Developing an Activity
While developing your Activity Application, please read through the following information.
Issues to consider when developing a project or activity
When the Activity Application Form is received, you will need to consider a few issues relating to the proposed activity:
- Structure and size of the activity
- The viability of the activity
- Is there local community support?
- Administrative responsibilities
- Supervision
- Occupational health and safety issues
- Skills in Demand requirements
What criteria must activities satisfy?
Projects or activities must satisfy the following criteria:
- The proposal must meet the needs of the local community
- The sponsor/host organisation must be able to monitor and support the progress of Participants during their placement with the activity
- Participants must spend a minimum of 20 per cent of their time on the activity undertaking tasks from the Skills in Demand, as identified by DEWR.
- The sponsor/host must be able to provide the service on a cost-effective basis.
Training participants for the activity
Apart from the compulsory occupational health and safety training, any other formal training should only be included where it is a necessary pre-requisite for any tasks the participant will undertake as part of the activity.
The total training costs should not comprise more than 12 per cent of the overall budget submitted in your activity application. Remember that Work for the Dole is primarily a work experience program rather than a training program.
Activities should be structured to ensure that the participants are fully occupied during their time on activities.
Ensuring activities are an additional service
Each Work for the Dole activity must provide an additional service to the local community that:
- Would not have proceeded without Work for the Dole funding
- Provides additional support for existing services
- Accelerates the commencement of a planned local community service.
Displacement of existing staff
A Work for the Dole activity must not take away jobs from existing full-time, part-time or casual workers.
How long can an activity run?
An activity generally runs for a minimum of six months and no more than twelve months.
Provision of transport to the activity
If an activity is located where public transport is not available or where access is difficult, you may need to include transport for participants in the activity budget.
What are the administrative responsibilities of the activity?
The administrative responsibilities are as follows:
- Ensuring required insurances are held and if necessary, covering any host sites in which participants are placed
- Providing a safe working environment for participants
- Performing Occupational Health and Safety Risk Assessment and monitoring
- Maintaining participant confidentiality
- Providing adequate facilities
- Facilitating monitoring visits by the Community work Coordinator (CWC) and Department of Workplace Relations (DEWR).
- Where necessary performing monitoring visits to host sites
- Providing information as requested by CWC and DEWR
- Providing attendance sheets on a weekly basis
- Notifying the CWC on a daily basis if the participants are absent
- Registering any complaints or grievances with the CWC
- Liaising with the CWC as required
- Recording participant skills for skills audit
- Displaying approved advertising/signage/brochures as required
- Preparing an audit of the activity if required
- Providing reports on the activity as requested to the CWC
- Returning participant activity records to the CWC at the end of the activity
- Ensuring there is on-going supervision of participants including at host sites if applicable
- Ensuring all of the sponsor's staff involved with the Work for the Dole program have a thorough understanding of: the DEWR Employment Services Code of Practice and Service Guarantees; privacy principles; Work for the Dole Work Experience Terms and Conditions; and Work for the Dole Records Rules.
The CWC will provide you with the required information or forms to carry out some of the above mentioned tasks.
Risk Management Plan
The CWC will perform a Risk Assessment before the project is approved. It will provide more details to sponsors if required.
Privacy principles
To view information on privacy principles visit www.privacy.gov.au/act
CWC Service Contract
A copy of the CWC Service Contract is available from the Work for the Dole Unit.
This is the Principal Agreement held between DEWR and the CWC. The CWC-Sponsor Contract often refers to this contract.
Employment Services Code of Practice and the Service Guarantee
A copy of the Employment Services Code of Practice and the Service Guarantees issued to CWCs by DEWR is provided for you to review, by the CWC.
This is referred to in the Principal Agreement held between the DEWR and the CWC and the CWC-Sponsor Contract.
Who do I send my application to?
When you have completed the necessary paper work for the proposed activity please submit to the Work for the Dole Unit.
| Phone: | (03) 9094 3020 |
|---|---|
| Email: | wfd@kangan.edu.au |
| Postal address: | Kangan Institute - Work for the Dole Unit Private Bag 299 Somerton Vic 3062 |
Need more information on developing a sponsor activity?
For more information, visit www.workplace.gov.au
