? Do we receive the full allocation (100 per cent of funding) at end of end of ten months?

The 75 per cent upfront payment is paid for the Three Month Phase-in Period. This period runs from the commencement of a Provider’s Deed for a three month period and may run across two Financial Quarters. The phase-in period recognises the start-up flows of Participants into the Service and that Providers are unlikely to service more than 75 per cent of their expected number of Participants during this period. Funding is not withheld during this period as the level of funding allocated to Providers will reflect the expected level of service provision.

The Provider’s upfront payments will be based on 100 per cent of places after the Three Month Phase-in period. Upfront payments to a provider will be calculated on a pro-rata basis where they commence and where their Three Month Phase-in Period concludes part way through a Financial Quarter.

6. Caseload

6.1. How many Participants will a Transition to Work provider service?

Providers will be contracted for an agreed number of places per Employment Region. Respondents will be required to nominate the minimum and maximum number of places they intend to service. Each funded place is expected to allow participation for around two Participants on average per year. There will be a Three-month phase-in period.

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6.2. Why is there a Three-month phase-in period?

The Three-month phase-in period recognises the start-up flow of Participants into Transition to Work.

6.3. Are providers able to select the group they intend to work with or is it expected that they will address all three groups? For example, can the provider just work with Group Two, and if so do they have to take referrals from anywhere in the area or can they be selective?

Providers will be expected to service all three groups identified in the Request for Proposal. That will include: Group One who are those coming directly from the Department of Human Services (Centrelink); Group Two that the provider will actively go out and find, which are those young people who are disengaged from education and employment; and Group Three who are those who are referred from jobactive.

6.4. What are the exit points over the 12 months of service?

Participants can access the service for a maximum of 12 months. Participants may elect to opt-out of the service at any time.Participants tracking towards an Outcome can continue in the service until the Outcome is achieved. Participants on income support with a Mutual Obligation, who fail to meet their Transition to Work requirements will be exited from the service and commence Early School Leaver activity requirements of 25 hours per week in jobactive. Guidelines supporting Providers will allow reasonable discretion in the Exit of a Participant.

Additional advice for individual Participant Groups:

• Participants in Group One may opt-out and elect to participate in jobactive services instead. The decision to opt-out will be after commencement to give Transition to Work Providers an opportunity to engage the young person.

• For Participants in Group Three, Transition to Work Providers will be able to assess Group Three Participants during the Initial Phase of servicing. If it is determined the Participant is unsuitable for Transition to Work services they will be referred back to jobactive. This assessment will not impact on a Provider’s Key Performance Indicators.

6.5. A jobseekers is placed in employment - when is the place considered “open” to be refilled by a new jobseeker? Upon placement, 12 week outcome, 26 week outcome?

With the exception of capped places for Group Three, there is no departmental requirement to:

• limit one Participant at a time in a place, or • restrict when places become open again after a Participant achieves a specific outcome.

Each funded place is expected to allow participation for two Participants, on average, per annum. Providers have a high degree of flexibility in managing places. There may be periods of high demand when a provider has more than 100 per cent utilisation of places, that is, more Participants than funded places, while at other times utilisation may be lower. Providers will be expected to ensure the average utilisation of funded places is at least 90 per cent over each year (excluding the initial Commencement stage for each service). It is expected that Group One has priority access and providers must accept any referrals from this Group, irrespective if the maximum number of places is reached. For Group Two, providers will be expected to manage demand.

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For Group Three, places will be capped at approximately 10 per cent of funded places. If a provider is at their Referral Cap for Group Three, the place will only become available after a Group Three Participant remains exited for 13 weeks where an exit is into education or employment. Where a Group Three Participant exits to jobactive or another employment service, the place will be immediately available.

Any referrals received that are over and above the maximum number of places will assist providers to achieve their Outcome Performance Target.

6.6. Is it possible to please access an age breakdown of eligible young people who are currently disengaged? It is important to gain an understanding of how many 15 and 16 year olds would engage with the program as opposed to how many who are 19 and 20 for example.

The Department cannot provide data for disengaged young people that meet Group Two eligibility for Transition to Work services.

Transition to Work providers will be expected to undertake engagement activities to promote and attract disengaged young people to fully participate in the service. Group Two Participants are expected to make up around 20 per cent of a Provider’s caseload.

6.7. Does each group of candidates have a different weighting (eg group 1,2,3)? If so how are different outcomes for different groups weighted?

No, all Participants in the Transition to Work service are equal and outcome payment amounts are the same for all Participants.

6.8. Given the funded places have been calculated on historic Job Services Australia data, does that mean that Group Two Participants would be over and above the estimated places? As they would not have been included in the historic data? I mean presumably Group One and Three would fill the entire estimated places if historic figures remained similar?

No. To ensure all three groups would be represented, Appendix D of the Request for Proposal provides indicative numbers of Participants and Places for Locations based on historic Job Services Australia data, with an additional 30% added to the numbers to account for Groups Two and Three (20% for Group Two and 10% for Group Three).

6.9. The Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) Program is one key component for developing disengaged young people under the TTW program. At present there are circumstances where there are a high number of disengaged young people in an Employment Region but a comparatively small level of SEE funding. Will there be some process or review of SEE funding levels for regions to optimise alignment of the objectives of the two programs?

The Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme providers are allocated a yearly Notional Budget to ensure that eligible clients in their area can access SEE training. Notional Budgets for all SEE providers are monitored and adjusted regularly to ensure that clients in their areas are not disadvantaged. This considers job seeker flows and demand including seasonal impacts, demographic changes and industry influences.

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6.10. I am interested in tendering to service the North Burnett are in Queensland. The towns in this area are:

Biggenden, Gayndah, Mundubbera, Eidsvold. They are not listed in the drop down box or on the target and places for Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast employment region but they are on the area map. Is it possible to provide a service in this are or is it included in another area. Could you please advise on this? The area is serviced by jobactive.

Respondents should apply for all Locations within an Employment Region where they wish to deliver services, including ones not explicitly identified in Appendix D of the Request for Proposal. Facilities to deliver the services may include a mix of full-time, part-time and outreach sites. Respondents can identify their Location sites in section 5.1 of Part C – Bidding for Business form.

7. Referrals

7.1. Is participating in Transition to Work services optional?

Participation in Transition to Work is not mandatory. If a young person does not want to participate in Transition to Work they may opt-out. For Group Three, a young person may not agree to transfer from jobactive.

7.2. How will Participants be referred to Transition to Work?

Young people can be referred to Transition to Work services through different pathways, reflecting the different circumstances of young people in each of the three target groups.

Group One—Early School Leavers

Eligible young people will be referred to the Transition to Work service in their Location by the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) when they first claim income support. They will be expected to commence in the service within two Business Days.

Participants in this group will be given priority access to Transition to Work services and are expected to make up the majority of the caseload, with places available as required.

Participants in this group may opt-out and elect to participate in jobactive services instead. The decision to opt-out will be after commencement to give Transition to Work providers an opportunity to engage the young person.

Participants unable to access a Transition to Work in their Location will receive services through jobactive providers.

Participants may choose to travel to another Location where Transition to Work is available.

Group Two—disengaged young people

Eligible young people will be able to directly register with a Transition to Work provider (provider).

Providers will be expected to undertake engagement activities to promote and attract disengaged youth to fully participate in the service.

Group Two is expected to make up around 20 per cent of the caseload.

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Group Three—jobactive referrals

jobactive providers will be able to directly refer young people in this category to a provider. The participation of young people in Group Three is subject to a cap on places, which will be set

at approximately 10 per cent of all places allocated (excluding the initial commencement stage).

7.3. How are referrals made to Transition to Work providers if there are multiple providers in an area? How is the provider selected by Department of Human Services (Centrelink)?

The Department will limit servicing of a location within an Employment Region to only one provider. There may still be multiple Transition to Work providers in the Employment Region.

The Department of Human Services (Centrelink) or a jobactive provider will refer Participants to the Transition to Work provider within the Participant’s location. The Department of Human Services (Centrelink) will have a list of Employment providers for each Employment Region.

7.4. What if there are no Transition to Work providers in a location?

Where there is no Transition to Work provider in the Participant’s location they will be referred to jobactive. If the young person is willing to travel to another location, or the young person specifically requests a Transition to Work provider outside of their location, they may be referred to that provider.

7.5. Can Disability Employment Services Participants be directly referred to Transition to Work?

No. Eligible Transition to Work Participants can be referred by the Department of Human Services (Centrelink), directly registered by the Transition to Work provider or referred by their jobactive provider.

7.6. What is the incentive for jobactive providers to refer to Transition to Work?

Where a jobactive provider refers a young person to Transition to Work and they achieve an outcome the jobactive provider will be rewarded in their STAR performance ratings. In addition, Participants in Transition to Work are expected to become more work ready, so if they do return to jobactive they would be expected to have a higher chance of successfully finding and keeping employment.

7.7. Will Group Three - jobactive Participants who are referred to Transition to Work be removed from the jobactive caseload or temporarily suspended?

Group Three Participants who are referred to Transition to Work by their jobactive provider will be exited from jobactive.

7.8. How will Transition to Work providers communicate with schools and other community organisations to engage young people who are not connected?

Transition to Work providers will need to demonstrate strong community networks with employers, community services and schools to attract eligible young people to the service and to help the successful transition into employment or further education.

Providers will be expected to have knowledge of services in their local area and support young people in accessing appropriate services.

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7.9. How will a Participant be referred from Transition to Work to jobactive?

Transition to Work providers will be required to complete a handover for any Participant that is required to participate in jobactive. This will enable the jobactive provider to be ready to service the Participant when they move to jobactive. For Participants who have not moved into work or education, the final month (month twelve) would involve:

• attending an initial joint meeting with the Transition to Work provider and the jobactive provider that focuses on setting expectations and identifying what type of activities are most appropriate for the Participant in the Work for the Dole phase.

attending a commencement in jobactive meeting with the Transition to Work provider and the jobactive provider in the final week. This meeting will be the formal handover of the Participant into jobactive.

7.10. Will jobactive providers be required to undertake a handover process for Participants referred to Transition to Work i.e. Group Three?

The Department would expect a handover to occur as part of good practice. However, there will not be a formal requirement on jobactive providers to attend an appointment with a young person going to Transition to Work.

7.11. How will the jobactive provider be chosen when referring a Participant from Transition to Work to jobactive?

Transition to Work providers will support Participants to choose a jobactive provider in their local area.

7.12. What is the definition of “commence in the service” and is this practical for all parties? Does this include completing a Job Plan? Will the two day commencement requirement be altered for rural or remote regions?

For Group One and Group Three, eligible young people will be expected to commence in the service within two Business Days. For Group Two, a direct registered eligible young person will be considered commenced into Transition to Work when they attend an initial interview and agree to participate in Transition to Work services with the provider. Exceptional cases may apply, for example in regional areas with less frequent servicing. Completion of a Job Plan will not be a condition of commencement into the service, however providers will be required to negotiate a Job Plan with participants and approve this through the department’s IT system within four weeks of commencement.

7.13. Are you paid based on number of referrals? So if you ended up with more would you be paid for the increase in numbers?

Respondents will be contracted for an agreed number of places per annum per Employment Region, not the number referrals.

The Request for Proposal outlines the indicative number of places for each Employment Region. Respondents will be required to nominate the minimum and maximum number of places they intend to contract for in an Employment Region.

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Payment amounts will depend on the number of funded places of the Provider. Each funded place is expected to allow servicing of two Participants on average per annum. Providers will be expected to ensure the average utilisation of funded places is at least 90 per cent over each year.

In Transition to Work, if a provider is contracted for 80 places per annum in a location, this would indicate around 160 Participants could be serviced each year. There may be periods of high demand when a provider has more than 100 per cent utilisation of places, that is, more Participants than funded places, while at other times utilisation may be lower. Across the year, it is expected that Providers average utilisation will be about 90 per cent.

Providers are required to accept all referrals for Group One Participants.

The Department will monitor the flow of referrals relative to the number of funded places.

7.14. Do providers need to take all referrals or can they work with specific cohorts interested in specific industry groups?

Eligibility criteria for the service is determined by the Department; Providers must not set additional eligibility criteria.

In practice, this means that as long as young people referred meet the eligibility criteria, they should not be turned away because a Provider wishes to focus on a specific industry group.

7.15. From an operational perspective what information has been provided to the Department of Human Services in terms of referrals to Transition to Work, how will this referral process work in reality?

The Department of Employment has been working closely with the Department of Human Services on implementation of the Transition to Work services, including on determining the referral process.Group One referrals to Transition to Work will be identified by the Department of Human Services/Centrelink when the young person first applies for income support. The Department of Human Services will refer Group One eligible job seekers to a Transition to Work provider by making an appointment in their diary. Group One includes young people who: have not been awarded a Year 12 certificate or a Certificate III are receiving Youth Allowance (other), or any other ‘activity tested’ Income Support Payment are assessed as eligible for Stream B in jobactive do not have a pending Employment Services Assessment (ESAt).

7.16. What guidance has been provided to jobactive organisations in terms of referrals?

The Department will communicate with jobactive providers through various channels, including the jobactive Provider Portal, closer to the commencement of Transition to Work. The jobactive Guidelines and the jobactive Deed 2015 - 2020 will be updated to reflect requirements for referrals to and from Transition to Work.

7.17. We are tendering for a whole Employment Region, do we still need to fill in the minimum and maximum numbers for that region in section 3.1 Bid Range, Part C ? Or is section 3.1 Bid Range Part C only needing to be filled in by respondents tendering for locations and conditionality.

As stated in section 3.1 of the Request for Proposal, ‘the Respondent should indicate their desired minimum and maximum number of places in each Employment Region for which they are applying’.

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8. Servicing

8.1. What complementary services can Transition to Work Participants access?

Transition to Work providers are expected to work with local community and education organisations that offer complementary services to support young people to achieve employment and education.

At the same time, the Australian Government seeks to minimise the duplication of services or outcomes that are already paid for by Government. The principles to determine whether a service is complementary are:

programmes with funding to support participation in education and training including training guarantee, Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme, alternative education programmes

programmes that support Employers to hire, train or sustain employment including wage subsidies, Vocational Training and Employment Centres (VTEC) and apprenticeship support.

Further details on complementary services will be provided in Guidelines.

8.2. What services are excluded from Transition to Work Participants?

Whilst participating in Transition to Work Participants cannot concurrently access:

other Commonwealth employment services including jobactive, Disability Employment Service, Community Development Programme

activities or programmes fully funded by the Commonwealth including New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS), Green Army, Work for the Dole

activities or programmes funded for the specific purpose of services to support the young person to be work-ready for employment.

Further details on Excluded Services will be provided in Guidelines.

8.3. Is there information available on the new National Work Experience programme?

Information on the National Work Experience Programme is available on the Department’s website at https://employment.gov.au/national-work-experience-programme. This includes a fact sheet for employers and information for jobactive Participants.

8.4. Can Transition to Work providers refer Participants to specialist support services?

If Transition to Work providers consider that specialist support services would be of assistance to Participants they may as part of their service refer them to other available services.

8.5. What are the mechanisms to stop a young person entering Transition to Work and staying there?

Participants with Mutual Obligation Requirements who have not moved into work or education by the end of 12 months will exit Transition to Work services and be transferred to jobactive, commencing in the Work for the Dole phase where they will continue to build on their work readiness.

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Participants with Mutual Obligation Requirements who opt-out of the service or who are exited by the provider for not participating adequately will commence in the jobactive phase most appropriate to their individual circumstances (i.e. Case Management or Work for the Dole).

8.6. In reference to the service continuum, is there anything to stop a young person participating in jobactive for the first six months and then commencing in Transition to Work?

This scenario only applies to Group Three Participants who are young people in Stream C in jobactive and it is the decision of the jobactive provider to refer the young person to Transition to Work.

Group One early school leavers will be directly referred to Transition to Work from the Department of Human Services (Centrelink). This group will not be currently serviced by jobactive.

Group Two young people will not be engaged in jobactive and therefore, this scenario is not relevant.

8.7. If a Participant is suspended from participating in Transition to Work (e.g. due to a medical certificate) will they recommence where they left?

Yes. For example, if a Participant is suspended after six months in Transition to Work services and is unable to participate for two months they will return to Transition to Work services and complete the remaining six months.

8.8. Will there be additional funding for the increased servicing costs for disadvantaged youth in regional areas?

There is no additional loading on payments for regional areas. The payment model is designed to support intensive servicing matched with strong incentives for providers to achieve sustained employment outcomes.

Performance targets will be set relative to the number of places contracted and the level of outcomes being achieved in the same employment region. This will give all providers the opportunity to achieve bonus outcome payments.

8.9. What is Post Placement Support?

Post Placement Support is the ‘Assistance provided to Participants, employers or education organisations to ensure Participants are able to maintain employment or participation in education.’

Providers are expected to provide regular Post Placement Support. Frequent contact would be expected during the initial job or education placement to ensure Participants are settling in and any issues are identified quickly and addressed. Once established, regular contact would be expected to continue to ensure employer’s expectations are being met and that the placement has the best chance of being sustained.

8.10. What services are providers expected to deliver to assist Participants to determine a pathway(s) to job readiness?

Providers will be expected to deliver individually tailored services to Participants to build their work readiness so they move into employment or education. Services are expected to include an appropriate mix of individual, group and self-directed activities consistent with the focus on intensive servicing to help young people gain and retain sustainable work or participate in education.

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The Request for Proposal outlines the minimum requirements providers will be required to provide to Participants. Organisations will be required to outline any additional services for Participants that they intend to deliver over and above the minimum requirements specified.

Each provider will develop a Service Delivery Plan that details the suite of services and the support being provided to Transition to Work Participants and employers. This is part of a broader quality and performance framework.

8.11. Does the work health and safety requirements described in jobactive for work experience components apply?

Yes, the same contractual work health and safety requirements that apply to jobactive would apply to Transition to Work.

8.12. Can a Participant rejoin Transition to Work if they complete 12 months within the service and have not met an outcome and go back to jobactive for a period of time?

For Group Three Participants who complete 12 months within the Transition to Work service and have not achieved an Outcome and go back to jobactive for a period of time, it is the decision of the jobactive provider to refer the young person back to Transition to Work.

8.13. Please clarify expectations for the 25 hours per week in activities.

Participants receiving income support with Mutual Obligation Requirements will fully meet their Mutual Obligation Requirements by participating in Transition to Work. Participants are expected to participate in Transition to Work services for 25 hours per week and up to a maximum of 12 months. The 12 months would exclude any periods of absence including suspension.

Providers are able to determine the appropriate mix of individual, group and self-directed activities for a Participant to meet their 25 hours per week participation requirement. This may include employment, activities hosted by the provider, attendance at education and training courses, and attending activities to address non-vocational barriers or appointments.

Income Support Payment suspension and financial penalties under the Job Seeker Compliance Framework will not be applied while the Participant is participating in Transition to Work.

