Chapter 12. Youth Advisory Sessions

Supporting Documents for this Chapter:

• Calendar – Booking Youth Advisory Sessions (YAS) for Full Service Participants (KB0017336)sign-in required (sign-in required)

• Calendar - Booking a Youth Advisory Session for an Online Base Service Participant (KB0017404)sign-in required (sign-in required)

• Refer to the TtW System Steps Guide.sign-in required (sign-in required)

Youth Advisory Sessions (Sessions) are delivered by Transition to Work Providers to young people in Workforce Australia Online, to address barriers to employment, maintain work readiness and/or motivation and to help them find employment.

Sessions are voluntary (for the young person) with flexible content that can cover a range of topics that will assist the young person to remain work-ready and reduce their risk of prolonged unemployment.

This Chapter outlines eligibility requirements, Session management (creating, delivering, and cancelling Sessions) and Provider payments.

The Sessions offer eligible young people the opportunity to undertake up to 3 free, one-hour consultations with a Transition to Work Provider.

The Sessions complement Workforce Australia Online and should be:

• appropriate and tailored for young people, being flexible and responsive to their needs, and

• effective in helping the target cohort of young people address barriers and develop life skills to improve their ability to self-manage through Workforce Australia Online and connect with education or employment.

(Deed Reference(s): Clauses 78.2, 124)

Eligible Session Participants are:

• aged 15 to 24

• participating in Workforce Australia Online Full Service or Workforce Australia Online Base Service, and

• have 1, 2 or 3 Sessions remaining.

Note: Only eligible Online Full Service Participants can see and book Sessions on their Job Seeker Profile, through the Electronic Calendar. Online Base Service Participants will need to contact a Provider to book a Session manually.

Important: Transition to Work Participants are not eligible for Youth Advisory Sessions.

(Deed Reference(s): Clause 124)

Online Full Service Participants

Providers are required to have Sessions available in their Electronic Calendar for Online Full Service Participants to book into.

• System step — The Provider must schedule single or multiple one-hour timeslots for Sessions in their Electronic Calendar, using the “Create Consultation Session” functionality in the Department’s IT Systems.

• System step — For multiple Sessions, once a Session has been created, left click on the Session and select “Duplicate Session”. Copy the URL from the browser window to the clipboard. In the duplicate session, all details will be prefilled the same as the existing session. To repeat this process as many times as desired, open new tab(s) in your browser and paste the URL that copied to the clipboard.

When a Participant books a Session, they will be provided with the Department’s Privacy and Confidentiality Declaration to agree to.

Online Base Service Participants

A manual booking process is required for Online Base Service Participants, as they do not have access to the Electronic Calendar to book into a Session.

An Online Base Service Participant will be able to search for a TtW Provider and will need to call to book a Session directly.

Providers will be required to manually book the Session appointment offline, such as in a spreadsheet, paper-based diary or similar.

• System step — Provider cannot book an Online Base Service Participant into an available YAS appointment (Consultation Session) in their Electronic Calendar.

• System step — Providers may choose to use a ‘Provider Event’ timeslot in their Electronic Calendar to block out time for appointments with Online Base Service Participants. Providers can manually add the Participant and employment consultant details to the timeslot.

At the end of each Session, the Provider may encourage the Session Participant to book their next Session (up to a total of 3). The Provider and the Session Participant may agree to a time that is suitable to both parties and the Provider should ensure that timeslot is available in the Electronic Calendar as a ‘Consultation Session’. The Participant can then self-book that timeslot (Online Full Service Participant only) or book directly with a Provider (Online Base Service Participant).

If the Session Participant decides to access a second or third Session with the same Provider, the Provider must try to ensure the Session Participant can talk to the same consultant for continuity, unless:

• the Session Participant requests a different person

• the consultant is not available, or

• the Provider deems it better for the Session Participant to talk to a different consultant due to the issues the young person wants to discuss in this next Session.

If the Session Participant had previously booked a Session with the same Provider, the Provider will be able to check who the consultant was by viewing the previous booking on the Department’s IT Systems.

Providers do not receive notifications of new Session bookings and must monitor their Electronic Calendar in the Department’s IT System to ensure they are aware of upcoming Sessions.

Providers should contact the Session Participant more than 24 hours before the Session where possible to:

• confirm Session details (for example: date and time, site address, phone number, or videoconferencing information)

• remind the Session Participant that they will lose one of their 3 Sessions if they do not attend the booking on the day or fail to cancel more than 2 calendar days in advance, unless there is a sufficient reason (see Sufficient reason below).

Providers must conduct Sessions from a TtW Site, either in person, via phone or virtually, and Sessions can only be delivered by an employee of the Provider. Where a Provider needs to conduct a Session from a different location, or at a different time than originally agreed, the Provider and Session Participant must agree on the proposed changes. The Sessions must be conducted in a manner that ensures privacy for the Session Participant so that they can be confident when disclosing personal information.

Providers may receive Session requests from Session Participants outside of the area mapped to the Provider for the delivery of Transition to Work Services because:

• the Provider in that area has not made enough available Session timeslots to meet local demand, or

• the Participant has identified they wish to speak to a Provider outside of their local area.

Providers are encouraged to deliver Sessions to Session Participants outside of the mapped area. When doing so, the Session Consultant must ensure they have awareness and information on the current labour market conditions and community support available in the Session Participant’s local area.

