What is the Tailored Assistance Employment Grants?
The Tailored Assistance Employment Grants is a program that aims to increase Indigenous employment and retention by funding tailored activities that respond flexibly to local employment conditions.
Background
The Tailored Assistance Employment Grants is delivered under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) – Jobs, Land and Economy Program (JLEP) and is one way the Australian Government funds and delivers programs for Indigenous Australians.
The Tailored Assistance Employment Grants aims to connect Indigenous Secondary School Students and Indigenous Job Seekers with real and Sustainable Jobs through experience that builds workreadiness and contributes to the broader community.
Program Streams
The Tailored Assistance Employment Grants aims to increase Indigenous employment and retention by funding tailored activities that respond flexibly to local employment conditions through two activity streams that target specific cohorts of the Indigenous population to maximise employment outcomes for Indigenous Job seekers. The two grant opportunity activity streams are:
- Employment – aims to support Indigenous job seekers into sustainable employment. This stream supports Indigenous job seekers (participants) with a guaranteed job; provision of pre-employment support and training to address barriers to employment and improve retention in the workplace; and support to both employers and Participants to the achievement of 26 weeks in employment (refer to Section 2.1 – Agency may consider alternative for innovative proposal with link to specific needs at a local level or COVID-19 recovery) which may include the provision of relevant mentoring and training; and
- School-based traineeships – aim to support Indigenous secondary school students to gain work experience and prepare for post-school transition into further study or employment.
Funding
A total of up to $10 million (GST exclusive) is available for the Tailored Assistance Employment Grants from the Jobs, Land and Economy Program to support projects that deliver employment outcomes for Indigenous Job seekers and/or Indigenous Secondary School Students against two activity streams:
- Employment – available between 1 July 2021 and 30 December 2022 (recruitment end date no later than 30 June 2022); and
- School Based Traineeships – available between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2023 (the Agency may consider extending to enable students to complete placements).
There is a maximum grant amount of $500,000 (GST exclusive) per application, over the maximum project period.
If an Applicant would like to undertake multiple projects under Tailored Assistance Employment Grants, they can apply in one of two ways:
- Submit one application for multiple similar projects, including projects across both Tailored Assistance Employment Grants activity streams. The combined value of the projects must not exceed $500,000 (GST exclusive).
- Submit one application per project – each project must be demonstrably different and not exceed $500,000 (GST exclusive) in value.
Eligible Projects
The grants can be used for a range of activities that contribute to the purpose and intent of Tailored Assistance Employment Grants, within the two activity streams: ‘Employment’ and ‘School Based Traineeships’ as detailed in Section 2.1 of the guidelines. The following is a non-exhaustive list of example activities that target:
- employment services or activities that support Indigenous Australians to overcome disadvantage in the labour market;
- unemployed disadvantaged Indigenous Job seekers (Stream B and C Job seekers);
- indigenous people not in the labour market;
- indigenous youth and students at risk of disengaging when leaving school;
- the needs of employers;
- support for employers to engage and retain Indigenous Job seekers into real and sustainable ongoing jobs, as well as address barriers to recruitment and retention; and
- support for Indigenous Secondary School Students to gain work experience through schoolbased traineeships/apprenticeships and transition into sustainable employment or further education/training.
Given the changing and variable impacts of COVID-19 across Australia, activities must be delivered in alignment with relevant government and health advice to limit the risk of transmission of COVID19, particularly with respect to protecting elders and those with chronic health issues.
Before commencing an activity, it is your responsibility to develop a COVID-19 Risk Management Plan. The Risk Management Plan should include any potential risks associated with the delivery of an activity, and identify the strategies that you will put in place to minimise those risks. Upon request, you may be required to provide evidence to the NIAA that you have a COVID-19 Risk Management Plan in place.
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible to apply for grant funding under the Tailored Assistance Employment Grants, you must:
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN) (exemptions may apply in special cases);
- where relevant, be registered for the purposes of GST;
- if an individual, be a permanent resident of Australia;
- have an account with an Australian financial institution.
AND be one of the following entity types:
- an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) (the CATSI Act);
- a company incorporated in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Corporations Act);
- an incorporated association (incorporated under state/territory legislation, commonly have ‘Association’ or ‘Incorporated’ or ‘Inc’ in their legal name)
- an incorporated Cooperative (also incorporated under state/territory legislation, commonly have ’Cooperative’ in their legal name)
- an organisation established through a specific piece of Commonwealth or state/territory legislation including public benevolent institutions, churches and universities
- an Australian state or territory government body
- an Australian local government body
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
- a partnership
- a joint (consortia) application with a lead organisation that satisfies the entity type
- an individual with an ABN.
In addition you must:
- have rectified any issues of previous non-compliance with existing Commonwealth agreements to the satisfaction of the Commonwealth, or be in the process of rectifying any issues of non-compliance with existing Commonwealth agreements to the satisfaction of the Commonwealth; and
- be financially viable. The application form has questions about financial viability. The Agency may undertake its own enquiries in relation to the applicant’s financial viability.
Timing
Applications close 12 June 2021.