Participants who fail to meet their Transition to Work requirements will be exited from the service and commence Early School Leaver activity requirements of 25 hours per week in jobactive. Guidelines supporting providers will allow reasonable discretion in the exit of a Participant.

8.14. Can a certificate III or higher be completed online or only face-to-face?

Online education will be allowed although it is not the preferred method given the characteristics of the target group. Evidence will be required such as evidence of modules completed, progress of a year level completed, unit of a Certificate III, or a statement from a supporting education provider, for example an Alternative Education provider. Further details will be included in Guidelines.

8.15. Who is responsible for appropriate insurances for Transition to Work services such as work experience places?

It will be a provider’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate insurances are in place in accordance with Deed requirements.

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8.16. If a Participant has to relocate, will they still be eligible for relocation assistance?

A Transition to Work provider may choose to support a participant to relocate whilst participating in the service and undertaking activities that allow them to achieve an outcome.

However, Participants are not eligible for relocation assistance under the Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job programme. To be eligible for this programme Participants have to be in employment services for 12 months—the majority of Participants in Transition to Work would not be eligible.

8.17 How can Transition to Work assist people under 17 when they should be in school?

Many young people under 17 can currently participate in jobactive and, when available, will be supported by the Transition to Work service. Providers will need to ensure that they have a close relationship with schools to ensure that the young person has the appropriate exemption from schooling in that jurisdiction or has not attended school in the last thirteen weeks or is not enrolled in school. The department will provide further advice in the Guidelines in relation to any specific requirements for working with young people under 17.

8.17. Is the National Work Experience programme accessible to under 18 year olds and non-allowees?

The National Work Experience programme is currently not available for young people under the age of 18. There are other options for young people including voluntary and paid work trials. Further advice will be available at a later date for this cohort in regard to work experience and voluntary work.

8.19 What evidence is required around education attendance?

Transition to Work Providers must regularly monitor education placements to ensure they are sustained. This may involve making contact with an educational institution to ensure that the Participant is progressing and any settling in issues are addressed.

Providers must have evidence to support the Outcomes they claim. Further details will be in Guidelines. For 26 week Education Outcomes, evidence may include:

evidence of modules completed, or year level completed, as provided in a statement from a supporting education provider or

files notes of contact with an education institution.

8.20. Can you please advise if being funded for delivery of services under the Industry Skills Fund Youth Stream –Youth Employment Pathways will make a potential provider ineligible for the Transition to Work service?

An organisation funded under the Industry Skills Fund Youth Stream – Youth Employment Pathways is eligible to apply to deliver Transition to Work services.

Transition to Work responses are sought from organisations with a demonstrated track record of delivering high quality services that effectively engage young people and achieve sustained employment and education outcomes.

For Transition to Work transfers from jobactive and Group One Participants: the Department of Employment and Department of Education and Training have agreed that where an organisation is

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receiving a grant for a young person as part of the Youth Employment Pathways pilot and that young person is subsequently participating in the Transition to Work, the Youth Employment Pathways pilot provider can continue to provide services to that young person. This will ensure continuity of service for the young person and facilitate a transition. Both organisations should work together to ensure that services do not duplicate.

Transition to Work Providers cannot directly register a young person as a Group Two Participant if that young person is receiving a grant as part of the Youth Employment Pathways pilot.

Young people who are existing pilot participants can finish in the pilot, but where a young person is participating in Transition to Work an organisation cannot subsequently apply for a Youth Employment Pathways pilot grant, which would be a duplication of funding.

8.21. Regarding work experience, is it required that all work experience placements be made through the National Work Experience Program, or can other arrangements also be made?

Participants aged 18 years and over in receipt of income support are eligible to undertake a National Work Experience Programme placement of up to four weeks duration for a maximum of 25 hours per week. Placements are entirely voluntary, and can be undertaken in most for-profit, not-for-profit and Government organisations, where there is the potential for paid employment available at the conclusion of the placement. Eligible Participants will receive a supplement of $20.80 in addition to their income support while they participate.

Other options to do work experience include voluntary work or paid work trials. Some Participants may be eligible to engage in work experience as part of their education course. In all instances a provider must ensure there is a safe system of work in place for Participants, including undertaking risk assessments and appropriate Checks prior to the work experience commencing, as well as ensuring appropriate insurance coverage is in place.

8.22. There is a mention of “guidelines” - is it contained on the website? When will the guidelines be available?

Operational Guidelines for the Transition to Work service are currently being prepared by the Department. These Guidelines will be available to Transition to Work providers on the Provider Portal from January 2016. A video of the Presentation will be made available on the Employment Services Procurement Information website: www.employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information. Applicants are also advised to regularly view the website for any new questions and answers. A copy of the draft Transition to Work 2016-2020 Deed is available on the Employment Services Procurement Information website: http://www.employment.gov.au/transition-work-2016-2020-exposure-draft. The Deed is currently being updated based on feedback received and will be released in November 2015.

8.23. What about outcomes? If a provider works with a young person for 6 months and then the participant moves and achieves an outcome, who receives the outcome?

It would depend on when the Participant started tracking towards an Outcome. If they started work while they were with the original Provider, then the original Provider would be able to maintain support for them to achieve their Outcome and would record the Outcome, even if the Participant changed to a new Transition to Work Provider. If the Participant started work when they were with the new provider, the new Provider would get the Outcome, despite the original Provider investing time in the Participant to improve their work readiness and foundation skills.

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8.24. If a Transition to Work provider is working with a Participant to skill them up to work and someone else looks after them in the job, or someone in a remote area – can they use the services in Transition to Work service?

If a Transition to Work Participant starts working and there is additional support offered through an alternative programme, it would be expected that the Transition to Work provider should continue to support that Participant's placement, including working with other programmes to ensure success of the job placement.

8.25. With a 26 week program, is there any option to extend that time, if needed, to meet individual needs?

Young people are expected to participate in Transition to Work services for an average of 25 hours per week. They can access the service for a maximum of 12 months. Participants tracking towards an Outcome can continue beyond 12 months until this is achieved. The estimate of around two Participants per place per annum is based on the average length of service for job seekers in Job Services Australia.

8.26. Are Transition to Work providers able to complete Job seeker circumstance updates if they are incorrectly referred to the Transition to Work program, or to ensure candidates are accessing the most suitable program?

A young person’s eligibility for Transition to Work Services is determined by the:

• Department of Human Services (DHS) for Group One participants• Transition to Work Providers for Group Two participants and• jobactive providers for Group Three participants.

Transition to Work providers must accept all Group One referrals.

It is the responsibility of the Transition to Work provider to review a Participant’s identified barriers or personal issues and determine whether Transition to Work services are appropriate. If the Transition to Work provider identifies undisclosed issues, in particular multiple non-vocational barriers, they may refer the young person back to DHS for reassessment.

If a Transition to Work provider determines a Group Three Participant is not ready to benefit from Transition to Work services during the Initial Phase of servicing (four weeks), they will be able to refer them back to jobactive.

8.27. If we secure employment for the potential candidate within a short time frame of them reaching their 12 month milestone do we still have them on our caseload to provide post placement or are they exited at the 12 month mark?

If a Participant starts employment that is sufficient to anchor an Outcome at the 12 month mark it is expected that providers will provide post placement support until the Outcome is reached, or until the point at which the Participant stops progressing toward the Outcome.

8.28. Is support able to be provided during work experience?

Yes, it is expected that Transition to Work providers assist Participants with opportunities to participate in one or more work experience placements. If the Participant was in the National Work Experience Programme they would be subject to the Guidelines for that programme.

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8.29. Can you please confirm if the 75% of annual place allocation will be 75% of participants? For example, in Elizabeth where there are 177 places and 337 participants. In this example, how many job seekers will we received in this first three months?

The place allocation funding model under Transition to Work recognises that participants will be regularly entering and exiting the service. It is expected that it will take around 10 months for a Provider to achieve full utilisation of their funded places. This is based on the initial transfer of early school leavers from jobactive into Transition to Work in the first month of a Provider’s operations, the inflow of Participants from Groups 1 to 3 in each month and the exit of Participants over time.

The graph below shows this expected ramp up of service provision in the employment location of Elizabeth. By the end of the third month of service provision, it would be expected that around 75 per cent of funded places (133 places supporting 133 Participants) would be utilised by the Provider(s) servicing this location.

During the three-month phase in period, Providers will be funded for 75 per cent of their places in recognition of this start-up flow of Participants into the service.

8.30. Does 90 per cent utilisation mean that at any point we need to have 1 participant (not 2) active per place at any point?

Yes, utilisation is based on the number of participants filling each funded place on average over a set period of time. For example, a Provider who is funded for 100 places and services 96 participants on average over a financial quarter achieves a 96 per cent utilisation over that period.

9. Delivery Area and Service Coverage

9.1. In what areas will Transition to Work be delivered?

Transition to Work services are being sought in the 51 Employment Regions around Australia, although full coverage would not be expected across each region. These are the same Employment Regions used for jobactive.

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Respondents may apply to deliver services in one or more Employment Regions. There is no requirement to cover an entire Employment Region, the Department encourages Respondents to nominate specific Locations.

Respondents must nominate the Location within an Employment Region they propose to service and will be required to nominate the minimum and maximum number of places they are willing to contract for in a Location or across an Employment Region. For each Location in an Employment Region, only one provider will be selected to deliver services. Respondents can specify conditionality of coverage in nominating Location(s) in an Employment Region that they would only service on the condition that they were exclusively allocated other Locations in the Employment Region. For example, a provider may elect to only offer Outreach services in Location X if they are successful in gaining Location Y.

The Department will limit servicing of a Location within an Employment Region to only one provider. There may still be multiple Transition to Work providers in the Employment Region.

Note: Respondents may not specify their provision of Transition to Work services in one Employment Region is conditional on being offered Transition to Work services in another Employment Region.

9.2. Do organisations need to deliver services to a whole Employment Region?

Organisations can apply to deliver services in one or more Employment Regions. There is no requirement to cover an entire Employment Region, the Department encourages Respondents to nominate specific Location(s) within an Employment Region they intend to service.

9.3. How many Transition to Work providers will operate in each Employment Region?

It is expected that one or more Transition to Work providers will operate in each Employment Region.

9.4. Does the Transition to Work provider need to have a full time site, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm?

Transition to Work providers are expected to offer appropriate facilities in each Employment Region they intend to service. This may include a mix of full-time, part-time and outreach sites in areas that maximise access for as many young people as possible and are close to public transport and employment hubs.

9.5. What happens if there’s an area which has a high level of youth unemployment but no one bids to provide services?

Should the Request for Proposal fail to produce suitable Transition to Work providers, the Department may consider a number of options to obtain coverage, including:

a select purchasing process offering business to other Respondents, successful or otherwise, including through direct

sourcing.

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9.6. For partial coverage of Employment Regions, how will this be mapped (e.g. LGAs, or postcodes)?

Appendix D of the Request for Proposal includes maps of the 51 Employment Regions, with indicative estimates of Participants and places by main locations. These Employment Regions are the same as jobactive Employment Regions. Indicative locations are included as a guide and are based on Group One job seekers and the Job Services Australia/jobactive sites where they were serviced. The Department is open to proposals for partial coverage of an Employment Region. It will be up to an organisation to explain in their response to the Request for Proposal what particular Location(s) they will service and how this will work in line with the services being tendered.

9.7. Can you clarify how places will be contracted or the number of places?

Organisations will indicate in their proposal the minimum and maximum amount of places they are willing to be contracted for in an Employment Region and the Location(s) within an Employment Region they propose to service. They will be contracted for an agreed number of places in that Employment Region.

9.8. Will the Transition to Work service operate in remote regions?

The Request for Proposal is seeking to establish one or more Transition to Work services in each of the 51 Employment Regions. These are non-remote regions.

Young people in remote regions will have access to the Community Development Programme.

9.9. What is the difference between the NSW Government’s Transition to Work Ageing, Disability & Home Care funded service and the Australian Government’s Transition to Work service?

These two services are very different and are for different cohorts. Participants cannot be in both programmes concurrently.

The existing New South Wales Government funded programme called Transition to Work is a two year program targeted at young people with a disability to gain employment after leaving school. Further information on this program is found at http://www.adhc.nsw.gov.au/sp/delivering_disability_services/post_school_programs/transition_to_work

9.10. What if a Location is not listed in an Employment Region? Are there Participants in that Location that need to be serviced?

The Locations provided in Appendix D are a guide for the Employment Region and provide indicative numbers of Participants in these Locations. Any Location where the number of Participants is expected to be less than 10 is not shown. Respondents may propose what Locations they would service within an Employment Region, noting that Locations not listed are expected to have low numbers of Participants.

9.11. Will Transition to Work service allow for the transfer of places across Employment Regions where a provider holds Transition to Work contracts in neighbouring Employment Regions?

No. There is already a high degree of flexibility in the utilisation of places by providers. The Department will have the right to vary places where it considers this is necessary.

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9.12. Could you please clarify how the Department proposes to manage market share/tolerance levels?

The Department will limit servicing of a Location within an Employment Region to only one provider. There may still be multiple Transition to Work providers in the Employment Region.

9.13. Young people can be itinerant, do they have to live in boundaries of an Employment Region or can they be serviced when they move outside the boundary?

The Department of Human Services (Centrelink) or a jobactive provider will refer Participants to the Transition to Work provider within the Participant’s location. The Department of Human Services (Centrelink) will have a list of providers for each Employment Region.

A Participant will have some flexibility to choose. However, there is a requirement to advise the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) of a change of circumstances when they move location and this may remove eligibility if the young person moves to a Community Development Programme region.

Where there is no Transition to Work provider in the Participant’s location and the Participant is willing to travel to another location, or the Participant specifically requests a Transition to Work provider outside of their location, a Department of Human Services (Centrelink) referral, jobactive provider referral or a direct registration will be allowed.

9.14. Are providers allowed to nominate coverage via outreach to regional areas not listed in Appendix D?

The Request for Proposal is seeking to establish one or more Transition to Work services in each of the 51 Employment Regions. These are non- remote regions.

Young people in remote regions will have access to the Community Development Programme.

Providers may elect to offer services to locations within an Employment Region that are not listed in Appendix D. However, the expected number of participants is likely to be low.

9.15. Will the Transition to Work service be available in the Pilbara (that is not clear in the Request for Proposal)?

No. The Request for Proposal is seeking to establish one or more Transition to Work services in each of the 51 Employment Regions. These are non- remote regions.

Young people in remote regions, including Pilbara, will have access to the Community Development Programme.

9.16. Has the number of places in the Transition to Work service increased since the Exposure Draft?

It is expected that Transition to Work will still help around 29,000 young people each year.

The number of indicative places for some Employment Regions in Appendix D of the Request for Proposal has changed from those in the Exposure Draft due to updated data being used in the calculations. Indicative Locations are based on Group One Job Seekers and the Job Services Australia/jobactive sites where they were serviced.

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The numbers in Appendix D of the Request for Proposal are indicative only. The Department does not, and will not, guarantee a specified or minimum level of business.

9.17. Will there be one or more providers per Employment Region and or location?

The Department will limit servicing of a location within an Employment Region to only one provider. There may still be multiple Transition to Work providers in the Employment Region.

9.18. If you bid for the minimum and maximum, and there are a couple of providers in one region, how do the providers sort out what area of the region they look after?

Respondents must nominate the Location within an Employment Region they propose to service and will be required to nominate the minimum and maximum number of places they are willing to contract for in a Location or across an Employment Region. For each Location in an Employment Region, only one provider will be selected to deliver services. Respondents can specify conditionality of coverage in nominating Location(s) in an Employment Region that they would only service on the condition that they were exclusively allocated other Locations in the Employment Region. For example, a provider may elect to only offer Outreach services in Location X if they are successful in gaining Location Y.

The Department will limit servicing of a Location within an Employment Region to only one provider. There may still be multiple Transition to Work providers in the Employment Region.

9.19. In terms of locations, if a young person is self-referring, are you just looking at postcodes?

No. There will be flexibility for a young person to go to a Provider that suits them. This includes if:

there is no Provider allocated to their Location and the Participant is willing to travel to a Provider in another Location, or

the Participant specifically requests another Provider. A Participant’s postcode will initially be used to identify a Provider for Group One referrals from the Department of Human Services.

9.20. What if young people move outside the region - young people can be very transient?

It depends on the Group the young person is in. If the young person is in Group One, they may need to go back to the Department of Human Services. If they are moving outside the Employment Region into a remote location, then would be serviced in the Community Development Programme. For Group Two young people, there is more flexibility.

9.21. If a young person relocates to the other side of Melbourne, are they then eligible for the other services in that area?

Yes, if a young person relocates to another location, they are eligible for the Transition to Work services in the new area. If, however, the Participant’s new location is within a reasonable distance of a site of their existing provider, that provider may continue to provide Transition to Work services to them.

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9.22. Is direct engagement permissible? (direct registration of Group 2)Do you have to be careful about how you engage relative to the regions? Are you able to broadly advertise your services? For example, we work with 120 schools but these happen to be outside the region?

Direct Registration by a Transition to Work provider is permissible if the participant is from Group Two. Transition to Work providers must undertake engagement activities within their contracted Locations to promote Transition to Work and attract disengaged youth to participate in the service. Respondents should apply for all Employment Regions/specific Locations within an Employment Region they wish to deliver services. Facilities to deliver the services may include a mix of full-time, part-time and outreach sites. It is expected that Transition to Work providers would only advertise in the Locations that they have been contracted to deliver services. Providers are expected to be accessible to young people (including easy access to public transport and employment hubs) in the locations where providers are contracted. Where a provider is conducting engagement activities within the community a young person may choose to travel to their preferred provider.

9.23. Do you need to have a site or facility in the locations/regions you are bidding for?

Respondents must propose at least one site from which they will provide Transition to Work services in each Employment Region (or Location) in which they are bidding to deliver those services.

Transition to Work providers are expected to offer appropriate facilities in each Employment Region they intend to service. This may include a mix of full-time, part-time and outreach sites in areas that maximise access for as many young people as possible and are close to public transport and employment hubs.

9.24. Will Applicants who cover a number of employment areas within a region be considered more favourably? (e.g should we partner and cover a larger region).

Section 2.3.1 of the Request for Proposal states that there is no requirement to cover an entire Employment Regions and that the Department encourages Respondents to nominate specific Locations.

The Department cannot provide advice on Respondents’ arrangements for submitting Proposals. As stated in 6.3 of the Request for Proposal, potential Respondents should seek their own legal, business, commercial and other professional advice on, and in relation to, the Transition to Work procurement process, locations and other requirements.

9.25. Tables in the proposal forms allow you to specify if a location as conditional upon another location in that region - but they don't allow you to indicate which location it is dependent on. For example location x may be contingent on obtaining location y - and in the same region location a may be depended on obtaining location b - currently the forms do not allow you to indicate this. Will new forms be issued that allow for this?

