The Jobs Fund Australian Government Initiative

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The Jobs Fund Australian Government Initiative
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What is the Jobs Fund?

• The Jobs Fund will provide
• 650 million to support local jobs, build skills
  and improve facilities in local communities
• 3 streams
• Local Jobs
• Get Communities Working
• Infrastructure Employment Projects

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Local Jobs

• 300 million over 2 years for projects up to 2m
• 200 million for non-heritage and non-bike path
  projects
• 60 million for Heritage projects
• 40 million for Bike Path projects

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Get Communities Working

• 200 million over 2 years for projects up to 2m
• 11 million in 2008-09 for Temporary Financial
  Assistance

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Infrastructure Employment projects

• 150 million over 2 years
• Projects initiated by the Australian government
• social and cultural infrastructure
• recreational facilities
• tourism infrastructure
• children, youth and seniors facilities
• access facilities including road and rail
  infrastructure and local government owned or
  managed airport related infrastructure, and
• environmental initiatives.

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What criteria should a project meet?

• Projects must address at least one of the
  following four target areas
• create jobs or retain people in jobs at risk due
  to the downturn or
• build skills for the future or
• build community infrastructure or improve
  community amenity which generates local jobs or
• provide seed funding for social enterprises to
  start up, maintain or expand services, generating
  jobs and improving community services.

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What criteria should a project meet?

• Across the three streams projects must be meet
• the following
• Projects in areas experiencing high unemployment,
  a significant rise in unemployment or
  vulnerability
• Projects must be viable and ready to start
• Projects will be expected to be self-sufficient
  and/or not require Australian Government funding
  beyond 30 June 2011

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Social Enterprises

• Businesses which aim to combine market trading
  capacity with a social or environmental purpose
• Share three common characteristics
• Enterprise orientation
• Social goals
• Non-private profit distribution

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Who can apply?

• Non-profit organisations
• employment services providers
• industry associations
• unions
• peak bodies
• regional development agencies
• local/state/territory governments
• community organisations

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Priority Areas?

• 7 priority areas have been identified based on
  labour market analysis
• The Government will identify further priority
  areas over the next 6 months
• Local Employment Co-ordinators will be
  progressively deployed in additional priority
  areas as they are identified as requiring this
  assistance

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How were regions identified?

• Already facing high levels of unemployment
• Notable increase in Centrelink beneficiary
  numbers
• High proportion of population on Centrelink
  benefits
• Population has Low educational levels and low
  skills
• Experienced high level of retrenchments
• High concentration of vulnerable industries

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Local Employment Co-ordinators

• Local Employment Co-ordinators will be appointed
  in the priority areas to
• work with employers and not-for-profit
  organisations to identify new job opportunities
• help match the employment and training needs of
  local communities with available Commonwealth
  services and funding
• develop Jobs Fund projects that will create
  employment, training opportunities and deliver
  new infrastructure and services
• Interim Local Employment Co-ordinators are
  already in place

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Call for proposals

• First call for proposals closes at 4.30pm EST
  Friday 22 May 2009. Another call will be made.
• 100 million available in first call for
  proposals
• Further information, including a copy of the
  Guidelines and Proposal for Funding Form are
  available at www.deewr.gov.au.
• Queries can be emailed to Jobs.Fund_at_deewr.gov.au.