As a parent or carer, you may have additional responsibilities and needs that may affect your ability to secure employment. When developing Job Services Australia, special consideration was given to your needs and additional opportunities were created to help you gain more skills and improve your job prospects.

Tailored services for your needs

Working one-on-one with your local Job Services Australia provider you will develop an Employment Pathway Plan that will set out the specific services and training you can receive based on your individual circumstances and caring responsibilities. This team of professional consultants will help you on your journey to employment, even if you have been out of the workforce for a while.

The type of assistance provided could include:

• career advice
• assessment of current skill levels and personal goals
• professional skills development, work experience and training
• job search assistance, including help with résumés and interview techniques
• help to address personal issues and other barriers to employment.

Assistance could also include support to access suitable child care.

All principal carer parents on income support are eligible to access Job Services Australia if they have no recent workforce experience. Parents who are not on income support can also access employment services and your local Job Services Australia provider will be able to discuss this with you in more detail, based on your individual circumstances.

Your local Job Services Australia provider will have access to the Employment Pathway Fund which may be used to purchase a broad range of assistance to help you get the right training and other support to help you find and keep a job. Your Job Services Australia provider will work closely with other community services in your local area to ensure you receive holistic support that achieves the best possible outcome for you.

A focus on training and skills development

If you are returning to the workforce after a break, or just need to develop or update your skills, you may be able to undertake training within one of Job Services Australia’s stream services. By gaining the skills that employers want, you will be better placed to make a smooth transition into employment.

As part of Job Services Australia, you may also have new opportunities to participate in a broader range of work experience, including community-based Work for the Dole and Green Corps activities, or through employment in a social enterprise.

For many sole parents and others with caring responsibilities, a small business or home-based business may provide a solution. The New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) provides opportunities for you to establish your own business. The NEIS training system offers flexible delivery options and the opportunity to operate a NEIS business on reduced hours to work around your personal circumstances and caring responsibilities.

Australian JobSearch is the Australian Government’s free online jobs board which provides a single point of access for job seekers. You'll find information about jobs and working conditions, careers and training, and details of actual job vacancies and volunteering opportunities.

Child care is an essential element of the Australian Government's commitment to promote the wellbeing of Australian families with young children, helping you to participate in the workforce and the broader community. Generous subsidies are available for child care to help you return to the workforce, or to study or train in preparation for returning to the workforce. Visit the Mychild website for more information.

Changes to Parenting Payment from 1 January 2013

Currently, parents who have been in receipt of Parenting Payment before 1 July 2006 may continue to receive Parenting Payment until their youngest child turns 16 years of age, as long as they continue to meet all other eligibility requirements. These parents are known as “grandfathered” recipients because the rules which apply to them reflect the eligibility criteria that were in place before 1 July 2006.

Parents who have claimed income support since 1 July 2006 may be eligible for Parenting Payment Single (PPS) until their youngest child turns eight years, or, if partnered, may be eligible for Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) until their youngest child turns six years. Parents with older children who claim income support will usually receive Newstart Allowance rather than Parenting Payment.

What’s changing?

As part of the 2011-12 Federal Budget, the Government announced new measures to ensure that, over time, all Parenting Payment recipients will be subject to the same rules and will be treated the same way.

The first element of these changes has commenced and means that only children who were in the care of a grandfathered Parenting Payment recipient immediately prior to 1 July 2011 will count towards the parent’s grandfathered status.  Any new children born to parents with grandfathered status, or who come into their care after this date, will only be a qualifying child for Parenting Payment until they turn 6 (PPP) or 8 years (PPS).

The second element of the changes beginning from 1 January 2013 (pending passage of legislation) will mean that children who were in the care of a grandfathered Parenting Payment customer prior to 1 July 2011 will cease to be a qualifying Parenting Payment child when the child turns:

• 13 if the child was born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2000, or
• 12 if the child was born on or after 1 January 2001.

Children who were born before 1 January 2000 will continue to be assessed under the current rules (i.e. they will continue to be a qualifying child until age 16).

What do I need to do?

Ahead of any changes taking place, parents affected by the rule changes to Parenting Payment grandfathering arrangements will be contacted by the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) to inform them of the changes and what the changes will mean for them.

Immediate changes which provide more services and support for single parents

From 1 January 2012, eligible parents who are due to be affected by the phasing out of the grandfathering arrangements will be able to access more assistance through their Job Services Australia or Disability Employment Services Providers. The assistance will include:

• Access to concessional training places for single and teenage parents so that they can get the skills they need to get a good job when they return to the workforce
• Access to the Career Advice for Parents service.

Some parents who will be affected by the phasing out of grandfathering arrangements may be referred to a training place by their Job Services Australia or Disability Employment Services provider prior to being contacted by Centrelink.

Changes to the income test for single principal carer parents receiving Newstart Allowance

From 1 January 2013, all single principal carer recipients on Newstart Allowance will have a new income test taper rate. For these recipients, the existing Newstart Allowance taper rates for single principal carers will be replaced with a single, lower taper rate of 40 cents in the dollar for income above $62 per fortnight from 1 January 2013. All other Newstart Allowance customers (who are not a single principal carer) will be subject to the usual Newstart Allowance income test.

More information on the eligibility changes to Parenting Payment and changes to the income test will become available later in 2012 when the Department of Human Services – Centrelink will contact those who are going to be affected.

Other initiatives to help parents and carers

The Australian Government established the Participation Review Taskforce to investigate better ways of balancing the participation requirements for parents and carers with their family and community responsibilities. The taskforce provided a report to the Government outlining its key recommendations and the Government responded with the 'More Flexible Participation Requirements for Parents' Budget Measure, announced in the May 2009 Budget.

Through this budget measure the Government is investing $26.8 million and improving participation arrangements for parents and carers. From 1 July 2010 changes will give parents and carers the opportunity to gain more skills and improve their job opportunities.

In addition, the Government is helping parents to get back into the workforce, or undertake study and training, by investing $1.6 billion over four years to increase the rate of the Child Care Rebate from 30 to 50 per cent of out-of-pocket child care costs—up to a maximum of $7500 per year for each child in approved care.

People receiving a range of income support payments, including Parenting Payment, who take up an approved course may receive the $208 Education Entry Payment. This payment is available to help people with costs associated with starting study or training, such as course fees, books or equipment. Your local Job Services Australia provider can give you more information based on your individual circumstances.

More help for families to find jobs

The Family-Centred Employment project is also being developed. This will help families who receive income support, and have not worked for the previous 12 months, to move into employment or education.

The first stage of the project involved research with jobless families and started in February 2009 in three locations. The next stage of the project will develop a different way to provide services to jobless families, allowing service providers to respond to the needs of the family as a whole. More information will be provided as it becomes available.