A Respondent may specify that its provision of Transition to Work in one Location is conditional on it winning business for Transition to Work in another Location (‘the essential Location’). If a Respondent does indicate an essential Location in a Transition to Work Bid and is unsuccessful in that essential Location, this conditionality provision will automatically exclude it from an offer of business for Transition to Work in any other Location where its Bid is expressed as being conditional on the awarding of business in that essential Location.

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Respondents should consider the implications of specifying conditional Bids. Specified conditions could mean that the Respondent’s partial or entire Bid is unsuccessful. The Department will not offer business at a Location unless the condition the Respondent specified has been achieved. Nor will the Department allocate business simply to ensure that a Respondent’s conditionality provisions are met.

On 4 November 2015, a new Form Part C – TTW – Bidding for Business was released through an addendum on AusTender which allows Respondents to specify conditionality between Locations in the same Employment Region.

9.26. Can you please confirm that it is okay to just apply for a certain section of the Employment Region, for example just Sutherland Shire instead of the full South Eastern Sydney Region?

As stated in section 2.3.1, Respondents may apply to deliver services in one or more Employment Regions. There is no requirement to cover an entire Employment Region, the Department encourages Respondents to nominate specific Locations. See also section 3.2.

9.27. How do you deem a candidate’s area, is this through addresses only? Are we able to accept them in to the service when the potential candidate makes contact with us or if we are their preferred provider? This is relevant given the transient nature of young people and especially Indigenous candidates.

A Participant’s postcode will initially be used to identify a provider for Group One referrals from the Department of Human Services.

For eligible Participants there will be flexibility for a young person to go to a provider that suits them. This includes if:

there is no provider allocated to their Location and the Participant is willing to travel to a provider in another Location, or

the Participant specifically requests another provider.

Young people with mutual obligation requirements who live in regions that are serviced by Community Development Programme providers would not be eligible to participate in Transition to Work.

9.28. We acknowledge the information provided regarding provision of services within regions (Appendix D). Is there a preference for size of the service offered, or a view that there is an optimum size for a cost efficient and effective service?

Appendix D reflects the expected level of demand in an Employment Region and will inform place allocation. The Government anticipates that the size and service provision of Providers may vary significantly across and within Employment Regions. Respondents to the Request for Proposal should determine their own service delivery model, including the size of their service, taking into account all relevant factors that will impact the delivery of the service.

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9.29. Can you please clarify if the ‘Maximum’ that an organisation can nominate in its bid is up to the maximum of the Indicative places available in a region as per Appendix D? Or is the Indicative number more an estimate of the places that may be available, and an organisation could nominate a number higher than the Indicative number, in case the actual number of referrals is higher than the Indicative number, once the contract is underway.

The maximum number that an organisation can bid for is the total number of indicative places available in the Employment Region.

9.30. Does the target number of outcomes to be achieved include 12 week education outcomes or is the education outcome only counted at 26 weeks? If the latter does this count in the outcome target?

The Outcome Performance Target can be met by 12 week Employment or Hybrid Outcomes and 26 week Education Outcomes i.e. Education Outcomes are only counted at 26 weeks.

9.31. Are sustainability outcomes paid for 26 weeks in education as the guidelines say they are paid for employment or hybrid outcomes and don’t mention education outcomes?

A Sustainability Outcome can only be achieved for Employment or Hybrid Outcomes over 14 consecutive weeks which immediately follow a 12 Week Outcome. A Sustainability Outcome cannot be achieved for an Education Outcome.

9.32. The draft deed and Annexure B1 doesn’t mention hybrid outcomes – is there any more information on what constitutes a hybrid outcome? Could this be part time work and part time study? Assuming the education need to be year 12 or Cert III level or Skills for education and Employment (SEE) – is that correct?

The Department published the Transition to Work 2016-2020 Draft Deed at https://docs.employment.gov.au/node/35451 on 16 November 2015. The Draft Deed includes detailed information on Hybrid Outcomes in Annexure A1 – Definitions and Annexure B1 – Outcomes and Payments. Hybrid Outcomes involve part-time work and part-time education for a total of 25 hours per week. The Education must be year 12, Certificate III or higher, or the Skills for Education and Employment Programme.

9.33. If a person decides to return to complete Yr12 and left school in Year 10 the documentation says they will remain with the Transition to Work provider until an outcome is achieved – is this outcome achieved after 6 months or after completion of Yr 12, potentially 2 years later?

Where a Participant is undertaking studies towards a Year 12 certificate, an Education Outcome will be achieved as soon as the participant has either been studying for 26 consecutive weeks or they are awarded the certificate, whichever occurs first.

9.34. In relation to Part C, Bidding for Business, if we are providing outreach services for a specific location, what should we list for frequency of service or hours of service if it is outreach?

Outreach is generally as required.

Section 3.2 of the Request for Proposal states “each nominated site must be identified as one of the following types:

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a permanent Full-Time Site, which, as a minimum, would operate Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm daily

a permanent Part-Time Site, at which there is a regular weekly presence with hours of operation less than a Full-Time site

an Outreach Site, at which there is not a permanent presence, for example, operating on a monthly, seasonal or ‘as needs arise’ basis at a local library, town hall or other venue.”

As such, Respondents may list “as needs arise” as the Frequency of Service and Hours of Service for any Outreach Sites identified in Part C.

9.35. Is Palm Island Community within the Employment Regions in the Transition to Work tender?

Yes - Palm Island is part of the Townsville Employment Region.

9.36. If we do not intend to service the entire Employment Region, and have outlined our specific locations in the table supplied in 4.1, are we still required to nominate a minimum and maximum bid range in 3.1?

There is no requirement for Respondents to service an entire Employment Region; however Respondents must nominate the Location(s) within the Employment Region they propose to service and will be required to nominate the minimum and maximum number of places they are willing to contract for in each Location(s) or across an Employment Region. As stated in section 3.1 of the Request for Proposal, ‘the Respondent should indicate their desired minimum and maximum number of places in each Employment Region for which they are applying’.

9.37. If we do intend to service the entire Employment Region, is it correct that we do not have to complete section 4.1 - Locations and Conditionality?

Where a Respondent does not wish to include conditionality on their Location(s), the conditionality column should be left blank.

9.38. My question follows on from a previous answer 12.13 in the Q&As. If we tender for 3 locations in a particular Region, and specify the sum of the minimum and maximum places for each location as our Minimum and Maximum places (as per advice), does the minimum and maximum place numbers get scaled down if the department decides to only offer business to us in 1 or 2 of the 3 locations?

For example: Minimum MaximumLocation 1 24 40Location 2 18 25Location 3 28 38Total 70 103

If your minimum aggregate is 70 (as above), and this is put in the tender, would this not restrict the Department’s opportunity to award business in only 1 or 2 of the 3 sites? In that case, the minimum might better be specified as say 18, but that would not be a viable business level for the 3 sites?

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Please refer to Addendum number 11 that was release on 27 November. If, after reading the Addendum, you have further questions on eligibility, please contact the Employment Services Hotline -1300 733 514 or email (espurchasing@employment.gov.au).

9.39. We currently have a physical presence at Osbourne Park, on the boundary of the location: Innaloo, we are considering submitting our bid to service Innaloo from our Osbourne Park location. Is this acceptable or do we need to have a physical presence in the actual location for which we are bidding.

Respondents can nominate to offer services in more than one location of an Employment Region.

Transition to Work providers are expected to offer appropriate facilities in each Employment Region they intend to service. This may include a mix of full-time, part-time and outreach sites in areas that maximise access for as many young people as possible and are close to public transport and employment hubs.

10. Payments

10.1. What are the different payment types?

There are three elements to the payments providers can receive:

An Upfront Payment of $5300 per place per annum paid on a quarterly basis with the requirement that a performance target will be achieved

A Bonus Outcome Payment of $3500 for every outcome achieved above the Outcome Performance Target which is paid as outcomes are achieved

A Sustainability Outcome Payment of $3500 for every 26 week outcome which is paid as outcomes are achieved.

10.2. Does the $5300 apply to the place, or is it applied to each Participant placed?

Each funded place is paid $5300 per year on a quarterly basis. It does not refer to a Participant being placed into education or employment over the year. It is estimated that a place will support two Participants on average. For example, in one place a Participant may stay for three months and another for nine months.

10.3. Will Transition to Work providers have access to the Employment Fund for training, tools and work clothing? Is there funding for training young people? Transition to Work providers can provide assistance with other training; does this come out of the $5300 per place?

Transition to Work providers do not have a separate Employment Fund. Transition to Work is a separate service to jobactive.

The Upfront Payment of $5300 per place per annum (paid on a quarterly basis) is expected to fund any services or activities that will support a Participant in gaining employment or participation in education.

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10.4. Why has the Department decided to reward attainment of Certificate III qualifications which are beyond the capabilities of a proportion of the Transition to Work cohort?

The Department notes that a Participant may undertake Certificate I and Certificate II level courses, however, these are considered as pathways to achieving employment or participation in a higher level education qualification.

In addition, participation in the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme for 26 consecutive weeks full-time is included as an education outcome for those young people with very low language, literacy and numeracy.

10.5. Does the Upfront Payment of $5300 need to cover 26 weeks education outcome as opposed to 12 weeks employment outcome?

The Upfront Payment of $5,300 per place per annum is to support providers in achieving employment, education and improved work-readiness. It is expected that for the Upfront Payment, providers will be expected to achieve an agreed number of 12 week employment or education outcomes. The agreed number of outcomes will be based on the Outcome Performance Target for the Employment Region. Details are provided in Appendix D of the Request for Proposal.

10.6. Will the Bonus Outcome Payment be based on monthly, quarterly or yearly performance targets?

In Attachment D of the Request for Proposal there is a description of how the Outcome Performance Target is calculated and it shows for each Employment Region the main Locations, the number of Participants expected and the Outcome Performance Target that would apply to that number of places.

In terms of how payments will align to Outcome Performance Targets, the Outcome Performance Target will be split into a total for each quarter. Once the provider exceeds the quarterly Outcome Performance Target in a quarter, they would then receive a Bonus Outcome Payment for each outcome achieved above the Outcome Performance Target.

For example, if Location A has an annual Outcome Performance Target of 100, this equates to 25 outcomes per quarter. If a provider achieves 26 outcomes in that quarter they will receive a Bonus Outcome payment of $3500 for the 26th placement.

10.7. How does the payment and outcome arrangements work?

The payment arrangements for an individual provider are shown in the following example.Provider Employment

RegionNumber of Funded Places

Three Month Phase-in Period Places

Annual Outcome Performance Target

Provider X Western Melbourne

120 90 68

Upfront Payments will be paid to a provider at the commencement of the Deed and thereafter at the start of each subsequent Financial Quarter. In the example above, Provider X is funded for 120 places over the year.

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The Three Month Phase-in Period recognises the start-up flows of Participants into the service. Providers will be funded for 75 per cent of their number of funded places during this period. In this example the provider will receive $119,250 ($1325 x 90 places) over the first three months. Future payments are based on the full 120 places, therefore, a standard quarterly Upfront Payment is $159,000. Providers will receive a pro-rata payment for the quarter in which their funded places increase from 75 per cent to 100 per cent.

An annual Outcome Performance Target will be set for each provider. To operationalise the annual Outcome Performance Target, the annual target will be broken into four quarters so that providers are able to receive Bonus Outcome Payments throughout the year. For this provider, the Outcome Performance Target is 68, which is broken into four targets of 17 outcomes per quarter to achieve Bonus Outcome Payments. If, in a quarter, the provider achieves 19 outcomes (two more than the quarterly target of 17), they will receive Bonus Outcome Payments totalling (2 x $3500) over the quarter. Bonus Outcome Payments will be paid upon achievement of each Bonus Outcome. In the first year of a provider’s operation the Outcome Performance Targets will be adjusted to recognise the start-up flows of Participants into the service. There will be no Outcome Performance Target set in the first quarter; Outcome Performance Targets for the quarters 2–4 will be scaled to reflect the lower caseloads and shorter time providers have had to work with Participants.

The provider will receive a $3500 payment as each Sustainability Outcome is achieved. There is no requirement to meet a target.

Note: The Request for Proposal outlines the following payments:1. Upfront Payment: $5300 per place per annum, paid quarterly (=$1325 per place), with providers

required to achieve an agreed number of 12 week employment, education or hybrid outcomes.2. Bonus Outcome Payment: $3500 for every outcome achieved above the performance target

paid as outcomes are achieved.3. Sustainability Outcome Payment: $3500 for every 26 week outcome, paid as outcomes are

achieved.

10.8. If we paid an employer on the first of the month, when would the Department make the payment to us?

Details will be provided in Guidelines.

10.9. Who pays for training courses?

$5300 is available per place and paid up-front to fund the needs of participants including training. Other funding that supports training initiatives such as those provided by States and Territories could be used. There is no separate fund for additional support.

10.10. What about the 10 per cent jobactive referrals, can money be claimed from jobactive for these clients?

No. jobactive and Transition to Work are separate services.

Transition to Work Providers are expected to fund additional support from the funding they receive.

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10.11. In terms of Bonus Outcome Payments, is a Transition to Work provider able to make agreements with participants or other providers to pay a proportion of the payment to them?

The Transition to Work Bonus Outcome Payment will be paid to the Participant’s Transition to Work Provider.

Agreements to share payments between organisations is a commercial arrangement and is a matter for an individual business.

If the Agreement to share outcomes is part of a subcontract the Provider must not, without the Department’s prior written approval enter into a Subcontract for the performance of any of its obligations under this Deed (as outlined in the draft deed released during the Exposure Draft period).

For further advice, a more detailed scenario would need to be provided.

A provider may choose to provide financial incentives to participants and is a matter for the individual business.

There is also a Job Commitment Bonus available to young people. Details of this bonus are available on the Department of Employment’s website www.employment.gov.au.

10.12. Will successful providers tendering for TTW be able to claim paid employment outcomes and wage subsidies for young people placed into employment with related entities for example, GTO or social enterprises owned by the organisation and / or delivery partners for TTW?

Providers will receive a Bonus Outcome Payment for every outcome achieved above the Outcome Performance Target and a Sustainability Outcome Payment for every 26 week outcome achieved. This can include employment outcomes achieved by Participants placed into employment with related entities.

Across all wage subsidies, a wage subsidy employer:

• can be a labour hire company or group training organisation provided that the company is paying the Participant’s wages and that any assignments meet the eligibility criteria of the wage subsidy placement and employer

• can be a related entity of the provider but must not be the provider’s own organisation.

Where the labour hire company or group training organisation is considered the employer of the eligible Participant, that employer must disclose to the relevant host organisations that an Australian Government wage subsidy is potentially available for that particular placement.

Participants will be eligible for a Youth Wage Subsidy if they:

• are under 30 years of age with mutual obligation requirements• are a Fully Eligible Participant commenced with a Transition to Work provider• have been serviced in employment services (for example, by jobactive, Job Services Australia,

Disability Employment Services, Community Development Programme, or Remote Jobs and Communities Programme) for at least six continuous months.

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10.13. The Exposure Draft mentions-Performance targets

As a condition of the upfront payment, Providers will be required to achieve an agreed number of 12 week employment or education outcomes.

• A 12 week employment outcome is defined as 12 weeks of employment that reduces income support by 60 per cent (or reaches a specified number of hours for Job Seekers not receiving income support). It may include shorter periods of employment of four weeks or more that can be accumulated to achieve 12 weeks employment.

• An education outcome is the completion of Year 12, a Certificate III or six months participation in a qualifying education course. Based on historic achievement this is expected to be around 10 per cent of all 12 week outcomes.

It is noted that this is not mentioned in the Request for Proposal.

Is this 10 per cent capped or can this percentage be higher and will the Provider receive more payments as a result?

While the Transition to Work service is an employment focused service, there is no mandated ratio for the proportion of employment and education outcomes that must be achieved. The employment focus is embedded in the overarching service model. Analysis of Jobs Services Australia data indicates around ten per cent of 26 week outcomes were for education outcomes (Year 12 or Certificate III) compared to employment outcomes.

A Provider may receive a Bonus Outcome Payment of $3500 for every Outcome achieved above the Outcome Performance Target, which is paid as Outcomes are achieved. Bonus Outcomes can be Employment Outcomes, Education Outcomes or Hybrid Outcomes.

10.14. Can we get clarity on the RFP Page 20? We have two interpretation (as shown in the two different scenarios below) and we would like to know which is correct.Scenario 1Quarter 1 75 per cent Funded $119,250Quarter 2 100 per cent Funded $159,000Quarter 3 100 per cent Funded $159,000Quarter 4 100 per cent Funded $159,000Total Year 1 $596,250

In this scenario, providers will receive 25 per cent less funding in the first quarter meaning that in Year 1, funding represents 94 per cent of the total places.Scenario 2Quarter 1 75 per cent Funded $119,250Quarter 2 25 per cent Funded $39,750

Pro-rata of the Q1 payment paid in subsequent quarterQuarter 2 100 per cent Funded $159,000Quarter 3 100 per cent Funded $159,000Quarter 4 100 per cent Funded $159,000Total Year 1 $636,000

In this scenario, providers will receive payment for 100 per cent of the funded places in the first year.

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In the two Scenarios outlined above, Scenario 1 is correct. This scenario assumes the contract start date is 1 January 2016. To demonstrate the Three Month Phase-in Period and the pro-rata of funding below is an example where the start date is 15 February 2016.

If the contract start date is 15 February 2016, the provider will receive a pro-rata payment for the period 15 February to 31 March (end of the financial quarter).

The payment for the April-Jun quarter will be a pro-rata amount based on the Three Month Phase-In period places (90) until the 14th May (which is the end of the Three Month Phase-in Period) and the total number of funded places (120) for the balance of the quarter.

In Year 1 with a 15 February 2016 commencement, the provider would receive funding of $518,738. Payments would be paid as follows:

• Jan-Mar quarter funding of $60,818• Apr-Jun quarter funding of $139,920• Jul-Sep quarter funding of $159,000• Oct-Dec quarter funding of $159,000

The Three Month Phase-in period reflects the start-up and is based on:

• the transfer of the start-up caseload in the first month• the inflow of Groups 1 to 3 each month • exit of Participants over time.

10.15. Will wage subsidies be available to both Group Training Organisations (GTO) and Labour Hire Companies?

Yes. Across all Wage Subsidies, a Wage Subsidy Employer can be a labour hire company or group training organisation provided that the company is paying the job Seeker’s wages and that any assignments meet the eligibility criteria of the Wage Subsidy Placement and Employer.

Where the labour hire company or group training organisation is considered the Employer of the eligible job seeker, that employer must disclose to the relevant host organisations that an Australian Government Wage Subsidy is potentially available for that particular Placement.

10.16. Are all payments GST inclusive?

Yes.

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10.17. Is the $5300 funding for 2 participants per annum?

