1997-1998
6.1: Employment assistance
The 1997-1998 Portfolio Budget Statements, informs Senators and Members of Parliament of the proposed allocation of resources to portfolios outcomes and their objectives and targets including the agencies within the Health and Family Services portfolio.
Budget Measures
Objective
To foster the development of environments and supports that promote participation and choice in work for people with disabilities.Priority outcomes
- An integrated employment assistance system responsive to the needs of people with disabilities.
- Better employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
- Equity of access to services and support.
- Improved accountability of purchasers and providers of employment assistance.
Strategies
- Develop integrated funding arrangements for disability employment assistance (including vocational rehabilitation services) that:
- encourage effective, flexible and innovative service delivery based on the needs and preferences of individuals; and
- distance the Commonwealth from direct service provision by introducing a purchaser/provider split for vocational rehabilitation services.
- Separate rehabilitation purchaser and provider functions.
- Enter into service agreements with providers that provide incentives for better employment outcomes for consumers.
- Pursue equitable access to employment assistance on the basis of support needs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, cultural and linguistic diversity and locational disadvantage.
- Establish clearer links with mainstream labour market programs.
- Provide seeding grants to major employers to stimulate job opportunities for people with disabilities in the open labour market.
- Reduce the barriers to employment for people with a permanent incontinence condition.
- Establish, maintain and fund a nationally consistent system of independent productivity wage assessments.
- Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to measure outcomes for consumers and to provide a basis for continuing improvements.
- Develop a quality assurance mechanism for Commonwealth funded employment assistance.
Performance assessment: indicators and targets
Effectiveness
Indicator | Target | Information source and reporting frequency |
Number of consumers achieving employment outcomes (Priority Outcome 2; Strategy 3) | Increase in employment outcomes compared with previous year | Service Provider Biannual Performance Reports |
Efficiency
Indicator | Target | Information source and reporting frequency |
Average cost per consumer receiving employment support and average cost per consumer placed in employment (Priority Outcomes 2, 4; Strategy 3) | Reduction in average cost compared with previous year | Service Provider Biannual Performance Reports |
Quality
Indicator | Target | Information source and reporting frequency |
Continuous improvement in service delivery (Priority Outcome 4; Strategies 9, 10) | Increase in the number of services with agreed standards action plans in place compared with the previous year
Policy advice is provided to government on a more efficient and effective quality assurance system |
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Equity
Indicator | Target | Information source and reporting frequency |
Proportions of special needs groups (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) receiving employment support (Priority Outcome 3; Strategy 4) | Increase in assistance to special needs groups receiving employment support | National Information Management System 1997 Census of Disability Service Management information systems |
Performance assessment: evaluation
No major evaluations are planned for this Sub-program in 1997-98.How the program is resourced: reconciliation of appropriations to the program and summary of portfolio outlays (Excel 52 KB)
Variations to Program Outlays 1996-97 to 1997-98 (Excel 24 KB)
