Front matter and glossary

Disclaimer

This Guideline is not a stand-alone document and does not contain the entirety of Provider obligations. It must be read in conjunction with Workforce Australia - Employability Skills Training Deed 2022-2027 (the Deed), including any relevant Guidelines and reference material issued by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations under or in connection with the Deed.

This Guideline is not legal advice, and the Commonwealth accepts no liability for any action purportedly taken in reliance upon it and assumes no responsibility for the delivery of the Services. This Guideline does not reduce the obligation of Providers to comply with their relevant legal obligations and, to the extent that this Guideline is inconsistent with obligations under the Privacy Act, Social Security Law, WHS Laws or any other legislation or laws relevant to the respective jurisdictions in which Providers operate, the relevant legislation or laws will prevail.

Version History

Version: 2.11 Published on: 3 June 2026 Effective from: 1 July 2026

In this version of the Guideline, the Employability Skills Training and Performance Chapters have been updated.

A full version history of this Guideline can be found on the Archived Guidelines page on the Provider Portal.sign-in required (sign-in required)

Guideline Interpretation and Glossary

Reading Notes

In this Guideline, ‘must’ means that compliance is mandatory and ‘should’ means that compliance represents best practice for Providers and is expected by the Department.

While reading this document, please note the following Icons and their meaning:

• System step — This icon represents 'System Steps' – information contained under this dot point will relate to usage of the Department’s IT Systems.

• Work health and safety — This icon represents 'Work, Health and Safety Steps' – information contained under this dot point will relate to matters of Work, Health and Safety.

• Documentary evidence — This icon represents 'Documentary Evidence' – information contained under this dot point will relate to matters of documentary evidence.

Glossary

All capitalised terms in this Guideline have the same meaning as in the Deed unless otherwise defined below.

'25 Plus Course' means a Course (delivered as either a Training Block 1 Course or a Training Block 2 Course) provided to EST Participants aged 25 years and older.

'All Ages Course' means a Course provided to EST Participants aged 15 years and older in accordance with any Guidelines.

'End Date' means the end date of a Course recorded in the Department’s IT Systems.

'Key Contacts Protocol' means the protocol that identifies the key Departmental and Provider contacts and sets out the contact channels for a range of matters.

'Maximum Position Number' means the maximum number of Referrals allowed in the Department’s IT Systems for a Course.

'Mutual Obligation Requirement' means any activity test, participation requirement or other requirement that a participant must meet in order to receive an income support payment, including a requirement that, if not complied with, would be:

1. a Mutual Obligation Failure;

2. a Work Refusal Failure;

3. an Unemployment Failure; or

4. a failure to meet a Reconnection Requirement,

under the Social Security Law.

'Points Based Activation System' means the system which allows participants to meet their Mutual Obligation Requirements by undertaking sufficient tasks and activities to meet a monthly points target.

'QR Code' means ‘Quick Response’ code. A machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing URLs or other information for reading by the camera on a smartphone.

'Social Security Law' means the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) and the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth), and includes all relevant subordinate legislation and instruments, and the Guide to Social Security Law.

'Service Offer Commitment' means a commitment the Provider made in its response to the request for proposal for the Deed, as recorded by the Department in the Department’s IT Systems.

'Start Date' means the start date of a Course recorded in the Department’s IT Systems.

'Supervisor App' means the mobile application which allows Supervisors listed in the Department’s IT Systems to record the daily attendance of Participants at a Course.

'Targeted Compliance Framework' or 'TCF' means the legislative framework designed to ensure that only those participants who persistently commit Mutual Obligation Failures without a valid reason or reasonable excuse incur financial penalties while providing protections for the most vulnerable. It is designed to encourage participants to engage with their employment services provider, take personal responsibility for managing and meeting their Mutual Obligation Requirements, actively look for work and improve their employment prospects. The TCF comprises three zones: the green zone, the warning zone and the penalty zone.

'Workforce Australia Online for Individuals Full Service' or 'Online Full Service' refers to the Department’s Self-managing in Workforce Australia Online for Individuals service available to fully eligible participants who are assessed as able to self-manage their search for work. The Online Full Service allows participants to self-manage their participation in employment services with a range of supports available such as access to the Digital Employment Fund, pre-employment pathways for eligible participants and support provided by the Digital Service Contact Centre (DSCC).

1. 'Youth Course' means a Course (delivered as either a Training Block 1 Course or a Training Block 2 Course) provided to EST Participants aged under 25.