Each funded place attracts an Upfront Payment of $5300 per year (paid in quarterly instalments). Participants will be coming and going at different points and it is estimated that a place will support two Participants on average. For example, in one place a Participant may stay for three months and another for nine months. The two Participants per place is based on historical data from job seekers in Job Services Australia.

10.18. If a client is placed into a Certificate III nationally accredited course are the fees for this course paid by a) the client; b) the client’s support (e.g. Job Services Australia or parents etc); c) out of the $5300 up front payment?

This is a decision to be made between the Provider and Participant. $5300 is available per place and paid up-front to fund the needs of Participants including training. Other funding that supports training initiatives such as those provided by States and Territories could be used. There is no separate fund for additional support. Funds from jobactive cannot be used as this is a separate service.

10.19. The funding payment per place is $5300. It is our understanding that the ‘place’ is based upon 2 participants per year. If however, the place ends up to be more participants, is there any additional contingency funding that can be applied for?

There is no additional contingency funding for providers who exceed their number of places or have more Participants per place. However, additional Participants will give the Provider an opportunity to achieve more Outcomes.

In Transition to Work, Providers will have a high degree of flexibility to manage their caseloads and the utilisation of places. There may be periods of high demand when a provider has more than 100 per cent utilisation of places, that is, more Participants than funded places, while at other times utilisation may be lower. Across the year, it is expected that Providers average utilisation will be about 90 per cent.

10.20. Can I please clarify - each person funded $5300 (plus incentives) per year for 25 hours per week support?

Each funded place attracts an Upfront Payment of $5300 per year (paid in quarterly instalments). Participants will be coming and going at different points and it is estimated that a place will support two Participants on average. For example, in one place a Participant may stay for three months and another for nine months. The two Participants per place is based on historical data from job seekers in Job Services Australia. Participants are expected to be doing a mix of individual, group and self-directed activities as part of the Transition to Work services for 25 hours per week.

10.21. In the RFP, the point is made on page 17: “The Upfront Payment is designed to allow Providers to fund services or activities that will support a Participant to gain employment, participate in education and increase work readiness. There is no separate discretionary funding available e.g. the Employment Fund used in jobactive.” Does this mean that any costs to participate in VET courses will be expected to be paid out of the $5300 for one place (2 participants), or is it possible that participant education costs can be covered by either Smart and Skilled funding or VET FEE HELP.

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$5300 is available per place and paid up-front to fund the needs of participants including training. Other funding that supports training initiatives such as those provided by States and Territories or VET FEE HELP could be used. There is no separate fund for additional support.

10.22. Is it considered reasonable to use incentives to assist Participants in practical ways to stay in the workforce? Such incentives might include provision of train passes, provision of phones to contact employers in their job search. Are there any guidelines for this? Are the bonuses intended for use only by the Provider, or can these be somehow passed on to the Participants as incentives or benefits? Please be assured that we are aware of the ethical issues of payment to Participants and aim to be transparent in using the bonuses in ways that enhance job-seeking and job-keeping.

The Transition to Work Upfront Payment is designed to allow Providers to fund services or activities that will support a Participant to gain employment, participate in education and increase work readiness. This could include train passes or phones, for example to support Participants with job search. A provider may also choose to direct expected funding from performance outcome payments towards supporting sustainability of education or a job. There is no separate discretionary funding available e.g. the Employment Fund used in jobactive.

Providers must carefully consider paying incentives or benefits to Participants to stay in the workforce once employed. There are ethical issues to consider, as well as issues around public perception of the Transition to Work service. Successful Respondents can outline proposed incentive payments in their Service Delivery Plan, or could contact the Department for specific advice regarding incentive payments.

For job seekers who have been unemployed for 12 months or more, there is a financial incentive bonus which can be paid to Participants called the Job Commitment Bonus. This bonus is paid by the Department of Human Services directly to eligible individuals at the end of the 12 and 24 month qualifying periods upon suitable confirmation that their work has been ongoing and they have not returned to income support.

Providers can also use Wage Subsidies to broker employment opportunities for eligible Participants and can offer a wage subsidy of up to $6500 (GST incl) to an employer, over the 12 months from the time the position starts.

11. Wage Subsidies

11.1. Will employers be able to access wage subsidies for Transition to Work Participants?

Providers will be able to offer a wage subsidy of up to $6500 over 12 months to assist Employers with the costs of hiring and training a young person who is eligible for a wage subsidy. Eligibility for Participants on income support is after six months in employment services, including Transition to Work. The wage subsidy will be funded from the National Wage Subsidy pool.

11.2. Are all Transition to Work Participants eligible for the Wage Subsidy, i.e. including those not on income support?

No - eligibility remains consistent with the Youth Wage Subsidy which is for those on income support and who have been participating in employment services for six months. Transition to Work counts as an employment service.

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11.3. Do Wage Subsidies come out of a separate fund for Participants?

Wage subsidies will be funded from the National Wage Subsidy pool.

Eligibility for wage subsidies is unchanged. It is for those on income support and who have been participating in employment services for six months. Transition to Work counts as an employment service.

Providers make Wage Subsidy payments out of their own funds to the employer and then claim reimbursement from the Department.

11.4. If a Participant has not been in jobactive or employment services and comes straight into Transition to Work can they access wage subsidy?

Young people on income support are eligible to access a wage subsidy after they have been participating in employment services for six months. Transition to Work is considered to be an employment service.

11.5. In reference to the National Work Experience Programme and access to the Wage Subsidy - will Transition to Work Participants have priority access, a separate allocation provided, or access to the existing pool of places?

Yes. All Participants that are eligible will have access to the National Work Experience Programme. There is a wage subsidy pool which any Participant, that is eligible for wage subsidies, will be able to access wage subsidy funds from.

11.6. Can you please advise if Transition to Work Participants will be eligible for the Job Commitment Bonus upon securing sustained employment and meeting other eligibility requirements?

Transition to Work Participants may be eligible for the Job Commitment Bonus if they meet the eligibility requirements. Eligibility is young Australians aged 18 to 30 who have been on Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance (as a Participant) for 12 months or more, if they find and keep a job and remain completely off welfare for a continuous period of 12 months. Eligible young people will receive a further payment of $4000 if they remain in a job and off welfare for a continuous 24 month period. The Department of Human Services will pay the Job Commitment Bonus directly to the individual at the end of the 12 and 24 month qualifying periods upon suitable confirmation that their work has been ongoing and they have not returned to income support.

11.7. Will Transition to Work providers be eligible for related entity wage subsidies and how would this work for a group training provider – would they be entitled for wage subsidies and outcomes?

A Wage Subsidy will be available for employers to assist with the costs of hiring and training an eligible young person who has been participating in employment services for six months.

Across all wage subsidies, a wage subsidy employer:

• can be a labour hire company or group training organisation provided that the company is paying the Participant’s wages and that any assignments meet the eligibility criteria of the wage subsidy placement and employer; and

• can be a related entity of the provider but must not be the provider’s own organisation.

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Where the labour hire company or group training organisation is considered the employer of the eligible Participant, that employer must disclose to the relevant host organisations that an Australian Government wage subsidy is potentially available for that particular placement.

Participants will be eligible for a Youth Wage Subsidy if they:

• are under 30 years of age with mutual obligation requirements• are a Fully Eligible Participant commenced with an employment services provider• have been serviced in employment services for at least six continuous months.

11.8. Will providers have to wait for reimbursement of Wage Subsidies like jobactive?

We are still working through the details of the Wage Subsidies process and this will be provided in the Guidelines.

11.9. Will the Department of Human Services/Centrelink pay the wage subsidy or will providers pay the wage subsidy?

Transition to Work Providers make Wage Subsidy payments out of their own funds to the employer and then claim reimbursement from the Department of Employment.

11.10. What is the criteria for an employer to receive the $6500 wage subsidy over 12 months and how is this assessed/accessed?

Transition to Work providers will be able to offer a wage subsidy of up to $6500 over 12 months to assist employers with the costs of hiring and training an eligible young person. Young job seekers are eligible for a wage subsidy after they have been participating in employment services for six months. Transition to Work counts as an employment service. The $6500 wage subsidy will be funded from the Youth Wage Subsidy that is part of the jobactive National Wage Subsidy pool. Providers make Wage Subsidy payments out of their own funds to the employer and then claim reimbursement from the Department.

11.11. If a Participant achieves a Certificate III, does that prevent the employer receiving an incentive if the Participant goes into an apprenticeship?

If an employer is looking to fill an apprenticeship or traineeship position and the young person they are considering employing has a certificate III qualification already, this may act as a disincentive if the employer cannot access subsidised training for that new recruit. The situation will vary across the states and territories.

It is important to carefully consider the best education and training which will support a Participant to achieve their future employment goals. It is also important that there is no ‘Training for Trainings sake’.

It is expected that Transition to Work Providers will work with each Participant to understand their interests and not refer them to a certificate III qualification if their interest lies in an occupation that has an apprenticeship or traineeship as the entry point. In these cases it is also expected that the Transition to Work Provider will work with the Participant to prepare them for their chosen apprenticeship or traineeship, and then link them to an employer who is willing to take them on as an apprentice or trainee.

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11.12. We just wish to clarify a response to given to a previously submitted question (number 11.7). We are submitting a response that includes multiple subcontractors that are Group Training Organisations. Page 57 of the Request for Proposal document defines a provider as being “an entity that has entered into a Deed to conduct the Transition to Work Services under the Transition to Work Deed (2016-2020).” Is a subcontractor a provider considering it doesn’t enter into a Deed directly with the Government? If so, we presume this precludes these subcontractors from being able to access wage subsidies?

The Department will contract with a Provider to deliver Transition to Work services. A Transition to Work Provider may choose to subcontract some or all of the Services under the Deed to another entity. The Provider must meet the subcontracting obligations outlined in clause 48 of the draft Deed.

In terms of subcontractors accessing wage subsidies, the Department would consider their eligibility on a case by case basis as details may differ.

12. Utilisation of Places

12.1. What is the difference between ‘people’ and ‘places’?

Transition to Work providers will be contracted for an agreed number of places per annum per Employment Region (refer to Appendix D for indicative caseload information). Each funded Transition to Work place is expected to allow participation for around two Participants on average per year, as detailed in the Request for Proposal.

12.2. Does the Upfront Payment for one place need to cover two Participants?

Transition to Work funding per place is done on an upfront basis and we are expecting across the year that on average two Participants would use that place. The fee of $5300 will only be paid once for that annual place.

12.3. Will outcome fees be paid for both Participants in the one funded place?

Outcomes will be counted for each Participant who achieves an outcome. In terms of the 12 week outcomes, the achievement of outcomes up to the Outcome Performance Target is part of the funding that is supported through the $5300 funding per place. However once a provider achieves over the Outcome Performance Target they will then be paid an additional $3500 for every Participant who achieves an outcome above that Outcome Performance Target. The Sustainability Outcome will be paid for every Participant who sustains employment for 26 weeks.

12.4. What impact will high demand for Transition to Work services have on the availability of places? How will this impact on Group One, Group Two and Group Three referrals?

Appendix D provides an estimate of Participants for each Employment Region. This estimate is based on the expected flow of Group One Participants with an additional 30 per cent included for Group Two and Group Three. There will be some flexibility in the utilisation of places with a potential change in the mix of places over the year. It is expected that Group One has priority access and no waiting list would apply. For Group Two, providers will be expected to manage demand. For Group Three, places will be capped at approximately 10 per cent.

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12.5. Is there a cap on Group Two – disengaged young people? If you don't get 20 per cent can places be filled with clients from the other groups?

There will be no cap on Group One or Group Two Participants. There will be flexibility between the numbers of Participants from these two groups. There is a cap on Group Three referrals from jobactive.

12.6. Has there been any consideration of how the two Participants per place may differ in different regions, such as where some regions may have a more transient youth population than others?

The Department acknowledges that there is likely to be some variability of the two Participants per place for Transition to Work services across Employment Regions, particularly where the labour market is stronger or weaker than the national average. The place model is highly flexible and allows for changes in demand.

The Performance Management Framework will monitor under or over utilisation of places experienced by Transition to Work providers and consider whether this is impacted by the strength of the labour markets across Employment Regions.

12.7. Are there any controls on the 70/20/10 per cent ratios for Group One, Two and Three referrals?

Providers will have a high degree of flexibility to manage their caseloads and the utilisation of places. For example, if a provider is contracted for 80 places per annum in a Location this would indicate around 160 Participants could be serviced each year. There may be periods of high demand where a provider has more than 100 per cent utilisation of places (i.e. more Participants than funded places). The exception to this flexibility is Group Three where each provider will have a cap of approximately 10 per cent of all contracted places.

12.8. Providers will agree to a minimum and maximum numbers of places. Do they then have to turn referrals above these agreed numbers away?

Respondents will be required to nominate the minimum and maximum number of places they intend to contract for in an Employment Region. Each funded place is expected to allow participation for two Participants, on average, per annum. This informs the decision on funding places in an Employment Region but does not act as a cap.

There is a high degree of flexibility for providers to manage places. Providers will be expected to ensure the average utilisation of funded places is at least 90 per cent over each year (excluding the initial Commencement stage for each service). It is expected that Group 1 has priority access and providers must accept any referrals from this Group, irrespective if the maximum number of places is reached. For Group 2, providers will be expected to manage demand. For Group 3, places will be capped at approximately 10 per cent of funded places.

Any referrals received that are over and above the maximum number of places will assist providers to achieve their Performance Outcome target.

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12.9. Does the six months education placement have to be consecutive? For Indigenous youth especially, this could be problematic if they need to move school for cultural, family or other reasons (for example could they do three months in one school and three months in another)?

The 26 Weeks are consecutive, but the school could change.

12.10. If the Department is only going to select one provider per location why bother having to specify a minimum and maximum?

Organisations will indicate in their proposal the minimum and maximum amount of places they are willing to be contracted for in an Employment Region. An organisation may apply for multiple locations within an Employment Region and the minimum and maximum places informs the Department when allocating locations.

12.11. So in our application we should pitch to the location?

There is no requirement to cover an entire Employment Region; the Department encourages Respondents to nominate specific Locations. Respondents may apply to deliver services in one or more Employment Regions/specific Locations within an Employment Region.

The Department will limit servicing of a Location within an Employment Region to only one provider. There may still be multiple Transition to Work providers in the Employment Region.

12.12. Each place is the equivalent of two participants – this assumes a reasonable amount of in flow and out flow throughout the service. If you don’t have the outflow of participants, will this be taken into consideration when calculating utilisation?

The Department will monitor inflow and outflow of Participants relative to the number of funded places and take this into account when reviewing utilisation of places.

12.13. If we are tendering for three locations how do we indicate the minimum and maximum numbers for these individual locations?

Section 3.1 of the Request for Proposal states, ‘Respondents should indicate their desired minimum and maximum number of places in each Employment Region for which they are applying’.

Therefore, if the Respondent is intending to provide Transition to Work services in more than one location within an Employment Region, the Respondent would have to sum up their desired minimum and maximum number of places for all the locations within the Employment Region for which they are applying.

12.14. Further to Q12.13, how will the Department be able to ascertain the minimum requirement for an individual location if the minimum for all sites in the region is indicated. As an organisation who is not lodging a bid for a complete Region or lodging a Conditional Bid how would we, or do we need to, advise you of a minimum or maximum requirement at each location.

(For example, if we wanted to lodge bid for three locations in a region and the Preferred Minimum/Maximums for each location differ, how will the Department know what the Preferred Minimum/Maximum for each location will be?)

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Therefore, if the Respondent is intending to provide Transition to Work services in more than one location within an Employment Region, the Respondent would have to sum up their desired minimum and maximum number of places for all the locations within the Employment Region for which they are applying.

Please refer to Addendum number 11 that was release on 27 November. If, after reading the Addendum, you have further questions on eligibility, please contact the Employment Services Hotline -1300 733 514 or email (espurchasing@employment.gov.au).

12.15. On the form “Part C Bidding for Business”, Section 3.1 Bid Range – there is only one space for Minimum and Maximum preferred number of places. In a circumstance, when a respondent does not intend to provide Transition to Work services across the entire region, do you just put in the aggregate for all sites you are bidding in the one entry? For example: three sites only being bid in a Region (which is input in section 4.1) – do you enter the total of your preferred places for each of the three sites in the one entry in Section 3.1?

Section 3.1 of the Request for Proposal states, ‘Respondents should indicate their desired minimum and maximum number of places in each Employment Region for which they are applying’.

Therefore, if the Respondent is intending to provide Transition to Work services in more than one location within an Employment Region (but not the entire Employment Region), the Respondent would have to sum up their desired minimum and maximum number of places for all the locations within the Employment Region for which they are applying.

12.16. If in an Employment Region a provider is interested in:

• one location in its own right i.e. Location A• one location that is only viable if a neighbouring location is approved i.e. Location B and

Location C together (e.g. C has low places but makes location B viable)

Would it be expressed in this way:

• Location A – Essential; Location B – Essential; Location C - Essential

However this would imply that we are only interested in all three but we would be interested in A in its own right or B, provided we won C as well.

or:

• Location A – Essential; Location B – Conditional; Location C – Conditional

If it is the second example how do we express that B is conditional on C and not A or one of the other locations in the Employment Service Region?

A Respondent may specify that its provision of Transition to Work in one Location is conditional on it winning business for Transition to Work in another Location (‘the essential Location’). If a Respondent does indicate an essential Location in a Transition to Work Bid and is unsuccessful in that essential Location, this conditionality provision will automatically exclude it from an offer of business for Transition to Work in any other Location where its Bid is expressed as being conditional on the awarding of business in that essential Location.

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Respondents should consider the implications of specifying conditional Bids. Specified conditions could mean that the Respondent’s partial or entire Bid is unsuccessful. The Department will not offer business at a Location unless the condition the Respondent specified has been achieved. Nor will the Department allocate business simply to ensure that a Respondent’s conditionality provisions are met.

On 4 November 2015, a new Form Part C – TTW – Bidding for Business was released through an addendum on AusTender which allows Respondents to specify conditionality between Locations in the same Employment Region.

12.17. If we are interested in a whole service region but there are some locations that are only viable provided we win surrounding locations do we:

• Actually submit a Part C section 4.1 as it says “Where a Respondent does not intend to provide Transition to Work services across the entire Employment Region, the Respondent should nominate specific Locations in the table below”.

• How do we illustrate this accurately in 4.1?

The answer to these questions may also affect bid range.

Respondents must nominate the Location within an Employment Region they propose to service and will be required to nominate the minimum and maximum number of places (ie bid range) they are willing to contract for in a Location or across an Employment Region. For each Location in an Employment Region, only one provider will be selected to deliver services. Respondents can specify conditionality of coverage in nominating Location(s) in an Employment Region that they would only service on the condition that they were exclusively allocated other Locations in the Employment Region. For example, a provider may elect to only offer Outreach services in Location X if they are successful in gaining Location Y.

