Department says local knowledge of Jobactive providers not factored into ending Geelong contracts

With hundreds of Barwon region jobs at risk, government officials have been quizzed on their decision to dispose of four major Geelong providers.

Local knowledge of challenges job seekers face in the Barwon region was not prioritised when employment service provider contracts were decided, it can be revealed.

Federal bureaucrats have been quizzed on their decision to wipe out four Jobactive providers in the Barwon region, and bring in another three — two of which don’t have a presence in Geelong.

Stuart Robert, Federal Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

From July 1 Jobactive will be replaced by the Workforce Australia employment services model across Australia.

The model puts priority on intensive, individually tailored case management service for job seekers at risk of being long-term unemployed or who face significant barriers to find work.

The latest government data shows 10,409 people were on Jobactive in the Barwon region in December.

The change of employment service model will see hundred of jobs put at risk in the Geelong region across MatchWorks, APM Employment Services, gforce employment + recruitment and Workskil Australia, which will provide Jobactive until July 1.

Under the new model, AtWork Australia, Jobfind Centres Australia and Sureway Employment and Training will provide employment services in the Barwon region from July 1 until June 2025.

Quizzed in federal parliament last week, Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) officials revealed being an existing Jobactive provider did not provide additional weight to submissions for a Workforce Australia contract.

Asked how DESE confirmed Workforce Australia contract winners had local knowledge, assistant secretary Robyn Shannon said: “They had to demonstrate, if they didn’t have local connections, their capacity to form local connections and often what that involved was them, providing a case study of how they had.”

Department of Education, Skills and Employment assistant secretary Robyn Shannon speaking at a Senate Estimates hearing into Workforce Australia contracts.

Quarterly government performance reviews of MatchWorks’ Jobactive service delivery, showed the ‘star ratings’ of its nine Barwon sites had largely deteriorated between 2016 and 2020.

But Ms Shannon said the department didn’t consider star ratings when awarding Workforce Australia contracts.

“We looked at provider’s performance in servicing job seekers (in the most need) because they’re the job seekers who are likely to be eligible for enhanced services (under the new model),” Ms Shannon told a Senate estimates.

“We also looked at a range of other factors including providers’ contractual compliance complaint rates, and a range of service quality type measures.”

Corio Labor MP Richard Marles said it was concerning that in 11 regions across the country including Barwon all Jobactive providers were wiped out.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Richard Marles. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“Geelong is one of these 11 regions where local expertise and knowledge has not been accounted for. The government have done this with no knowledge on how this will impact these providers — it’s a complete disgrace,” Mr Marles said.

A spokesman for Employment Minister Stuart Robert said the $5.9bn Workforce Australia reform would make it easier “to find a job, and for businesses to find skilled staff.”

“Workforce Australia will enable job-ready job seekers to self-manage their pathway to work through digital services, creating scope for greater investment for people requiring more intensive and tailored case management from a provider,” the spokesman said.

“The department undertook an extensive and thorough procurement process that included assessing all proposals on merit.”

MatchWorks, g-force and Workskil Australia were appointed to a national panel that will be used to source organisations to address gaps in services or unmet demand in the Barwon regions until June 2028.

Four Geelong Jobactive providers lose contracts

All four of Geelong’s employment service providers have been axed by the Federal Government, putting hundreds of jobs at risk and threatening to disrupt thousands of unemployed jobseekers, a peak body has warned.

A national shake-up of employment and skills services resulted in new contracts awarded across the country, with the National Employment Services Association (NESA) warning the majority of existing providers had been dumped across the country.

NESA chief executive Sally Sinclair said the Geelong region’s existing Jobactive providers – MatchWorks, APM Employment Services, gforce employment + recruitment and Workskil Australia – all missed out on renewing their local contracts, as a result of the consolidation of employment services under the new ‘Workforce Australia’ banner.

gforce employment + recruitment's Geelong office. Picture: supplied

Workskil said it would close offices at Corio, Geelong and Waurn Ponds.

“We have been notified that we will no longer be required to provide the new Workforce Australia programs in Barwon,” a company statement read.

“We’re currently speaking with our 18 local staff members and will be providing what support we can to help them find positions with the incoming providers or alternative employment.”

Ms Sinclair questioned the need to turnover an estimated 80 per cent of existing providers, which left many workers in the sector “disillusioned and upset” and facing redundancies.

She also warned jobseekers faced the possibility of service disruptions as they moved to new providers setting up in regions were existing services had been dumped.

“That’s a large scale disruption which would potentially effect hundreds of thousands of jobs seekers and thousands of local employers,” Ms Sinclair said.

“We’re getting a lot of reports from organisations who have been really strong performers in their communities for decades who are losing their contracts. I’d question whether that is good disruption.

“Just to disrupt for the sake of disruption I think is destructive. I’m not sure what objective that achieves.”

Two new providers appear set to be parachuted into the region to replace the axed providers, with both atWork Australia Employment Services and Sureway Employment and Training announcing their new Barwon region contracts in recent days.

atWork Employment Services Executive Sotir Kondov said the organisation needed staff to fulfil its Workforce Australia contract from July 1.

The Geelong Advertiser last week revealed MatchWorks faced up to 300 redundancies as a result of losing existing contracts.

Staff, who asked to remain anonymous, warned MatchWorks faced “significant redundancies” with about 300 employees expected to be impacted.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment and existing local providers have repeatedly declined to confirm the loss of contracts.

A DESE spokesman said the Department could not discuss matters relating to purchasing activities “to preserve the probity of the purchasing process”.

D-day for Geelong employer facing mass job cuts

The federal government is today expected to announce new contracts for delivery of its employment services, with at least one Geelong business facing “significant redundancies”.

The announcement is set to come a week after the Geelong Advertiser revealed MatchWorks – part of the GenU organisation – faced up to 300 redundancies after failing to retain contracts to deliver the rebranded Jobactive scheme in the Barwon region, South Australia and Queensland.

GenU chief executive Clare Amies. Picture: Supplied

Despite a confidential email informing staff of the move, including an extensive FAQ with information advice on redundancies, both the Federal Government and MatchWorks are yet to comment on the matter.

The confidential email from GenU Executive General Manager Paul Barbaro expressed his surprise and disappointment with the decision – also advising the announcement could be shared outside the business from March 29, when the Government was expected to formally announce the new contracts.

Both the Federal Government and MatchWorks declined to comment on the Jobactive contracts last week, as the decision was yet to be formally announced.

The government will launch Workforce Australia on July 1, replacing the existing Jobactive employment service.

Workforce Australia will feature a “refreshed network of providers” delivering employment services across the country according to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE).

GenU staff, who asked to remain anonymous, last week told the Geelong Advertiser about 300 employees were expected to be impacted by the loss of the Jobactive contracts.

“The Barwon region is the home of MatchWorks, and to have lost the lot is pretty catastrophic,” one worker said.

“There will be at least 300 staff will be impacted, not just in the Barwon region but also other states – some of them will potentially be redeployed, but ultimately at the end of the day we’re looking at significant redundancies.

“It’s not just MatchWorks that’s being slammed by the Government tender, there’s a number of providers that have also lost, even ones that have had star ratings that have exceeded standards.”

MatchWorks, APM Employment Services, G-Force and Workskil Australia all provide Jobactive services under government contracts in the Geelong region, with the cohort set to shrink to “between one and three” according to tender documents.

Sources last week said Gforce was also expected to lose its Jobactive contracts – with up to 25 staff impacted.

Originally published as Department says local knowledge of Jobactive providers not factored into ending Geelong contracts