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Lessons from the Recent Policy Experience in the Australian Indigenous Community-Employment Sector

Author

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  • Zoe Staines

    (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)

Abstract

Indigenous disadvantage in Australia is persistent and includes continued low labour force participation and employment, especially in remote areas. Government-driven employment programs respond by engaging (predominantly Indigenous) jobseekers in regional and remote Australia to improve outcomes. However, results have been mixed. Much of the extant literature focuses on the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP)—Australia’s longest-lasting community-employment program (1977–2015). There are comparatively few studies that focus on programs implemented since 2007, when CDEP began to be phased out, and no studies that trace this recent history in its entirety. This study fills this gap by exploring and comparing the key features of four employment programs from 2007 onwards—a period of relatively rapid program change. The paper discusses their key similarities and differences and argues that, despite rapid vicissitudes, the underlying policy settings remain largely stable. This offers some potential lessons for future policy approaches, which are particularly timely in the lead up to yet another new program being scheduled for implementation in early 2019.

Suggested Citation

  • Zoe Staines, 2017. "Lessons from the Recent Policy Experience in the Australian Indigenous Community-Employment Sector," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 20(3), pages 229-248.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:20:y:2017:i:3:p:229-248
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Spencer, Rochelle & Brueckner, Martin & Wise, Gareth & Marika, Bundak, 2017. "Capacity development and Indigenous social enterprise: The case of the Rirratjingu clan in northeast Arnhem Land," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(6), pages 839-856, November.
    2. Thorsten Stromback, 2008. "The Job Network And Underemployment," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 27(3), pages 286-302, September.
    3. Productivity Commission, 2002. "Independent review of the Job Network," Labor and Demography 0210002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Michael Dockery & Judith Lovell, 2016. "Far Removed: An Insight into the Labour Markets of Remote Communities in Central Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 19(3), pages 145-174.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labour Economics; Labour Market Policy; Labour Market Regulation; Welfare; Wellbeing; Remote; Indigenous; Employment; Unemployment.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J48 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Particular Labor Markets; Public Policy
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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