The Department will limit servicing of a Location within an Employment Region to only one provider. There may still be multiple Transition to Work providers in the Employment Region.

12.18. If an organisation applies for the entire region for example North Western Melbourne Region with 37 Preferred Minimum Places and 255 Preferred Maximum Places:

How would I then specify the conditionality for the minimum number , that is (for the example above) I want to specify that I would only take Gisborne (6 places) if I was allocated get Sunbury (31) also (Location – Gisborne; Essential/Conditional – Conditional)

The form does not allow Respondents to specify what the conditions for locations in an Employment Region are. Addendum 1, published on AusTender states:

‘In the table under Part C 4.1, as well as nominating Locations, Respondents may also specify any conditionality of coverage. This means that a Respondent can stipulate that they would only service a particular Location on the condition that they were allocated other Locations in the Employment Region.’

While Respondents may stipulate that servicing one location will be Conditional on being offered business in another location (the Essential location), Respondents are not required to specify what that conditionality relates to.

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12.19. The essential/conditional box only allows you to specify conditional or essential – it doesn’t allow you to actually specify the conditions – in this example would have to get Sunbury if also allocated Gisborne.

It also doesn’t read as though you can specify essential locations if you applied for the entire region but you are prepared to take on less by specifying a preferred minimum and you want to specify where those places would be (e.g. You want Sunbury if you were only going to be given the minimum number). So would you complete as follows?

Location – Sunbury; Essential /Conditional - Essential

Addendum 1, published on AusTender goes on to state:

‘For example, a Respondent may elect to only offer services in Location X (Conditional) if they are successful in gaining Location Y (Essential).

Where a Respondent does not wish to include conditionality on their Location(s), the conditionality column should be left blank.’

Where a Respondent wishes to service the entire Employment Region, but would nonetheless be prepared to service fewer locations within the Employment Region, this should be indicated in the table under Part C 4.1 by:

• Selecting all Indicative Locations for that Employment Region listed in Appendix D

• Selecting ‘Essential’ for locations that the Respondent intends to service at a minimum (and leaving the conditionality column blank for all other locations).

It is important that all locations are listed, as by filling out the table, it will be assumed that the Respondent is only intending to service locations listed in the table.

13. Outcome Performance Targets

13.1. How have the Outcome Performance Targets been established?

The Outcome Performance Target will be set at 25 per cent above the average employment and education outcome rates achieved through Job Services Australia and over time jobactive. To account for variations in labour market conditions the Outcome Performance Target will be calculated separately for each of the 51 Employment Regions (refer to Appendix D of the Request for Proposal for indicative caseload and performance target information by Employment Region).

The performance targets will be set using three year average outcome rates from Job Services Australia and, when available, jobactive data. The first year performance targets will be lower than subsequent years, reflecting the shorter period of operation.

13.2. Why are Transition to Work outcomes 25 per cent higher than jobactive?

The Government is making a large investment to support intensive servicing upfront through the $5300 Upfront Payment which is expected to deliver a higher level of outcomes for Participants who are supported through it.

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13.3. What if the Outcome Performance Targets are not achieved?

Annual Outcome Performance Targets will be monitored. Failure to achieve the Outcome Performance Target may result in a reduction of funded places or termination of the Deed.

13.4. Will Transition to Work providers have star ratings?

No. Transition to Work providers will not have star ratings like jobactive providers. However, each Transition to Work provider in each Employment Region will have their performance assessed every year against three Key Performance Indicators – efficiency, effectiveness and quality of services delivered, as detailed in Request for Proposal.

Transition to Work provider’s performance against the three Key Performance Indicators will also inform the Department’s assessment of overall performance.

The Department and Providers will have regular meetings to monitor performance and undertake programme assurance activities. The Department may gather information on a Provider’s performance from a variety of sources, including through client satisfaction surveys and post‐programme monitoring surveys.

13.5. Is an Outcome Payment affected by ‘Found Own Employment’ versus provider generated?

No. Support from Transition to Work providers to improve work-readiness, to build confidence and positive proactive behaviour would contribute to some Participants finding their own employment and this would therefore be recognised and rewarded.

13.6. What is an employment outcome?

An Employment Outcome is 12 cumulative weeks of employment during a Participant’s time in the service. The 12 cumulative weeks can be comprised of multiple periods of at least four weeks. A Provider can claim an Employment Outcome for pre-existing employment where it increases to either Full-time, or to a level which reduces income support to nil. Pre-existing employment is employment that started prior to a Participant’s Commencement in the service.

For Participants not receiving income support, Employment must be on average 15 or more hours per week.

For Participants receiving Income Support: employment must reduce income support by at least 60 per cent with part-time Mutual Obligation Requirements of 30 hours or more each fortnight,

employment must be an average of 10 or more hours per week who have been identified as having disability and a Partial Capacity to Work, employment must

be on average at least 70 per cent of the minimum number of hours per week in the range as assessed and advised by the Department of Human Services (Centrelink); but is not less than an average of eight hours of work per week.

13.7. What is an education outcome?

An Education Outcome for all Participants must be:

26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in or completion of:o a Certificate III course, or

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o secondary education leading to Year 12, or 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE)

programme.

Online education will be allowed, with evidence, although it is not the preferred method given the characteristics of the target group.

If the Participant has part-time Mutual Obligation Requirements, or a partial capacity to work, the education hours required to achieve an Education Outcome will be commensurate with their capacity.

Where a Participant achieves an Education Outcome in relation to a particular education course, a further Outcome in relation to that course cannot be claimed towards meeting an Outcome Performance Target.

13.8. What is a Hybrid Outcome?

A Hybrid Outcome is 12 consecutive weeks combining education and employment for 25 hours per week on average.

13.9. What is a Sustainability Outcome?

Sustainability Outcomes are 26 weeks of employment or Hybrid Outcomes. This is achieved over 14 consecutive weeks which immediately follow a 12 Week Employment Outcome, or a Hybrid Outcome.

13.10. Is the attainment of Certificate I and Certificate II considered eligible for an Outcome?

No – this is considered as a pathway to achieving a Certificate III or employment and is not paid an outcome payment. An outcome payment is paid when an outcome is achieved which is six months participation or completion of Year 12 or a Certificate III.

13.11. What outcomes are expected for Participants who have left school with only Year 10? i.e. achievement of Year 12 or Certificate III is not practical or possible. Do 12 week outcomes need to be achieved within the 12 months of service?

In this example, Secondary School, alternative education, or the Skills for Education and Employment programme could be an option. A young person may also participate in a Certificate I or Certificate II, however, this is a pathway towards employment or participation in a higher level qualification.

An Education Outcome for all Participant’s must be 26 consecutive weeks’ full-time participation.

A Hybrid Outcome is 12 consecutive weeks combining education and employment for 25 hours per week on average.

If a person has commenced in secondary school or a Certificate III prior to the 12 month period of service being completed then they will continue to be supported by the Transition to Work provider until the outcome is achieved or they leave education.

13.12. Is re-engagement in Year 12 an appropriate response?

Yes it is an education outcome, if Year 12 is achieved or the student completes 26 consecutive weeks full-time participation in secondary school.

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13.13. What is the impact on ‘time in service’ where a Participant is tracking towards an outcome, such as where a Participant is placed in employment at the eleventh month in Transition to Work service?

Where a Participant starts employment or education and has started tracking to achieve an outcome they will remain connected to Transition to Work service.

13.14. Will the outcomes be broken up according to the ratios of 70 per cent from Group One, 20 per cent from Group Two and 10 per cent from Group Three?

No.

13.15. Are there any guidelines for outcomes evidence?

Providers will not be required to collect documentary evidence for employment-related Participant Outcome claims, where there is data from the Department of Human Services that confirms a Participant has met their minimum working hour requirements, or reduced their rate of Income Support.

Where it is not possible to verify an Employment Outcome claim by existing Department of Human Services (Centrelink) data, for example where a Participant is not in receipt of Income Support, Providers will be able to lodge a special claim. Special claims will need to be supported by evidence, such as pay slips, payroll summary or other evidence in accordance with Guidelines.

13.16. Providers will need to demonstrate that the Participant has either participated in education or obtained a certificate. What outcomes would be expected after 12 months for 15–16 year olds?

It is expected that 15–16 year old Participants would achieve outcomes, including education outcomes where Participants re-engage in secondary school (to work towards Year 12) for 26 consecutive weeks or employment outcomes in which they become more work ready. The Transition to Work service will help young people understand what is expected in the workplace and to develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours expected by employers.

13.17. Does Transition to Work have Indigenous outcomes?

Indigenous specific Outcomes and other highly Vulnerable Groups are a priority and the Department will continue to monitor achievement for these groups. The Transition to Work service will have approximately 16-20 per cent of Participants who are Indigenous Australians, although this will vary considerably by Employment Region.

13.18. Does Transition to Work have any apprenticeship completion targets?

No.

13.19. How often will Outcome Performance Targets be recalculated?

The annual Outcomes Performance Target provider will be regularly updated to remain current in recognition that labour market changes and other local issues may impact the demand for Transition to Work services. For exceptional cases such as major structural adjustment in the local labour market, the Department will consider adjustments to Outcome Performance Targets to be as close to real-time as possible.

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13.20. If a Participant has commenced Year 12 or Certificate III within the 12 month servicing period but has not completed it, will this be regarded as an outcome?

If a person has commenced in secondary school or a Certificate III prior to the 12 month period of service being completed then they will continue to be supported by the Transition to Work provider until the outcome is achieved or they leave education.

13.21. If a Participant moves to another region, will you be able to share the outcomes?

Where a Participant moves to another location before an outcome has commenced then the new Transition to Work provider would be eligible for the outcome.

13.22. What evidence is required for Participants not engaged in employment or education?

Participation in education and employment are self-reported by Participants. Documentary evidence is required, however, providers have four weeks from the Participant’s commencement in the service to confirm this. Documentary evidence would include a Year 12 certificate or a Certificate III, or an exemption from legal requirements to attend school or confirmation from a school that a young person is no longer enrolled or has not attended for 13 weeks or more. Further details will be provided in the Guideline.

13.23. A Participant is studying and needs to take time off for cultural reasons. How does this affect the calculation of an Education Outcome?

To achieve an Education Outcome a Participant must be participating in a course for 26 consecutive weeks. This block of 26 weeks can include holiday periods as specified by the Education institution, or periods of personal leave granted to the Participant by the Education institution for reasons such as illness, or personal crisis, or other exceptional circumstances.

Educational institutions will have individual policies about how much leave students can take before their absence starts to impact their enrolment and progression. These principles apply to the Transition to Work service, in particular, ensuring Participants are reengaged within the applicable timeframes.

13.24. If you have young people participating in consecutive weeks in an education placement, are you going to look at enrolment or attendance rates in order to calculate the outcomes, because young people might be enrolled but not participating?

To achieve an Education Outcome a Participant must be participating in a course for 26 consecutive weeks. Providers will need to demonstrate that the Participant has either participated in education or obtained a certificate.

13.25. I have raised at a Ministerial level that Indigenous early school leavers are getting lost. There are no specific Indigenous goals or targets identified in the Transition to Work Request for Proposal. We know that of all early school leavers there is a higher proportion of Indigenous youth represented. Is it intended that Transition to Work include an Indigenous target?

While the Transition to Work service does not have specific Indigenous outcome targets, Indigenous Outcomes are a priority. The Transition to Work service will have approximately 16-20 per cent of Participants who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander — a significant proportion. The Department

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will monitor the Outcomes achieved for this group in comparison to other groups and will use this information as part of the performance assessment of a Provider.

13.26. On outcomes, where would foundational skills fit? So which outcome is it based on?

Generally, foundation skills will support Participants to achieve and sustain employment and this will be rewarded through employment outcomes.

There is no specific Outcome for improvements in foundation skills, however the introduction of six months’ participation in the Skills for Education and Employment programme is in response to feedback that some young people may have limited foundation skills to be able to participate in a Certificate III.

Improvements in the work readiness and foundation skills of Transition to Work Participants will be examined as part of the service evaluation.

13.27. An Employment Outcome is 12 cumulative weeks of employment during a Participant’s time in the service. The 12 cumulative weeks can be comprised of multiple periods of at least four weeks. Does that mean that a provider can make a claim for any 12 weeks over the 12 months that achieve the 60 per cent reduction?

Yes.

13.28. How would that work? If at the end of each 4 week period the JRRR came up with the 60 per cent achieved, then the Participant went back on benefit for another period, then was placed again for 4 weeks etc. Say the 3 periods of 4 weeks were over a 6 month period and all achieved the 60 per cent and the Participant was not employed at the end of the period, would that still be an outcome and given no evidence is required for Participants on benefit, will ESS have the capacity to give the outcome the tick, so to speak?

Yes. The Department’s IT system and IT business rules will be tailored to the Transition to Work service. It will interface with the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) system. Job Placement start and end dates in the IT system will be used to calculate the Outcome, which could include multiple placements. Specific documentary evidence would be required to support the Outcome. Further details will be provided in Guidelines.

13.29. Allowable breaks are not applicable the way I interpret the outcome above.

Multiple periods of at least four weeks may be eligible to achieve a 12 week Outcome, therefore breaks may be catered for.

Employment Outcomes are based on a reduction in income support by at least 60 per cent for Participants on income support or must be on average 15 or more hours per week for Participants not receiving income support. The part-time threshold provides flexibility for Participants to have a break in employment and continue to meet the average required over the Outcome period.

To achieve an Education Outcome a Participant must be participating in a course for 26 consecutive weeks. This block of 26 weeks can include holiday periods as specified by the Education institution, or periods of personal leave granted to the Participant by the Education institution for reasons such as illness, or personal crisis, or other exceptional circumstances.

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Educational institutions will have individual policies about how much leave students can take before their absence starts to impact their enrolment and progression. These principles apply to the Transition to Work service, in particular, ensuring Participants are reengaged within the applicable timeframes.

13.30. If a Transition to Work provider was also a Group Training Organisation, therefore technically the employer of the apprentice or trainee, can they access the wage subsidy to place eligible Transition to Work Participants into work with host employers, if they guaranteed they would pass on 100% of the wage subsidy to the host employer? This is a very useful tool to make the Transition to Work Participant more competitive with main stream applicants.

Yes - across all Wage Subsidies. The only exception is the Wage Subsidy employer must not be the Provider’s Own Organisation when delivering employment services.

13.31. Is there a limit on the number of work experience a Transition to Work Participant can do? Some Participants might want to try several different industry options before deciding on the right apprenticeship or traineeship? It is very possible that a Transition to Work Participant might undertake several blocks of work experience as a taste of industry and job type arrangement.

As a general principle there are no restrictions on the number of work experience placements that a Transition to Work Participant can complete.

The National Work Experience Programme, which is a specific programme, does not have limits on the number of placements a young person can do, but a young person can only do a maximum of four weeks work experience of up to 25 hours per week per placement. The National Work Experience programme is currently not available for young people under the age of 18. There are other options for young people including voluntary and paid work trials. Further advice will be available at a later date for this cohort in regard to work experience and voluntary work.

13.32. Can you please clarify which education certificates qualify as an education outcome? Are Certificate I and IIs included in an education outcome? What is the definition of an education outcome?

An Education Outcome for all Participants must be:

• 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in or completion of:o a Certificate III course, oro secondary education leading to Year 12, or

• 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in the Skills for Education and Employment programme.

A certificate I or a certificate II would not qualify as an Education Outcome, however they could be undertaken by a Participant as a pathway to further education or employment.

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13.33. I would like some clarity on 25% outcome rate for Bonus Outcome Payments - was this number based on the overall cohort of jobactive organisations or a similar cohort?

The annual Outcome Performance Target for Transition to Work will be set at 25 per cent above the average Employment and Education Outcome rates achieved for similar job seekers (Stream B) in Job Services Australia and jobactive.

13.34. Is there a cap on how many education outcomes can be claimed?

While the Transition to Work service is an employment focused service, there is no mandated ratio for the proportion of employment and education outcomes that must be achieved. The employment focus is embedded in the overarching service model. Analysis of Job Services Australia data indicates around ten per cent of 26 week outcomes were for education outcomes (Year 12 or Certificate III) compared to employment outcomes.

13.35. In terms of outcomes, there was talk about education outcomes being 20% and employment outcomes being 80% employment?

While the Transition to Work service is an employment focused service, there is no mandated ratio for the proportion of employment and education outcomes that must be achieved. The employment focus is embedded in the overarching service model. Analysis of Job Services Australia data indicates around ten per cent of 26 week outcomes were for education outcomes (Year 12 or Certificate III) compared to employment outcomes.

13.36. In regards to Outcomes, if the Department of Human Services is not showing full reduction of income support will you accept other documentary evidence e.g. payroll data?

Where it is not possible to verify an Employment Outcome claim by existing Department of Human Services (Centrelink) data, for example where a Participant is not in receipt of Income Support, Providers will be able to lodge a special claim. Special claims will need to be supported by evidence, such as pay slips, payroll summary or other evidence in accordance with Guidelines.

13.37. Will the tables in the proposal forms be updated to include the locations added in employment regions since the release of the exposure draft?

The relevant sections of Part C form have been amended.

On 4 November 2015, a new Form Part C – Transition to Work – Bidding for Business was released through an addendum on AusTender which addresses this issue. Respondents should ensure they use the amended form for their response.

13.38. Does a client’s 26 week employment period need to be successive or can it accumulate through seasonal or casual work?

A Sustainability Outcome for Employment is 14 consecutive weeks that follow an initial 12 week Outcome (14 + 12 =26).

The requirement for employment outcomes is that the Transition to Work participant must achieve a 60 per cent reduction in income support on average measured through Department of Human Services reporting. Participants who are not receiving income support must work for 15 hours per week on average. An average is taken to recognise that the time spent in employment may vary from week to week.

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To meet the initial 12 week Outcome, the Participant may accrue multiple periods of employment of four weeks or longer. There may be breaks between the periods of employment.

The final 14 weeks of the Sustainability Outcome requires the Participant to meet the requirements for employment over 14 consecutive weeks. As an average is taken over the period, a Participant may still meet the requirements for an employment outcome even though they may not work for one or more weeks during the 14 week period.

13.39. What level of training is expected, is it to be accredited?

To qualify for an Education Outcome, Participants must achieve:

• 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in or completion of:o a Certificate III course, oro secondary education leading to Year 12, or

• 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in the SEE programme.

Participants might do other training or activities, both accredited and non-accredited, however this would be part of their 25 hours per week activity and would not count towards an Outcome.

13.40. How is the success of the program measured against each provider? Will there be star ratings?

The Transition to Work service will not use a star ratings methodology to rank Providers. Transition to Work Providers will be subject to a Performance Management Framework that includes assessment of quality through the Provider’s performance against Key Performance Indicators and compliance with the Service Guarantee and Service Delivery Plan. The Key Performance Indicators for the Transition to Work service are outlined in section “2.3.7 Quality and Performance” of the Request for Proposal.

