Community Programs

Indigenous Employment Panel

 The objective of the reformed Indigenous Employment Program (IEP) is to increase Indigenous Australians employment outcomes and participation in economic activities, contributing to the Governments commitment to halving the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment outcomes within a decade.

The IEP supports a broad range of activities that are responsive to the needs of employers, Indigenous Australians and their communities. Support is available for activities that help to achieve the objective of the IEP and that offer value for money. These could include activities that will:

• encourage and support employers to provide sustainable employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians;
• encourage and support Indigenous Australians to take up training and employment opportunities, stay in jobs and enhance their future employment prospects;
• assist Indigenous communities, industry bodies and groups of employers to develop Indigenous workforce and economic development strategies that support local and regional economic growth; or
• assist Indigenous Australians to develop sustainable businesses and economic opportunities in urban, regional and remote areas.

Employer Broker Panel

Employer Brokers will play a pivotal role in helping to coordinate and target

the efforts of employment services providers, working with individual

employers, training providers and other stakeholders to secure sustainable

employment for job seekers that strongly align with the needs of

employers.

Initial Employer Broker activities will commence on 1 July 2009.

Jobs Fund

The $650 million is part of the Government's Jobs and Training Compact. The Jobs Fund will support and create jobs and improve skills, by funding projects that build community infrastructure and create social capital in local communities.

The Jobs Fund comprises three streams of funding:

• $300 million Local Jobs stream to support community infrastructure projects with a focus on the promotion of environment-friendly technology and heritage
• $200 million Get Communities Working stream for self-sustaining projects which create jobs and provide activities and services to improve community amenity
• $150 million Infrastructure Employment Projects stream for investment in infrastructure projects which generate jobs in regions affected by the economic downturn.