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Front matter and glossary
Disclaimer, version information, reading notes and defined terms from Part B: Self-Employment Assistance version 1.12.
Independent reference copy. Check the official source for current guidance.
Source details, coverage and attribution
Source record
Workforce Australia Guidelines, Part B: Self-Employment Assistance
Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
- Recorded version
- 1.12
- Effective
- 1 November 2025
- Publication location checked
- 28 September 2026
Independent web copy · not a Department publication. The recorded check is not a live check for newer Guidelines.
Check the official document and the applicable Deed, Work Orders, variations and Provider Portal instructions before acting.
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Recorded publication details
Attribution and web changes
Source material: © Commonwealth of Australia. Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Workforce Australia Guidelines, Part B: Self-Employment Assistance, version 1.12, published 8 October 2025. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, subject to the exclusions in the DEWR copyright notice.
ServiceCite split the Word document into chapter pages and reformatted it for web navigation and search. Source logos, authoring artefacts and duplicate navigation were removed. System step, documentary evidence and work health and safety markers were converted to visible text labels. ServiceCite navigation and notices are independently written. This reuse does not imply Australian Government or DEWR endorsement.
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Source: Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Workforce Australia Guidelines, Part B: Self-Employment Assistance, version 1.12, published 8 October 2025. © Commonwealth of Australia. Used under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), subject to the DEWR copyright exclusions. Official publication record: https://www.dewr.gov.au/workforce-australia/resources/workforce-australia-guidelines-part-b-selfemployment-assistance. Recorded Word file: https://www.dewr.gov.au/download/13954/workforce-australia-guidelines-part-b-self-employment-assistance/39523/workforce-australia-guidelines-part-b-self-employment-assistance/DOCX. ServiceCite reformatted the Word document for web navigation and search; this is not an official DEWR publication. These Guidelines are not stand-alone: providers must use their executed Deed, Work Orders and variations. Provider Portal material is excluded. Four KPI formulas printed as images are described in ServiceCite notes quoting the Department’s alternative text; use the linked official PDF.
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 the Workforce Australia - Self-Employment Assistance Deed 2022-2027 (the Deed) and any other relevant Guidelines or 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, the 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 1.12 Published on: 8 October 2025 Effective from: 1 November 2025
In this version of the Guideline, the following Chapters have been updated:
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Referrals, Eligibility and Onboarding
-
Commencing Small Business Coaching
A full version history of this Guideline can be found at on the Archived Guidelines page on the Provider Portal.
Contents
Guideline Interpretation and Glossary 3
Chapter 1. Referrals, Eligibility and Onboarding 4
Chapter 2. Stakeholder Engagement and Promotion 11
Chapter 3. Exploring Self-Employment Workshops 14
Chapter 4. Small Business Training 18
Chapter 6. Business Advice Sessions and Business Health Checks 25
Chapter 7. Commencing Small Business Coaching 28
Chapter 8. Supporting Participants in Small Business Coaching 37
Chapter 9. Monitoring Participants in Small Business Coaching 41
Chapter 10. Agreement Breaches, Suspensions and Terminations 46
Chapter 11. Performance Framework 52
Chapter 13. Incident Management 62
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:
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System step — This icon represents 'System Steps' – information contained under this dot point will relate to usage of the Department’s IT Systems.
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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. The terms 'Carer Payment', 'Disability Support Pension', 'Parenting Payment' and 'Partial Capacity to Work' have, or where relevant, had, the meanings given to them, respectively and in their decapitalised form, in the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) or the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) (as relevant).
'Business Insurance' means appropriate business insurance cover that has been taken out by a Participant for their business and is specified in their Business Plan.
'Eligible Business Owner' means the owner of an existing micro-business (with less than 4 employees) that is either not currently Operating Commercially or is in danger of not Operating Commercially within the next 12 months.
'Mutual Obligation Requirement' means any activity test, participation requirement or other requirement that a Participant must meet to receive an Income Support Payment under the Social Security Law.
'Required Hours' means the minimum hours per week that a Participant must work in their Business, as agreed to by their Provider and as identified in their Business Plan.
'Service' means a component of the Services, and is one of the following:
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Workshop
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Small Business Training
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Business Plan development
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Small Business Coaching
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Business Health Check, or
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Business Advice Session.
'Special Eligibility Cohort' means:
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retrenched workers,
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veterans, and
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family members of serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.