Chapter 2. Stakeholder Engagement and Promotion

Supporting Documents for this Chapter:

• Self-Employment Assistance Stakeholder Engagement Report

The Provider must engage proactively and cooperatively with stakeholders in their Employment Region(s) and/or Location(s) to ensure broad promotion of Self-Employment Assistance to a diverse group of potential Participants, including:

• people who do not receive Income Support Payments

• people in receipt of Income Support Payments

• Eligible Business Owners, and

• a diverse range of people from within the Employment Region(s) and/or Location(s), such as women, mature age people, young people, migrants, refugees, and Indigenous Australians.

The objectives of these promotional activities are to maintain strong local networks, an understanding of the business activity in their region and to refer people to other services that support small business according to their individual needs. The promotional activities will raise awareness of the benefits of Self-Employment Assistance and self-employment generally. This Chapter outlines how these promotional activities, which are funded by the Annual Service Fee, can be delivered and how the Provider must report on these activities.

The Provider must promote Self-Employment Assistance and self-employment generally throughout their Employment Region(s) and/or Location(s) to:

• encourage people who may not have considered self-employment to consider it as a path to financial independence

• promote the benefits of self-employment as a feasible alternative to traditional employment

• increase awareness of the opportunities for self-employment

• reassure people who are unsure of self-employment, or who are Eligible Business Owners, that there are a variety of services that can support them, such as Self-Employment Assistance.

The Provider may achieve these objectives by undertaking activities including:

• running information sessions and events, including for individuals who are not Participants

• arranging to pay for advertisements promoting the Services and self-employment generally

• operating booths at jobs fairs, careers expos and other events

• attending events to network with and attract the owners of micro-businesses who may be Eligible and suitable to access the services

• visiting the premises of Other Program Providers to provide relevant information to the Other Program Provider’s personnel and their participants

• providing information to other organisations, such as chambers of commerce and industry, to help them identify and refer Eligible individuals to the Services, and

• developing and publishing good news stories that promote the Services.

When promoting or advertising Self-Employment Assistance, the Provider must ensure they:

• promote the Services to a range of prospective Participants, including people in receipt of Income Support Payments as well as people not receiving Income Support Payments and Eligible Business Owners

• promote all Services available under the program

• ensure prospective Participants understand that they can choose which Service(s) they wish to access.

When engaging with stakeholders and promoting self-employment, the Provider must comply with the Deed and Guidelines including with regards to any requirements in the Workforce Australia Guidelines – Part A: Universal Guidelines

In promoting the Services, the Provider must use the full program name in one of the following forms:

• Self-Employment Assistance

• Workforce Australia - Self-Employment

The Provider must not use the acronym 'SEA' or any other variation of it in any communication or program material. In promoting the Services, the Provider must not publish material that implies that the Services are only delivered by the Provider or that the Services are only available in a certain Employment Region(s). As such, the Provider must not promote the Services in any way that implies that the Provider is the sole organisation delivering the Services (such as by using a domain name 'selfemploymentassistance.com.au').

(Deed Reference(s): Clauses 60 and 78.2(a))

The Provider must maintain an up to date understanding of the industry and business opportunities in their Employment Region(s) as well as the broader small business services available to Participants. This knowledge allows the Provider to help Participants to develop business ideas and to understand how the Services fit within the local small business ecosystem.

The Provider must engage proactively and cooperatively with relevant stakeholders to:

• develop effective referral pathways to and from the Services

• maintain a current understanding of the local small business ecosystem, and

• maintain a current understanding of the local labour market.

The stakeholders must include:

• other Self-Employment Assistance Providers

• organisations delivering other small business services

• relevant sector, industry and/or business groups

• Other Program Providers, and

• Services Australia service centres.

(Deed Reference(s): Clause 84.1)

As identified in Eligibility Requirements, before delivering a Service to a Participant, the Provider must be satisfied that it is the most appropriate Service for the Participant. To determine the most appropriate support, the Provider must ensure that its relevant Personnel are aware of the small business support services (both government-funded and private) available across the local small business ecosystem.

Where appropriate, the Provider must refer a Participant to another program or service if it will better support the Participant’s needs.

The Provider should also refer Participants that are accessing the Services to other appropriate programs and services while the Participant continues to access the Provider’s Services, if this will help them develop or adapt their business. For example, a Participant developing a new product could be referred to a third party for specialist intellectual property advice.

The Provider must submit the Self-Employment Assistance Stakeholder Engagement Reportsign-in required (sign-in required) to the Department for each of its Employment Regions within 10 Business Days after the end of each Financial Year.

Unless advised otherwise by the Department, each Stakeholder Engagement Report must specify for the previous Financial Year:

• the stakeholders that the Provider has engaged with

• the Provider’s activities and achievements over the course of the relevant Financial Year engaging with stakeholders and promoting the services, and

• the Provider’s expenditure (not including the remuneration of their Personnel) incurred while promoting the Services and self-employment generally.

Each Stakeholder Engagement Report must also specify for the Financial Year in which the Provider submits the report:

• the Provider’s intended key activities and achievements

• the intended use of the Annual Service Fee and how this will promote the program and attract participants

• whether the Provider intends to engage with their stakeholders in a different manner to the way they did in the previous Financial Year, and if so, how they intend to do so.

The Department may seek clarification or additional information from the Provider when reviewing a Stakeholder Engagement Report.

(Deed Reference(s): Clause 84)