13.41. The annual Outcome Performance Targets are 25% above jobactive - how will providers know this target, what the jobactive outcome rate is, and when will we know?

Indicative annual Outcome Performance Targets are listed in Appendix D of the Request for Proposal for each of the 51 Employment Regions. These targets are based on the outcome rates for a similar group of job seekers under Job Service Australia.

The actual annual Outcome Performance Target for each successful Provider will depend on their number of funded Places. Successful Providers will be notified of their funded number of Places and annual Outcome Performance Target once the Request for Proposal process has been finalised. The annual Outcome Performance Target will be regularly updated to remain current in recognition that labour market changes and other local issues may impact the demand for Transition to Work services.

13.42. Can SA Department for Education and Child Development’s funded Flexible Learning Options (FLO) programs be used to achieve 12 and 26 week education outcomes for TTW participant?

If a young person is already participating in FLO they would not be eligible for Transition to Wok due to them being enrolled in school. If a young person is in Transition to Work then they will be able to access FLO whilst a Participant of Transition to Work and if they participate for the relevant periods a

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provider would be eligible for an Education Outcome. An Education Outcome must be 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in or completion of a Certificate III course, or secondary education leading to Year 12. Further advice will be provided in Transition to Work Guidelines.

13.43. In relation to Q and A 13.33 which refers to the setting of the 25% outcome rate, can you please confirm who are ‘similar job seekers (Stream B)’? Does the age group correspond to TTW cohort?

‘Similar job seekers (Stream B)’ refers to job seekers that were identified as Early School Leavers receiving Stream B services through Job Services Australia.

13.44. Can SA Department for Education and Child Development’s funded Flexible Learning Options (FLO) programs be used to achieve 12 and 26 week education outcomes for TTW participant?

If a young person is already participating in FLO they would not be eligible for Transition to Wok due to them being enrolled in school. If a young person is in Transition to Work then they will be able to access FLO whilst a Participant of Transition to Work and if they participate for the relevant periods a provider would be eligible for an Education Outcome. An Education Outcome must be 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in or completion of a Certificate III course, or secondary education leading to Year 12. Further advice will be provided in Transition to Work Guidelines.

13.45. We have previously attempted to establish the credentials of Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) as an accepted outcome for a school re engagement outcome?

An Education Outcome for all Participants must be:

• 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in or completion of:o a Certificate III course, oro secondary education leading to Year 12, or

• 26 consecutive weeks’ Full-time participation in the Skills for Education and Employment programme.

Any course that meets these criteria can be used for an Education Outcome.

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is an accredited senior secondary school qualification undertaken in Year 11 and 12.

13.46. If multiple participants are in a place at any point in time, is each person counted as being on the denominator when commenced for performance or is the denominator the “place”.

The Outcomes Performance Target which is used for calculating the Bonus Outcome Payments and is the first component under Key Performance Indicator 1 (Effectiveness) is based on the number of Participants as the denominator to enable Providers to be assessed on the level of service they are providing to each Participant that is either referred to them or registers to receive their services.

The majority of other Key Performance Indicators focus on individual participant outcomes and the target set for each Provider will be based on their number of funded places and will not be adjusted to reflect the level of Participants that were serviced by the Provider over each financial quarter.

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13.47. How often will the performance targets be updated? In this context, what does “real time” mean?

The Outcome Performance Target for Providers will be monitored by the Department on an ongoing basis and reviewed at least every 12 months. Targets will be adjusted where labour market changes and other local issues are identified that impact the demand for Transition to Work services. As Provider performance against the Target will be measured on a quarterly basis, target adjustments will be effective from the next Financial Quarter so that Providers are not disadvantaged by factors that may be beyond their control.

In response to concern over regions subject to major structural adjustment, there will be a process for exceptional cases where Outcome Performance Targets will be adjusted as close to real time as possible. ‘Real time’ means that the Outcome Performance Target would be adjusted as close as possible to the time the structural adjustment is expected to have an impact. A range of data sources will be utilised to model and monitor the impact. For example, if a large mine planned to close in a regional town, the Outcome Performance Target would be adjusted around the time when the impact of the mine closure started to have an effect on unemployment.

13.48. We are in the process of responding to the tender for the TTW 2016-2020, and would find it helpful to have an example (sample) of a successful tender to indicate how much information you require. I am aware there is a limit on characters in each response, but my responses will be much more succinct if I am able to add appendices, for example, in the Governance section, I can summarise our Governance policies then add our full policy document for reference. Please advise if you have a sample which indicates your standards and general expectations.

Confidentiality provisions, as outlined in Section 6.3.2 of the Request for Proposal, prevent the Department from sharing responses from this or previous purchasing exercises with other organisations. As such, a sample tender will not be provided.

Appendix E of the Request for Proposal states: “the Department will not accept any attachments submitted with a response on AusTender with the exception of those documents requested by the Department for security, Probity and financial investigations.” Appendices will therefore not be permitted. Responses to selection criteria must be within the character limits specified in Section 3.3 of the Request for Proposal.

13.49. In preparing a response to the Transition to Work tender, we have encountered concerns from some staff members regarding the request for personal information (Section 15 Financial and Credentials Information Form).

Can you advise if the attached document, once completed, is a suitable alternative?

The document provided with your question is not a suitable alternative to the supplying of the details requested in the Financials and Credentials Information Form.

The personal information collected by the Financials and Credentials Information Form is the minimum amount of information required for the Department to correctly identify relevant persons when completing checks in relation to the credentials and financial assessment for your entity.

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Please note that checks do not involve obtaining non-public information in regards to a relevant person’s personal financial history or any personal matter not relevant to the application or tender or other purpose for which this information has been gathered.

The Department, its contractors and agents are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 in regards to receipt, use and storage of information provided.

14. Quality and Performance

14.1. How will providers be monitored?

The performance of individual providers will be regularly assessed by the Department and may be used to determine Deed extensions and/or sanctions, including termination of contract.

The Department and Providers will have regular meetings to monitor performance and undertake programme assurance activities. Formal performance reviews will commence progressively from January 2017 and then annually. The Department may gather information on a Provider’s performance from a variety of sources, including through client satisfaction surveys and post‐programme monitoring surveys.

14.2. What is the performance framework?

The performance framework will include four components:

• a Service Guarantee setting out the standard of service delivery that Participants and employers can expect from a provider

• Service Delivery Plans outlining the agreed suite of services to be delivered by Transition to Work providers to young people, employers and other stakeholders

• key performance indicators will be used by the Department to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of a provider’s service delivery

• a Joint Charter of Contract Management setting out the expectations, roles and accountabilities of both the Department and providers with regard to contract and performance management.

14.3. Will the Department be conducting/commissioning an evaluation of the Transition to Work service?

Yes, there will be an evaluation.

14.4. What will stop Transition to Work provider just exiting hard-to-help Participants?

Providers will be subject to a performance review which will consider a number of factors, including performance against three Key Performance Indicators (efficiency, effectiveness and quality of services delivered). The KPIs include occupancy of allocated places and the extent of engagement and drop-outs from the service.

14.5. What will stop Transition to Work provider ‘parking’ Participants?

Providers will be subject to a performance review against three Key Performance Indicators (efficiency, effectiveness and quality of services delivered). Any ‘parked’ Participants will impact on a

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provider’s opportunity to meet the Outcomes Performance Targets. The Department may also gather information on a provider’s performance from a variety of sources, including through client satisfaction surveys and post programme monitoring surveys.‐

14.6. The Exposure Draft seemed to preference employment outcomes (90 per cent) to education outcomes (10 per cent). Could you please indicate what ratio of outcomes the Department is expecting from the program?

While the Transition to Work service is an employment focused service, there is no mandated ratio for the proportion of employment and education outcomes that must be achieved. The employment focus is embedded in the overarching service model. Analysis of Jobs Services Australia data indicates around ten per cent of 26 week outcomes were for education outcomes (Year 12 or Certificate III) compared to employment outcomes.

14.7. Is separate brokerage available, or are you expecting providers to fund additional supports via the revenue from payments?

There is no separate fund for additional support, Transition to Work Providers are expected to fund additional support from the funding they receive.

14.8. We have concerns about the use of a sampling methodology when it comes to programme assurance activities. Additionally, given the relatively small number of available claims for payment against the Deed, we expect the ability to garner a statistically valid sample to be difficult.

The Sample Review Clause (Clause 29) will only be applied where a qualified statistician or actuary has endorsed the sample review of claims as being statistically valid and able to produce results of a high confidence level.

15. Department’s IT Systems

15.1. Will the Department’s IT system support the Transition to Work service?

Yes. Work is underway to develop the specific IT needs for the Transition to Work service.

The Department’s IT system will be tailored to the Transition to Work service. It will interface with the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) system. Some IT functionality will be available from January 2016 with further functionality being released in April and June 2016. Functionality will include (but is not limited to) the ability:

to enable Participants to be referred to the service from Department of Human Services (Centrelink) and jobactive providers

to directly register a Participant for Transition to Work providers to view their caseload to refer Participants to employment and education activities to claim payments to place Participants into vacancies to upload Service Delivery Plans for Participants to search for Transition to Work providers on Australian JobSearch.

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15.2. Will there be an IT system? What will the IT system look like and will it be as complex as the jobactive IT system?

The IT system for Transition to Work will be tailored to the Transition to Work service. It won’t have the same complexities as the jobactive IT system (ESS Web). Some IT functionality will be available from January 2016 with further functionality being released in April and June 2016. The Transition to Work IT system will be used to support referrals, manage Participants in the service and to monitor outcomes and make payments.

15.3. Will there be a national data reporting and monitoring system?

The Department will have an IT system for Transition to Work to allow providers to: view details of their caseloads such as who was referred to them; Participant activities; and refer Participants back to jobactive if needed.

15.4. Will further information on the requirement IT systems become available? I would like clarification around the requirements for functionality for the interaction between third party IT systems?

Relevant information is available in the Third Party IT Provider Deed available for download from http://employment.gov.au/it-security-compliance.

15.5. The appendix states that there needs to be an agreement between any third party system, such as case management in addition to those required by the Department of Employment. Can I please seek clarification on the nature of the agreement required for third party systems?

The vendor of that product or system will need to initially execute a Third Party IT Provider Deed and also undertake the accreditation process described in the Deed.

15.6. Will the Department supply IT systems and support to allow tracking and reporting of 25 hour per week participation and outcomes?

IT systems will be rolled out progressively; not all functions will be available by 1 January 2016.

Providers will be required to ensure that there are sufficient activities in a participant’s Job Plan to meet the 25 hour per week requirement. Providers will also be required to monitor each participant’s compliance with the requirements outlined in participants' Job Plans.

IT system functionality for tracking of outcomes has not been finalised at this stage; further advice on this will be provided in guidelines.

15.7. Will there be a published list of accredited third party providers?

At present there are no accredited Third Party IT Providers.

The current list of Third Party IT Providers who have executed Deeds with the Department and are pursuing accreditation is available on the Employment Services Procurement Information website (www.employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information).

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15.8. What type of data and reporting management systems will be supported by the department?

The Department will deliver all IT systems to Providers as described in Appendix B of the Request for Proposal. Over time the system will be enhanced with additional functionality added. Providers may use whatever operating system best meets their organisational needs. A number of reports will be available to Providers to manage their caseload.

15.9. How will outcomes be monitored? What will the procedures be to check if a client is attending back at school or work on a regular basis for 26 weeks?

Outcomes will be monitored through the IT system based on information entered into the system by Providers including evidence from stakeholders. Providers will be responsible for tracking and supporting Participants that are working or undertaking education as part of their Transition to Work activities and will be required to retain appropriate evidence of their participation. The Department may conduct sample reviews of claims for payments made by the Provider to verify claims.

15.10. Is there a reporting process? Will this be through your IT system or is it linked to each client rather than providing a written general overview of achievements to date?

Recording of outcomes for Participants will be done through the Department’s IT System. For employment outcomes this information will link to the Department of Human Services. For hybrid and education outcomes and those Participants not on income support documentary evidence will be required. Further information will be available in Guidelines.

Broader performance reporting will be established to assess Provider performance. This reporting will generally be produced through the IT system however Providers may be required to provide additional reports to assist with Performance Assessments.

15.11. Clause 31 states that the Department systems must be used to conduct the services. Please provide clarification about what this means? Does this mean that case management will be wholly performed within the Department's systems?

The Department’s IT Systems must be used to conduct the Transition to Work Services and will record information related to the functionality provided in the system, for example:

to directly register a Participant to refer Participants to employment and education activities to claim payments to place Participants into vacancies to upload Service Delivery Plans to record Job Plans.

The functionality provided for Transition to Work may be extended as deemed appropriate by the Department.

Transition to Work Providers may use other systems, including case management systems, to augment the functionality in the Department’s IT Systems, however, these other systems cannot be used as an alternative to the functionality provided in the Department’s IT Systems.

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16. Selection Criteria

16.1. Selection Criterion 4 requires the details of two schools, what about regional areas that only have one high school?

The criterion requires organisations to provide at least two examples of how it engages with schools and other education organisations in a region to assist young people into work and education. If in a region there is only one school, the organisation may want to consider what other educational institutions might be acceptable in that region.

16.2. What is the weighting for the selection criteria?

The Selection Criteria is weighted as follows Criterion 1 is 10 per cent, Criterion 2 is 20 per cent, Criterion 3 is 35 per cent, and Criterion 4 is 35 per cent.

16.3. If you have a Memorandum of Understanding with another organisation, would you expect the Memorandum of Understanding to form part of the evidence/attachments you are providing with your response?

As stated in Appendix E of the Request for Proposal ‘The Department will not accept any attachments submitted with a response on AusTender with the exception of those documents requested by the Department for security, Probity and financial investigations.’ However, the Respondent may provide details of the Memorandum of Understanding in their response to the selection criteria.

16.4. I would like clarification on Criteria 1 and 2. When an organisation has several networks across regions, how do you address these regional differences when responding to these criteria? This criterion requires an organisational level response, so how do we express the regional differences?

Selection criteria 1 and 2 are to be addressed at the organisation level. Respondents may include any information they consider will support their responses. If a Respondent considers it relevant, they may choose to include examples at the regional level.

16.5. If an organisation is not currently providing employment services – how is anyone else going to compete in the employment criteria? How can non jobactive providers come up with a better weighting?

The Request for Proposal for Transition to Work 2016-2020 is open to any organisation with a current and valid Australian Business Number (ABN).

Transition to Work is focused on providing intensive assistance to young people, while jobactive provides assistance to all eligible job seekers. Section 3.3 of the Request for Proposal states that Respondents may include any information that will support their responses to the selection criteria.

The Department is unable to provide advice on how to respond to the selection criteria.

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16.6. Subcontracting arrangements can differ in a region. We are proposing to use two subcontractors to service different areas within one Employment Region. The word limit for criterion is tricky, how should we structure our response?

The Department cannot provide advice on how to construct a response. Each organisation needs to read the selection criteria and make its own assessment. The Department believes that having strong connections with local employers, local youth services and the local community is fundamental to achieving successful employment outcomes for the unemployed youth that Transition to Work is designed to service.

16.7. We work mainly in Indigenous areas. Should we distinguish how to service the different groups of young people in our response?

The Department cannot provide advice on how to construct a response. Each organisation needs to read the selection criteria and make its own assessment. The Department believes that having strong connections with local employers, local youth services and the local community is fundamental to achieving successful employment outcomes for the unemployed youth that Transition to Work is designed to service.

Indigenous specific Outcomes and other highly Vulnerable Groups are a priority and the Department will continue to monitor achievement for these groups. The Transition to Work service will have approximately 16-20 per cent of Participants who are Indigenous Australians, although this will vary considerably by Employment Region.

16.8. I am referring to Form B - Respondent Information; section 4 - Respondent Contact Details, Question 4.2.

This question asks for referee details. However, the contact boxes underneath it - Primary Contact, Additional Contact and IT Contact, seem to be intended for contact details for the tendering organisation. Could you please clarify?

This error has been rectified. Refer to Addendum 2 for amended forms.

16.9. Point 4.2 of the TTW Request for Proposal Part B Respondent Information form (page 3) directs respondents to list referees.

The pro forma fields directly above and following this direction, however, appear to require respondent contact information [Primary Contact, Additional Contact, IT Contact] and, while more contact records can be generated, there is no apparent separation or means to distinguish between respondent contacts and referee contacts.

Further, there is no provision to identify which of the examples (from Criterion 4) a referee can verify.

Perhaps referee contact details would be better listed at the end of the Criterion 4 response pro forma?

The relevant sections of Part B – TTW – Respondent Information form have been amended to address these issues.

On 4 November 2015, a new Form Part B was released through an addendum on AusTender. Respondents should ensure they use the amended form for their response.

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16.10. Part B Respondent Information Section 4.2 advises:

‘All Respondents must provide details of at least two and no more than six referees who are able to verify the Respondent's claims, particularly in relation to the engagement the Respondent has described in the response to criterion 4.’

I can’t find a space in the form for Referees. I understand the Categories ‘Primary Contact’ and ‘Secondary Contact’ and ‘IT Contact’ are our organisation’s contact people for this Request for Proposal. Whilst I can add additional contact records under Primary Contact, the format does not allow the referee’s Organisation name and any details of their relationship with us as per Criterion 4.

The relevant sections of Part B – TTW – Respondent Information form have been amended to address these issues.

On 4 November 2015, a new Form Part B was released through an addendum on AusTender. Respondents should ensure they use the amended form for their response.

16.11. Can the submission text contain internet hotlinks to documents that would be useful to draw to attention of the tender assessors (eg independent reports assessing performance of our organisation)?

As stated in Appendix E of the Request for Proposal ‘No hyperlinked or other material may be incorporated by reference.

16.12. Can attachments be included with responses to the selection criteria (eg an organisation chart)?

As stated in Appendix E of the Request for Proposal ‘The Department will not accept any attachments submitted with a response on AusTender with the exception of those documents requested by the Department for security, Probity and financial investigations.

16.13. Will the Department's proposed IT solution deliver the full range of capability needed to run the service, or do you envisage that providers will need to provide local IT capability to make it work? If a provider's own solution is required, what are the capability gaps?

The Department will deliver all IT systems to Providers as described in Appendix B of the Request for Proposal. During the first few months of Transition to Work implementation there will be some system functionality that will not be available; however manual and alternative actions during this period will be specified within Transition to Work Guidelines.

Over time the system will be enhanced with additional functionality added, however, Providers will be able to operate successfully while these enhancements are completed. Providers may use whatever operating system best meets their organisational needs.

16.14. Can you confirm whether Criterion 4 is requesting examples of having working with schools/education organisations prior to youth disengaging? Or is it only requesting examples of where we have worked with schools/education organisations in assisting a youth participant in moving into an education program?

Criterion 4 of the Request for Proposal includes four elements that Respondents must address in their response to the criterion. The Department is not able to provide further advice to Respondents on what to include in their response.

