Indigenous Employment Initiative (IEI) Program

About the program

The IEI Program is an ongoing grants program that funds aged care providers to create rewarding employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers in aged care. The program provides supplementary funding for wages and training.

Why it is important

The program:

provides funding to aged care providers to employ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in entry-level, non-clinical roles
supports career pathways and training opportunities in local communities
supports the expansion of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care workforce across Australia
increases access to culturally safe, trauma-aware and healing-informed aged care for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
helps older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people age with dignity in their communities, in their own homes or in residential aged care.

This initiative supports the:

How it works

We provide grants to providers delivering aged care services to older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Providers use these grants to employ and invest in training for their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care workforce.

Staff may work in entry-level, non-clinical roles such as:

aged care support roles
kitchen staff
administrative roles
gardeners.

Clinical and management roles are not funded by this program.

Training can include both accredited and non-accredited courses. Training must be culturally appropriate and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to undertake and progress in aged care roles.

Some of the kinds of training included are:

4WD driving skills
food safety
nutrition and healthy food
administration
first aid
cleaning
cultural safety and trauma-aware care
dementia care
in-house non-clinical training.

Training should support the delivery of English language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills, as well as personalised mentoring and support as required.

Funding may also cover:

economy domestic travel and accommodation for Registered Training Organisations to deliver training
economy domestic travel and accommodation for IEI-funded staff where training cannot be provided on site
pooling training components to subsidise group training for IEI-subsidised staff, who have priority access. Other employees may participate only when rostered on that day and where training capacity allows
equipment that supports learning outcomes, such as laptops for online learning, where it is stored and secured on site at each location.

Fair Work Commission award wage increases

We continue to support the Fair Work Commission’s decisions on the Aged Care Work Value Case.

Read about Fair Work Commission award wage increases.

Funding for IEI proviers

Providers that are funded by the IEI Program received extra funding for each subsidised position. These increases were built into grant funding for the 2024-25 to 2025-26 grant agreements.

Find out more about the award wage increases, or email us for more information.

Who we work with

We fund aged care providers delivering services to older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across located in all states and the Northern Territory to deliver the program.

Read the list of providers that receive grants under the IEI Program.

The Department of Social Services Community Grants Hub is the main contact for all funded service providers.