Employment system reform presents a long-awaited opportunity to integrate Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) into Australia's employment services system.
For over two decades, WISEs have been creating jobs and employment pathways for people with complex barriers to work - with no direct support from government. These organisations have been named in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' (DEWR) discussion paper Shaping the Future of Employment Services, and in four previous government reviews.
Now is the time to shift the focus from recognising the contribution of WISEs, to designing a system that enables them to contribute at scale, so more people facing complex barriers can access meaningful employment.
Through our engagement with government, it’s clear the WISE model is still not deeply understood. Understanding how WISEs operate, their flexible support models, and the impact costs they incur to deliver outcomes, is critical to designing a system that integrates them effectively.
Based on this, our submission to DEWR sets out to do four things:
- Build a deeper understanding of WISEs - how they operate, their key characteristics and their impact costs
- Provide evidence from existing government trials and international best practice to help guide reform design
- Recommend models for integration
- Respond to the questions raised in the Discussion paper
The evidence we're bringing to the table
We live and breathe WISEs and care deeply about the outcome of the design process. We're drawing on our experience and the evidence we've built over the years.
White Box is involved in all three federal government-funded programs built specifically around WISEs - the Payment by Outcomes Trial (PBO3) – which we have led for three years; the WorkFoundations Program (we’re the only national aggregator), and the Economic Pathways to Refugee Integration (EPRI) program.
We have our own first-hand experience building and operating WISEs.
We work with close to 50 WISEs through our programs, and we consulted with almost 30 WISEs specifically in relation to employment system reform.
What we put forward
Ultimately the end goal is to see WISEs paid for the outcomes they create. How this happens needs to work within the realms of government’s systems – we recognise it’s complex, so have offered options to be further explored:
- An impact payment of at least $20,000 per Stream 3 participant, mapped against compliant-fortnight milestones rather than rigid weekly-hours targets.
- A WISE aggregator model, allowing smaller enterprises to participate without each having to contract directly with government. (There could be a few aggregators across the country).
- Radical transformation informed by France’s integrated employment system, which funds 4,500 WISEs supporting 160,000 people at any one time. Getting the foundations right, starting small, and building over time, is something DEWR could consider.
We encourage government to engage with us.
We’d love a seat at the table, alongside WISE practitioners. We know this is new territory and there is no one-size-fits-all WISE model – we encourage our friends in government to unpack this with us, so these businesses can be integrated effectively, and more people can access meaningful employment.
There is so much to gain. Let’s not miss this opportunity.