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16.15. As a large organisation of greater than 200 staff am I correct to answer 'No" to both types of Organisation in Item 2 and 3 in Part B? There is not a separate data item for enterprises larger than 200 Fulltime equivalents.

In Form Part B, an enterprise that employs more than 200 full time equivalents should answer ‘no’ to questions 2.1 and 2.2.

16.16. The Tender Returnable – Part A – Respondent Declaration requires an organisation to provide (or note that they will provide) a letter of compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.

One of our partners, who we are planning to subcontract to, contacted the Workplace Gender Equality Act and was informed that is this also a requirement of, and needs to be provided with, the Subcontractor Credentials Form as well.

On the face of it, this does not appear to be a specific requirement of the Subcontractor Credentials form.

Can you please clarify if it is a requirement for the Workplace Gender Equality Act - Letter of Compliance to be provided as part of the Subcontractor Credentials form (as well as the Respondent Declaration)?

While the Respondent is required to indicate whether or not the Respondent’s organisation is covered by the Workplace Gender Equity Act 2012, there is no equivalent requirement in the Subcontractor Credentials Form.

17. Procurement

17.1. What type of software form will be used for responses to the Request for Proposal?

Smart Forms will be used for responses.

17.2. Can attachments be included with Proposal submissions?

The Department will not accept any attachments submitted with a submission to the Request for Proposal on AusTender with the exception of those requested as part of the Respondent’s submission.

17.3. Will partnerships/consortia arrangements be considered?

Local partnerships and/or consortia arrangements are strongly encouraged to maximise the availability of services for young people and to support quality service delivery.

17.4. If my organisation is part of a group response for a selection of Employment Regions, is my organisation also permitted to submit a separate response for Employment Regions that are not part of the group response bid?

If your organisation is part of a group response, it may submit a separate response for Employment Regions that are not part of the group response bid.

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17.5. Can an organisation respond as part of a consortium and also in its own right in the same Employment Region?

No. A Respondent must not compete against itself within an Employment Region by submitting alternative responses.

17.6. Can a provider be noted as a Subcontractor under a Consortium tender bid and still tender separately in their own right?

The Request for Proposal for Transition to Work states that a Respondent cannot compete against itself within an Employment Region. The exception will be in the case of subcontractors. A subcontractor may be nominated as part of a Proposal by one or more Respondents for the same Employment Region. A nominated subcontractor may also submit a Proposal in its own right in that Employment Region.

17.7. Where can I find the webinar PowerPoint presentation?

A video of the webinar will be made available on the Employment Services Procurement Information website: www.employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information.

Applicants are also advised to regularly view the website for any new questions and answers.

17.8. Are you going to be speaking to the collaborative alliance consortium opportunities outlined in the proposal?

No, the Request for Proposal outlines the possible types of respondents. The Department encourages people to maximise consortium opportunities.

17.9. Are there going to be subcontracting opportunities?

Yes, subcontracting arrangements are allowed and is encouraged if your organisation has connections with specialised organisations. If your organisation is going to have a subcontracting arrangement, this needs to be outlined in your response to the Request for Proposal.

17.10. Are there any limitations on the number of partnerships and/or consortia a Respondent can be involved for the Transition to Work Request for Proposal?

No, Respondents can enter into multiple partnerships or consortia arrangements across different Employment Regions.

17.11. What is the duration of the contract?

Contracts will be from January 2016 to 26 June 2020, subject to an organisation’s satisfactory performance as assessed in an annual review. The review will consider a number of factors, including a Transition to Work provider’s performance against three Key Performance Indicators (efficiency, effectiveness and quality of services delivered) as well as their utilisation of allocated Transition to Work places. There is the potential roll over of contracts for a further two years for the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2022.

17.12. What is the Service Delivery Plan?

The Service Delivery Plan is unique to each Transition to Work provider and it must outline their servicing strategies and approach in a format that is able to be understood by young Participants and

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employers. Each Respondent will be required to submit a draft Service Delivery Plan within four weeks of being notified of the provisional acceptance of their Request for Proposal.

The Department will work with successful Respondents to finalise the Service Delivery Plan to ensure it is consistent with the undertakings made in the Request for Proposal. Once agreed, the Service Delivery Plan becomes a schedule to the Deed and is subject to Deed provisions.

17.13. Is a Service Delivery Plan required for each region?

It is not required that a provider have a Service Delivery Plan for each region. However, a provider may include region specific servicing strategies in its Service Delivery Plan.

17.14. What are the delineations required for organisations with dual contracts such as jobactive, Disability Employment Services, Transition to Work?

It will be the same as existing requirements with jobactive and Disability Employment Services. There will need to be clear delineation between services for organisations with multiple contract types.

17.15. Are Disability Employment Services-Disability Management Service providers required to separate the Transition to Work service, as would a jobactive provider?

Yes. DES-DMS providers will also have to show delineation between the services they are providing and Transition to Work, just as jobactive providers will be expected to. A jobseeker can only be in one of these services at any point in time.

17.16. If a jobactive provider is currently delivering services, can they deliver Transition to Work from the same location or office?

Yes, potentially. For example, in the same way that an organisation may currently deliver both jobactive and Disability Employment Services (DES), Transition to Work services could be delivered from a current jobactive site. However, Participants cannot be serviced by jobactive and Transition to Work at the same time.

17.17. What happens if a contract is removed from a provider due to poor performance?

If the Department is not satisfied with the performance of a provider, it will work with the provider to improve their performance. If performance is not improved to the Department’s satisfaction, the Department has the right to reduce or terminate business and allocate it to another provider.

The Department in its absolute discretion, in regard to value for money and public interest may consider a number of options to obtain suitable coverage and servicing including through direct sourcing or a select procurement process. The Department will consider its position if the situation arises.

17.18. In the Department’s assessment process will it give priority to submissions that bid to service the entire Employment Region?

There is no requirement to cover an entire Employment Region, the Department encourages Respondents to nominate specific locations and then nominate the minimum and maximum number of places they are willing to contract for in a location or across an Employment Region.

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Respondents can specify ‘conditionality of coverage’ in nominating locations in an Employment Region that they would only service on the condition that they were exclusively allocated other locations in the Employment Region. For example, a provider may elect to only offer outreach services in Location X if they are successful in gaining Location Y.

17.18. Could you please advise if spaces are included in the Character Limit for the Selection Criteria for the Transition to Work 2016-2020 tender.

Character counts include spaces and formatting.

17.19. Does the Department have a standard font the forms must be completed using?

The forms have been developed using the Calibri font. However, in completing the forms you can use any other font as long as it is legible and not a foreign type face. The department recommends using typefaces that are standard in Microsoft Word to ensure compatibility across systems.

17.20. Is it an open tender rather than a select process?

Yes.

17.21. Can you bid in an area where you are not currently delivering services - will it be viewed as a weaker bid?

We can’t give you direct advice on how to construct a bid. Each organisation needs to read the selection criteria and make their own assessment. The Department believes that having strong connections with local employers, local youth services and the local community is fundamental to achieving successful employment outcomes for the unemployed youth that Transition to Work is designed to service. There is no preclusion on respondents bidding in regions where they are not currently delivering services, however they will need to demonstrate how they intend to leverage local connections to achieve employment outcomes. You need to make your own assessment on how to structure your response.

17.22. Is there an open list of organisations seeking or interested in creating partnerships?

No, it is up to organisations to create their own relationships.

17.23. Is there any difference between a ‘Request for Proposal’ and a ‘Request for Tender’?

A Request for Proposal is used when the Department is seeking solution based responses to meet our needs however a Request for Tender is used by the Department when there are clearly defined criteria or specifications.

17.24. In the case of Group Respondents, will the Department contract with the lead agency or each member of the Group?

The Deed will include all members of the Group Respondent not just the lead member. Each Group must appoint a lead member entity to act as an agent for the other member entities.

17.25. If there are any late amendments, will that change the deadline for the RFP?

The Request for Proposal process may only be extended in extreme circumstances. If this was to occur, Respondents will be advised via an Addendum.

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17.26. If a young person has a housing problem, which they quite often do, is there any provision to work with housing providers and would this be considered a plus if we mention this strategy in our response to the Request for Proposal?

The Department cannot give advice on how to construct a bid.

Transition to Work Providers can work with housing providers and other types of providers where relevant.

The Request for Proposal contains a number of Selection Criteria. Responses to the Selection Criteria will be ranked for each Employment Region based on the assessment scores. The Department reserves the right to consider all information contained in a response, and any other relevant information available to it.

17.27. Our organisation has been approached by a number of lead agents across Australia who wish to submit a proposal and who would like to incorporate elements of our service delivery model into their TTW service delivery model.We are not looking at being a lead agent for this tender however we are wondering if we can be part of more than one bid per region either as part of a consortium or noted within the proposal as an external organisation that jobseekers may be referred to access specific supports.A member of a Group Response is not able be part of another Group Response in the same Employment Region.

However, as stated in section 4.8, a subcontractor may be nominated as part of a response by one or more Respondents for the same Employment Region. A nominated subcontractor may also respond in its own right in that Employment Region.

17.28. During the Adelaide briefing, the presenter advised the following in relation to Chapter 4:‘your company or any related entity (to your company) cannot be a part of another group submitting; the Department may exclude either or both entities should you both submit’. Can you please clarify this further?

Section 4.8 of the Request for Proposal states ‘a Respondent must not compete against itself within an Employment Region by submitting alternative responses. For this purpose, a response from one entity, and a separate response from another entity, controlled by the first entity will be treated as alternative responses, and both will be excluded.’

This provision does not apply to subcontractors.

17.29. What is a consortium?

A consortium is a group of individual legal entities that lodge a submission to the Request for Proposal collectively. A consortium must appoint a lead member to act as agent for the other member entities.

17.30. Can an organisation be part of one group response (a member of a consortium) and noted as a subcontractor in another bid for the same region?

As stated at section 4.8 of the Request for Proposal, a Respondent cannot compete against itself within an Employment Region. The exception will be in the case of subcontractors. A subcontractor may be nominated as part of a Proposal by one or more Respondents for the same Employment

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Region. A nominated subcontractor may also submit a Proposal in its own right in that Employment Region.

17.31. About the word count for the Request for Proposal, is it possible to provide an indicative word count as well as a character limit in the tender document, because adobe will cut anything beyond the word limit?

The Department only provides character limits. The response forms will cut off anything beyond the character limit, including the end letters of any word that reaches the character limit.

17.32. Are the referees referenced in the Request for Proposal at the Employment Region level or at the organisational level?

As stated in Section 3.4 of the Request for Proposal, ‘All Respondents must provide details of at least two and no more than six referees who are able to verify the Respondent’s claims, particularly in relation to the engagement the Respondent has described in the response to criterion 4.’

17.33. Will the priority regions be announced prior to services or during the procurement stage?

Transition to Work services will commence from January 2016 through to April 2016 on a rolling basis. There are no plans to announce the priority list.

17.34. When do formal partnership or alliance arrangements need to be in place?

As stated in section 4.3.2 of the Request for Proposal, an alliance of individual legal entities will need to provide details and evidence of the alliance’s actual or proposed legal arrangements as part of their response. A partnership will need to do likewise.

17.35. In terms of consortium bids, when addressing key selection regarding experience, do you expect a response on behalf of all individuals or just the lead provider?

When responding as part of a consortium, a respondent must specify in their response the business structure and arrangements under which they propose to conduct Transition to Work services.

17.36. Will the feedback gathered during the draft exposure be released?

A range of feedback was received on the Exposure Draft for the Transition to Work services. In general the feedback was very supportive of the proposed services, in particular the service design/framework and the requirement for services to be embedded within the local community. The Department has considered and incorporated (where appropriate) feedback and clarification into the Request for Proposal. It is not currently proposed to publish Exposure Draft feedback.

17.37. I understand that there is a requirement to have a clear delineation between jobactive and Transition to Work. We are an RTO providing education services – is there a need for that same delineation between services.

Yes. There will need to be clear delineation between services for organisations with multiple contract/service types. The Department expects that if an organisation offers multiple services these must be seen as separate services and the organisations ability to deliver Transition to Work should not be dependent on another contract continuing. Under the Deed the provider is not entitled to payment from the Department, other Commonwealth sources or state, territory or local government bodies for providing the same or similar services as provided under the Transition to Work Deed, and the Department may require the provider to provide evidence which proves that the provider is not so entitled.

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17.38. In terms of the requirement to have a clear delineation between services, what exactly is expected? Can it be co-located in same site provided there is clear signage?

The department expects that organisations that deliver multiple services, including Transition to Work will need to maintain a clear delineation between those services. The organisation may be operating these services from the same location, however, there should be separate signage, different staff and record keeping.Where the Transition to Work provider delivers the same or similar services funded by another source (state/territory agency) the department may require the provider to provide evidence which proves that the provider is entitled to claim Transition to Work services payments.

17.39. What are the priority areas?

Priority areas have not been identified at this time. Transition to Work services are being sought in all the 51 Employment Regions around Australia, with commencements from January 2016 through to April 2016 on a rolling basis.

17.40. Would priority areas be ranged on the SEIFA range of areas of unemployed youth?

Priority areas have not been identified at this time. Transition to Work services are being sought in all the 51 Employment Regions around Australia, with commencements from January 2016 through to April 2016 on a rolling basis.

17.41. In regards to the tender assessment, what impact will the Christmas holidays have on expected announcements?

As stated in the indicative timeline in the Request for Proposal, rolling announcements for the Transition to Work service will commence in January 2016. Transition to Work announcements will be finalised and all services will have commenced by the end of April 2016.

The Department is committed to meeting the timeframes advertised in the Request for Proposal.

17.42. In terms of assessment, is there weight given to how quickly you can get a site up and running?

Successful Respondents are expected to commence service delivery between January 2016 and April 2016.

Selection of Providers will be based on responses submitted against the selection criteria outlined in the Request for Proposal. Each selection criterion has the weightings specified in the Request for Proposal.

17.43. We are tendering for the TTW Service as a sole trader for a number of locations/regions. I understand that as required by the RFP tenderer's must respond once only to selection Criteria 1 and 2 on an organisational level, and then per location/region for section criteria 3 and 4.

My question however is regarding tendering with a partner organisation in a specific location/s. In light of this the responses will be different, inclusive of the agreed structure, other agency information etc.

I would like to confirm that this arrangement will require a separate tender as shown below

eg. Tender 1 – Our organisation (Sole trader) locations x,y,z.

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Tender 2 – Our organisation and ABC Youth Service (Group respondent) - locations a,b,c

In the scenario you outline above, the responses would be considered to be from two separate entities.

In each instance, the following forms would need to be submitted:

Part A – TTW – Respondent Declaration (once for the Group Respondent and once for the sole trader/single entity)

Part B – TTW – Respondent Information (once for the Group Respondent and once for the sole trader/single entity)

Part C – TTW – Bidding for Business (once for the Group Respondent and once for the sole trader/single entity)

Part D – TTW –Criteria 1 and 2 - Organisation Level (once for the Group Respondent and once for the sole trader/single entity)

Part E – TTW – Criteria 3 and 4 – Employment Region Level (once for the Group Respondent and once for the sole trader/single entity, in each of the Employment Regions they have tendered)

Financial and Credentials Information Form and any requested documents (one Form and requested documents for the lead member and each member, and one Form and requested documents for the sole trader/single entity)

Subcontractor Credentials Information Form (if applicable) and any requested documents (if using subcontractors, one Form and requested documents for every subcontractor for Group Respondent and once for the sole trader/single entity).

17.44. Could you please tell me where the required referee details (section 3.4, page 28) are to be provided in the Proposal response? (eg, as part of Selection criterion 4? As an attachment? Within a form - if so which one?)

Referee contact details are to be provided in Form Part B – TTW – Respondent Information.

On 4 November 2015, a new Form Part B was released through an addendum on AusTender. Respondents should ensure they use the amended form for their response.

17.45. Forms A and B only have to be completed once at organisation level and separately for each Region being tendered.

However, if Organisation 1 and Organisation 2 want to put in a bid as a Group Respondent, together in, say, two regions, and then put in their own bids as single organisations in other Regions (which is allowed), shouldn’t this mean they would have to complete Forms A and B again, as they are different tendering entities in those cases?

1 - Organisation 1 and Organisation 2 (group) in Capital Region and Hobart Employment Region

1a - Organisation 1 in Northern Tassie

1b - Organisation 2 in Adelaide

All forms need to be completed x three times

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Similarly, even if they are going in as a Group (with the same partner members), but if Organisation 1 was the Lead in one Region, and Organisation 2 was the Lead in a different Region, wouldn’t they again need to complete Forms A and B separately?

2a - Organisation 1 and Organisation 2 in Geraldton Employment Region

2b - Organisation 2 and Organisation 1 in Esperance Employment Region

Considered to be different entities

Also, would this mean that they would need to submit Financial and Credentials information for each separate bid?

Yes.

There are five scenarios in your examples above and the responses would be considered to be from five separate entities.

In each of the five instances, the organisations will need to submit the following forms:

Part A – TTW – Respondent Declaration (once for the Group Respondent and once for the single entity)

Part B – TTW – Respondent Information (once for the Group Respondent and once for the single entity)

Part C – TTW – Bidding for Business (once for the Group Respondent and once for the single entity)

Part D – TTW –Criteria 1 and 2 - Organisation Level (once for the Group Respondent and once for the single entity)

Part E – TTW – Criteria 3 and 4 – Employment Region Level (once for the Group Respondent and once for the single entity, in each of the Employment Regions they have tendered)

Financial and Credentials Information Form and any requested documents (one Form and requested documents for the lead member and each member, and one Form and requested documents for the single entity)

Subcontractor Credentials Information Form (if applicable) and any requested documents (if using subcontractors, one Form and requested documents for every subcontractor for Group Respondent and once for the single entity).

17.46. For the purposes of the Tender, if you are not able to provide the full range of services and identify some specific service providers to purchase services from, must they be included as subcontractors? This is excessive where the service provider may only be delivering a specific training module a few times per year.

As stated in section 4.4 of the Request for Proposal, Respondents must indicate if they intend to subcontract all or part of the Transition to Work services.

Respondents do not have to notify the Department of fee for service arrangements.

17.47. Will Tenderers be provided with current jobactive outcomes for the Transition to Work cohort in each region during the tender process?

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No. Labour market and relevant historic programmatic data that can assist Respondents to understand the environment in the Employment Regions in which they may wish to bid is available at the Labour Market Portal (lmip.gov.au).

17.48. Can you please provide us with a breakdown of age groups within each Region (e.g split between 15 to 18 years and 19 to 21 years and also cohorts such as Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), Indigenous, and People with Disabilities (PwD)).

This will assist in building a robust financial model around alliance and partnership arrangements that can be established to service the needs of specific age groups and cohorts in Transition to Work.

