Program aims
The Australian Government’s CDEP program assists unemployed Indigenous people. The program contributes to meeting the Government’s commitment to halve the employment gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2020.
Operating mainly in remote areas, the CDEP program aims to help Indigenous job seekers find and keep jobs.
Working in partnerships to get results
CDEP providers will work in partnership with Employment Service and Indigenous Employment Program providers. Working together to deliver integrated services at the local level means CDEP and Employment Service providers can offer a better range of employment and support services that lead to real jobs for Indigenous job seekers.
Employment Service providers work in partnership with individual job seekers to develop Employment Pathway Plans. These plans include what participants can do under the CDEP program to help get a job.
Two ‘streams’ of assistance
Under the CDEP program, there are two main ways (‘streams’) that CDEP providers assist Indigenous job seekers. These streams are called ‘Work Readiness’ and ‘Community Development’.
- Work Readiness Services—helps job seekers to develop their skills, improve their chances of getting a job, and move to work outside of the CDEP program.
- Community Development—focuses on supporting and developing Indigenous communities and organisations.
It is expected that the majority of participants would be aligned to the Work Readiness Services stream.
For more information, see ‘3. Work Readiness Services stream’ and ‘4. Community Development stream’.
‘New’ and ‘Continuing’ Participants
New Participants are people who start in the CDEP program after 1 July 2009. Rather than CDEP wages, they will receive income support payments from Centrelink.
Continuing Participants are people who are already in the CDEP program up to 30 June 2009. Continuing Participants will keep receiving CDEP wages as long as they remain eligible for CDEP and do not take an unapproved break of more than two weeks.
From 1 July 2011 until 30 September 2011 Continuing Participants will move off CDEP wages on a community by community basis.
CDEP payments
CDEP program payments include:
- Service Fees
- Work Readiness Funds
- Community Development Project Funds
- Development and Support Funds
- Wage Funds for Continuing Participants
- Employment Outcome Payments
- Work Experience Outcome Payments
- Training Outcome Payments
For more information, see ‘5. CDEP funding’
CDEP Service Guarantee
The CDEP Services Guarantee includes information about what providers and participants are required to do and what they can expect from each other. (See Attachment A)