On 9 November 2015 the Department released an addendum directing Respondents to Early School Leaver data which was released on the Labour Market Information Portal website (www.lmip.gov.au). This website contains data on various cohorts. The Australian Bureau of Statistics website (www.abs.gov.au/) may contain other useful information you would like to consider.

17.49. If you have a subcontractor – do they need to provide their financials? Do they still need to provide their financials if they are an existing jobactive Provider and have a current contract with Federal Government? Is there any other information that needs to be supplied for subcontractors?

As stated in section 5.4 of the Request for Proposal, if a Respondent wishes to engage a subcontractor to perform part of the service, each subcontractor must supply a separate Subcontractor Credentials Information Form and should provide supporting document relevant to their organisation.

This includes all organisations that you intend to use as a subcontractor irrespective of whether they are currently providing jobactive services or services to the Federal Government. The Subcontractor Credentials Information Form indicates which financial documents the subcontractor will need to supply.

17.50. How many attachments are you able to upload? The RFP specifies that if you are a consortium you need to provide letters from each consortium member stating that they support and agree to Lead Organisation. You are also required to provide financial documents. However, the RFP documents list no process for uploading additional attachments. Please provide advice regarding the upload of tender attachments? Are you able to provide further attachments (other docs) in support of your application?

Each consortium member (Group Respondent) including the lead member is required to fill in the Financial and Credentials Information Form and supply any attachment indicated in the Form.

The ‘Information guide for respondents submitting their response’ can be found at Appendix E of the Request for Proposal. It provides information about file naming conventions and uploading your responses. AusTender has a limitation on 20mb upload however, there are no limits on the number of attachments that can be uploaded in AusTender provided it doesn’t exceed six uploads. To minimise the number of uploads, the Department recommends that Respondents save multiple files together in a folder. ‘Zip’ the folder and then upload the zipped file.

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The Department will not accept any attachments submitted with a response with the exception of those documents specifically requested by the Department.

17.51. As a Lead Organisation across two regions in a consortium, our consortium has different partners - ( i.e Consortium 1 has organisations A (lead) and B and C, and Consortium 2 has organisations A (same lead as Consortium 1) and B (same from consortium 1), D, E (new members)).Do you provide one response for Criteria 1 and 2 for both consortiums? Or two separate responses considering the different partners?

In the example, the organisations will need to submit two applications, one for each consortium. The application would consist of the following forms:

Part A – TTW – Respondent Declaration (once by the Lead Group Respondent) Part B – TTW – Respondent Information (once by the Lead Group Respondent) Part C – TTW – Bidding for Business (once by the Lead Group Respondent) Part D – TTW –Criteria 1 and 2 - Organisation Level (once by the Lead Group Respondent) Part E – TTW – Criteria 3 and 4 – Employment Region Level (once by the Lead Group

Respondent, in each of the Employment Regions they have tendered) Financial and Credentials Information Form and any requested documents (one Form and

requested documents for the lead member and each member) Subcontractor Credentials Information Form (if applicable) and any requested documents (if

using subcontractors, one Form and requested documents for every subcontractor for Group Respondent and once for the single entity).

17.52. Once a provider has been selected for a location/region, is there a discussion with the Department about the start-up period where the opening date of a service can be negotiated (noting that all services must have commenced by April 2016)?

The Department will negotiate the commencement date of services with successful Transition to Work providers, noting that services will commence from January 2016 through to April 2016 on a rolling basis. For successful providers in priority areas the Department will encourage providers who are able to leverage existing resources to commence as soon as possible.

17.53. We are tendering as a consortium of three separate not-for-profit organisations.Is each organisation expected to separately complete responses for Part A to Part E or can this be done on their behalf by the lead consortium member? We do understand that each partner organisation does need to complete the Financial and Credentials Information Form.

When applying as part of a Consortium, the group must provide one response for Part A to Part E. However, each member of the group is required to provide Financial and Credentials Information Form and any requested documents.

17.54. When do formal partnership or alliance arrangements need to be in place?

As stated in section 4.3.2 of the Request for Proposal, an alliance of individual legal entities will need to provide details and evidence of the alliance’s actual or proposed legal arrangements as part of their response. A partnership will need to do likewise.

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17.55. Could you please advise if a robust MOU is sufficient as a partnership arrangement.

At page 39 of the Request for Proposal, Respondents are advised with respect of Group Respondents; ‘Copies of relevant Deeds or Deeds regulating the Group Respondent, including Deeds of cross-guarantee, Deeds of Partnership, constitutions, shareholders’ agreements and the like, should be provided.’

This may include a MOU if the Respondents believe that document is the most relevant document. The onus of proof is on a Respondent to satisfy the Department of its financial viability to meet the requirements described in the Request for Proposal.

Section 4.3 of the Request for Proposal, states ‘the consortium must appoint a lead member to act as an agent for the other entities. The lead member entity must be authorised to negotiate, act on behalf of, and contractually bind each member of the consortium’.

17.56. Can you advise whether tables can be included in the tender response?

Tables are not permitted.

17.57. We are currently preparing a submission for the TTW tender. Part of this submission involves the key contacts providing personal information.

Some of our staff have issue with providing this personal information and would like to know why this is required and what security is applied to the storage of this information - DOB, Driver’s License and Full Name.

If you could please outline for us why this information is required and the security regarding the storage of this information it would be appreciated.

Page 1 of the Financial and Credentials Information Form sets out the privacy requirements applicable to this exercise and covers the Department’s treatment of information that is requested.

Information is requested in regards to relevant persons within the organisation as part of the risk assessment. Relevant Persons, as per the Financial and Credentials Information Form are “persons who have a direct or indirect interest in the organisation or business with the potential to exert influence over the management or operation of the organisation.”

As part of the assessment process the department verifies the information supplied including the declaration set out in section 15.

Requesting a full name, DOB, place of birth, home address, and drivers licence number is to ensure that there is sufficient identifying information to ensure that we correctly identify individuals when obtaining reports from our report supplying agencies. This level of detail minimises the risk that an adverse reports are not attributed against individuals incorrectly.

The Department is bound by the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 which prevents personal information about individuals that is requested in the form from being used or disclosed without the individual’s knowledge or consent.

If an organisation does not provide all information requested by the Department, the Department may not be able to make an assessment, or the assessment may be adversely affected.

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All entities are requested to provide the information to ensure that all organisations are treated consistently.

17.58. You request letters from each member of a group respondent identifying that they agree that xyz will be the lead agency – How do we submit these letters?

Documents confirming the authority of the lead member should be uploaded into AusTender as part of the response. The Department recommends that the file naming convention replicates the convention that is detailed in Appendix E of Request for Proposal, as follows:

• Document 1 of X confirming authority of lead member – XYZ Pty Ltd • Document 2 of X confirming authority of lead member – XYZ Pty Ltd

17.59. Part B is the form to identify referee details – where a group is tendering for multiple employment regions with a lead agency should all referees be nominated on the one form or one form per Employment Region?

As stated in Section 3.4 of the Request for Proposal ‘All Respondents must provide details of at least two and no more than six referees who are able to verify the Respondent’s claims, particularly in relation to the engagement the Respondent has described in the response to criterion 4.’

On 4 November 2015, a new Form Part B was released through an addendum on AusTender. Respondents should ensure they use the amended form for their response. Referee contact details are to be provided at 4.3 of these amended forms.

Form Part B should be completed once only.

17.60. I refer to section 7 of the RFP that relates to the lodgement of the response to the TTW submission. After reviewing this section and also the Q and A document, can you please confirm if it is permissible to use graphics, graphs and/or tables as a part of the written response to the RFP to be uploaded in AusTender?

Graphics, graphs and/or tables are NOT permitted as part of the written response to the Request for Proposal.

17.61. We are still seeking clarification in regards to Referees information which links to Criterion 4.

In Criterion 4 you ask for the examples to be specific to the region, whereas in 3.4 Section Referees you state than you can have no more than six referees.

Are the referees to be at an organisation level or at a Regional Level? If the Referees are to be at a Regional Level, how can we limit the referees to six maximum if for example we are tender for 6 regions and have 2 referees per region.

The requirement to provide the details of at least two and no more than six referees (as outlined in Section 3.4 of the Request for Proposal) is at the organisational level. The Part B form will allow no more than six referees to be added, regardless of how many Employment Regions the Respondent applies for.

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17.62. In regards to Work Experience are participants able to participate in long term work experience of up to 25 hours per week (i.e. longer than four weeks National Work Experience Program) provided it is with a not for profit organisation that provide work skills connections to employment.

The National Work Experience Programme has limits on how long Participants can undertake unpaid work experience to protect job seekers from exploitation and avoid displacement of real jobs.

Transition to Work Providers must ensure that any unpaid work experience placements (outside of the National Work Experience Programme) or voluntary work placements are organised in line with the Fair Work Act. The Fair Work Act website has information about unpaid work experience and voluntary work: www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/unpaid-work/work-experience-and-internships.

In Transition to Work, Participants must be supported into Employment or Education, so an unpaid work experience or voluntary work placement should not continue indefinitely.

The Transition to Work Guidelines will also provide guidance about voluntary work placements and other activities Participants can undertake.

17.63. We have received a query from a Member of Parliament who has asked whether it is appropriate to be a referee for a Transition to Work tenderer in their electorate?

Appendix C of the Request for Proposal outlines the communication protocol supporting the Request for Proposal and states:

“Those who may be in positions that the public could perceive as having the power to influence the operation of the Request for Proposal process have been identified as, including…

• Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and their staff • Parliamentarians, whether Commonwealth, state or territory…”

Given that a Parliamentarian could be perceived as having power to influence the Request for Proposal process, it would be inappropriate for a Parliamentarian to be a Respondent’s referee.

17.64. The AusTender website refers to the ATM documents for the maximum file size upload but we cannot find a reference to this file size. Q17.50 mentions the maximum of 20Mb per upload but does not stipulate a maximum individual file size. Can the maximum 20Mb for an upload be one file or does it need to be split, for example four files at 5Mb.

Please clarify the maximum amount per individual zipped file and the maximum per upload.

If your response still exceeds 20 Mb after zipping all files, the Department recommends that you lodge the response during off peak times usually outside of normal business hours. As the volume of network traffic will significantly increase leading up to the closing date and time. The Department recommends that respondents allow sufficient time for lodgement, including taking into account additional time that may be required for any issues that may arise.

Respondents should refer to Section 7.2 of the RFP for details on the closing date and time.

17.65. With reference Q17.61 – a partnership applying to deliver Transition to Work across three regions will be disadvantaged through only being allowed to nominate up to six referees in total whereas a single bidder in one region can also nominate up to six. Will there be provision to nominate up to 6 referees per region to ensure a level playing field?

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Respondents may nominate no more than six referees, regardless of the number of Employment Regions applied for. It is not expected that Respondents will provide referee details to verify claims for every Employment Region applied for.

17.66. Could I please clarify that you will accept attachments in the correct format and attached to the financial credentials form. These attachments will be the two letters confirming the authority of the lead member?

In accordance with Section 7.3.3 Attachments of the Grant Guidelines, the Department will accept attachments submitted with an Application where those documents are specifically requested by the Department. Letters confirming the authority of the lead member are acceptable attachments.

17.67. Does the Indigenous Procurement Policy apply to the Transition to Work Request for Proposal?

No. The relevant parts of the Indigenous Procurement Policy, namely the Mandatory Set-Aside and Minimum Indigenous Participation Requirements, do not apply to this process. However, in the spirit of the policy, the Department has included the following clauses in the draft Transition to Work Deed to require Transition to Work Providers to use reasonable endeavours to increase their purchasing from Indigenous Enterprises and their employment of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Persons:

• 58. Indigenous Procurement Policy• 58.1 The Provider must use reasonable endeavours to increase its:

(a) purchasing from Indigenous Enterprises

(b) employment of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons,

in the delivery of the Services.

• 58.2 For the purposes of clause 58.1(a), purchases from Indigenous Enterprises may be in the form of engagement of an Indigenous Enterprise as a Subcontractor, and/or use of Indigenous Enterprises in the Provider’s supply chain.

Note 1: The Indigenous Procurement Policy is the Commonwealth policy to stimulate Indigenous entrepreneurship and business development, providing Indigenous Australians with more opportunities to participate in the economy (for further information, see the Indigenous Procurement Policy, available at www.dpmc.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/publication/commonwealth-indigenous-procurement-policy).

• 59. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples• 59.1 The Provider must:

(a) within three months of the Deed Commencement Date, develop an indigenous employment strategy which is designed to attract, develop, and retain Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons as employees within the Provider’s Own Organisation;

(b) implement and maintain that strategy for the Term of this Deed; and

(c) provide a copy of this strategy to the Department on request.

• 59.2 The Provider must work in partnership with Jobs, Land and Economy Programme providers, Employers, and community service organisations, on employment related strategies or initiatives to maximise employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in local jobs.

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• 59.3 The Provider may enter into agreements with relevant Jobs, Land and Economy Programme providers in locations where they are both operating for the purpose of maximising Employment Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in relation to specific Jobs, Land and Economy Programme projects.

17.68. We acknowledge receipt of addendum No 11 dated the 27th November 2015.

How do we quantify within Part C that in the event we were awarded less than 100 per cent of the available business across all of the available locations within the South Eastern Melbourne and Peninsula Employment Region what locations would be conditional upon being awarded business in another location as I have exampled above?

Addendum 1, published on AusTender, states:

“In the table under Part C 4.1, as well as nominating Locations, Respondents may also specify any conditionality of coverage. This means that a Respondent can stipulate that they would only service a particular Location on the condition that they were allocated other Locations in the Employment Region.

For example, a Respondent may elect to only offer services in Location X (Conditional) if they are successful in gaining Location Y (Essential).”

Using the South Eastern Melbourne and Peninsula scenario, assuming the Respondent is only willing to service Clayton if awarded business in Glen Waverley, Oakleigh and Springvale, the Respondent should select:

Glen Waverley – “Essential” Oakleigh – “Essential” Springvale – “Essential” Clayton – “Conditional.”

While Respondents are not required to specify the reason for any conditionality, for the avoidance of doubt, the Department may send a pro forma to Respondents that have indicated Location conditionality, as outlined in Addendum 11. The Pro form will give Respondents the opportunity to specify their preferred minimum and maximum places for each Location for which they have bid.

17.69. In the TTW Q&As, the response to 12.13 is “..if the Respondent is intending to provide Transition to Work services in more than one location within an Employment Region, the Respondent would have to sum up their desired minimum and maximum number of places for all the locations within the Employment Region for which they are applying.”

There seems to be a problem with this answer if a Respondent is not successful in winning business for all of the locations in its proposal. For example, if a respondent is submitting a proposal for up to three locations, the answer to 12.13 advises to add up the minimums for each location within the Employment Region. This number would then be used in section 3 on Bid Range in Part C of the TTW RFP as the minimum for the Region.

If however the provider is only being considered for 1 or 2 of the 3 locations it is bidding for, there is a risk that the number it has specified as the minimum for 3 locations would be higher than the maximum number of places for one or two of the locations it may be in contention for. If this is the case, there is a risk that their proposal would be unnecessarily ruled out by the assessors, when in reality the provider is willing to lower their preferred minimum if they are not successful in winning all of the locations they are bidding for.

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Can you please advise on how respondents can clearly show prior to the closing date and time that their preferred minimum number of places depends on how many locations they are successful in winning? This seems to have been addressed in Addendum No. 11, but it appears that respondents are not able to use the pro forma in this Addendum to provide this level of clarity unless invited to do so by the Department after the closing date and time.

There is no requirement to specify preferred minimum and maximum places for each Location prior to the closing date and time. Since Addendum 11 states “…the Respondent should add together the preferred minimum and maximum places for each Location that are intended to be serviced”, the Department expects that a Respondent’s preferred minimum and maximum places would be adjusted downwards if only some Locations were to be awarded. The pro forma, included in Addendum 11, allows the Department to seek clarification on preferred minimum and maximum places for each Location, if required, after the closing date and time.

17.70. We expect to have the audited Financial Report for the year ended June 30, 2015 ready by Friday 4 December 2015. We would ask you await submission of the report on 4 December 2015 when evaluating our organisation’s response.

Section 5.4.2 of the Request for Proposal refers to audited financial statements.

The Department will accept an organisation’s audited financial statements after the closing date. The department request that organisations submit their unaudited financial statements with their submissions.

17.71. I’m seeking advice on the release of Transition to Work contracts for Queensland. Can you please advise when contracts will be announced for Qld and which organisations have been successful?

As stated on page iii of the Request for Proposal for Transition to Work 2016-2020, the Department of Employment will be making rolling announcements from January 2016 with announcements finalised and all services commenced by the end of April 2016.

18. Deed

18.1. Is there a copy of the draft (Deed) available?

A copy of the draft Transition to Work 2016-2020 Deed is available on the Employment Services Procurement Information website: http://www.employment.gov.au/transition-work-2016-2020-exposure-draft. The Deed is currently being updated based on feedback received and will be released in November 2015.

18.2. We would like more clarification regarding the reimbursement period. The jobactive wage subsidies are currently reimbursed quarterly, resulting in risks to provider cash flow. The Transition to Work Deed and Request for Proposal are silent with regard to reimbursement timetables.

Wage subsidy requirements will be detailed in Transition to Work Guidelines. The reimbursement arrangements for Transition to Work is still being finalised.

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18.3. What kind of Activities will the Department approve aside from those specified in clause 94.1? Is it expected that Activities would be similar or different to Work for the Dole individual hosted activities or that they would compete with these activities in the community?

Providers will be expected to deliver individually tailored services to Participants to build their work readiness so they move into employment or education. Services are expected to include an appropriate mix of individual, group and self-directed activities consistent with the focus on intensive servicing to help young people gain and retain sustainable work or participate in education.

The Request for Proposal and Clause 94.1 of the Deed outline the minimum requirements providers will be required to provide to Participants. Organisations will be required to outline any additional services for Participants that they intend to deliver over and above the minimum requirements specified. The Department will continue to define suitable activities and include these in the Transition to Work Guidelines.

Each provider will develop a Service Delivery Plan that details the suite of services and the support being provided to Transition to Work Participants and employers. This is part of a broader quality and performance framework.

The upfront payment of $5 www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/unpaid-work/work-experience-and-internships 300 per place per annum (paid on a quarterly basis) is expected to fund any services or activities that will support a Participant in gaining employment or participation in education.

18.4. When will the final deed be released?

The Transition to Work Deed 2016-2020 is being updated based on feedback received and will be released in November 2015.

18.5. The RFP states: “Successful Respondents will be required to obtain and maintain the insurance specified in the Deed.” Can you clarify the insurance arrangements for work placements/ employment? Will this be covered by the employer, our organisation or by other means?

The Department purchases personal accident insurance, public and product liability insurance to cover participants undertaking Voluntary Work and National Work Experience Programme Placements. Clause 42 of the Transition to Work Deed 2016-2020 outlines the insurance requirements of Transition to Work Providers.

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