Session content should be flexible and driven by the Session Participant’s needs. Sessions may focus on one topic if the young person or the Provider deems it appropriate to do so. However, Providers are also encouraged to open the conversation up to other potential opportunities and topics that may benefit the Session Participant.

Topics that may be covered in these Sessions include (but are not limited to):

• advice on education and training options

• advice on local labour market opportunities, both now and in the future

• résumé writing assistance

• job interview tips

• different ways to apply skills

• support to grow skills and build expertise

• support to stay motivated, resilient and reduce isolation

• career advice

• information on, or connection to, other government assistance or local community services that may help the Session Participant.

Examples of other government assistance or services the Provider may refer a Sessions Participant to include:

• mental healthcare providers

• housing services

• financial management guidance

• the School Leavers Information Service on 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337) or the School Leavers Support website.

Providers must advise Session Participants if there is a cost involved with the assistance or services that the Provider discusses. Providers must not coerce a Session Participant to undertake training or activities that have an associated cost.

Session Participants should be referred to the DSCC on 1800 314 677 for any questions about Workforce Australia Online.

Providers are encouraged to think broadly and innovatively about how they deliver Sessions. Some examples include:

• in person face to face meetings

• videoconferencing meetings

• phone meetings.

Providers must specify the formats in which they are able to deliver the Sessions when they create them in the Electronic Calendar.

The Provider should utilise the full hour for each Session and discuss other areas that may help the Session Participant gain sustainable employment.

Providers must not deliver a Session to more than one Session Participant at the same time.

Providers should only cancel a Session if it is unavoidable. If a Provider needs to cancel a Session, they must provide the Session Participant with at least 24 hours’ notice, where possible.

If the Provider initiates a cancellation, the Session Participant will not lose a Session from their total of 3 Sessions and the Provider will not receive Payment.

The Provider may cancel a booked or unbooked Session in their Electronic Calendar. Further details can be found in the Calendar – Booking Youth Advisory Sessions (YAS) for Full Service Participants (KB0017336)sign-in required (sign-in required).

Session Participants may cancel a Session at least 48 hours prior to the Session without consequence.

Session Participants will lose one of their 3 Sessions where they:

• do not attend on the day, or

• cancel with less than 2 calendar days' notice

unless they have a sufficient reason for not attending.

The Provider will receive a partial Session Payment if the Session Participant cancels their booking less than 2 calendar days before the date of the Session without a sufficient reason.

Sufficient reason

Providers should contact Session Participants as soon as possible after a failure to attend or late cancellation to give them the opportunity to provide a sufficient reason for the non-attendance or cancellation.

The Provider has discretion whether to accept the reason provided by the young person or not. Providers are encouraged to take what the young person says in good faith and use their judgement when determining whether to accept the reason.

If the Provider accepts the Session Participant’s reason, the Provider must update the Department’s IT Systems to reflect this.

If the Session Participant fails to provide a sufficient reason the Provider will receive a partial Session Payment, and the Session Participant will lose one Session credit.

Examples of a sufficient reason include (but are not limited to):

• work reasons (for example, a last-minute request to work by their Employer)

• natural disasters

• illness or injury

• State or Territory government advice (for example, due to a pandemic)

• caring responsibilities

• mental health issues

• inability to get to the Session (for example, IT failure, transportation issues)

• death in the family.

The Session Participant may ask the Department to review a Provider’s decision to reject a Participant's reason. The Department will then investigate the case and, where appropriate, work with the Provider and the Participant on a suitable resolution.

• System step — Providers must update the Attendance in the Department’s IT Systems by entering the reason code and whether it was accepted or rejected. The Department’s IT Systems will then trigger the correct Session Payment. Providers must update the manual payment spreadsheet for Online Base Participants entering the reason code and whether it was accepted or rejected.

Personal Crisis

Where it is identified that a Session Participant is experiencing a personal crisis, the Provider may encourage the Session Participant to contact:

• Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

• a crisis care specialist, for example:

• Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14

• National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Service on 1800 737 732 (1800 RESPECT)

• Homelessness Australia on 1800 474 753

• Headspace (https://headspace.org.au/)

• ReachOut on (02) 8029 7777

• Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636

• the DSCC on 1800 314 677 to discuss their circumstances or conduct or update their JSCI

• Services Australia to discuss a potential exemption from Mutual Obligation requirements due to a personal crisis, or for a Social Worker who can help the Session Participant in a crisis situation, depending on the nature of the crisis and the Session Participant’s ability to seek assistance.

If a Session Participant is no longer eligible due to having been Exited from Workforce Australia Online prior to the booked Session, the Session will be automatically cancelled in the Department’s IT Systems and the Provider will not receive a Session Payment, regardless of timeframes.

The Provider is required to mark the attendance for each Session on the same day where possible, or within 7 calendar days from the date of the Session.

• System step — The Provider must record attendance at the end of each Session in the Electronic Calendar in the Department’s IT Systems. This will trigger a Payment for the Session.

Providers will be paid $125 (GST inclusive) for each Session marked as attended.

Providers will be paid a partial payment of $62.50 (GST inclusive) where a Session Participant does not attend on the day or cancels less than 2 calendar days prior.

Under no circumstances are Providers allowed to charge Session Participants for Sessions.

• System step — Payment for a Session is automatically paid through the Department's IT Systems for Online Full Service Participants, upon recording of attendance.

Payments for a Session for Online Base Service Participants are requested through a manual claim. For information on the Youth Advisory Session manual payment request process refer to the TtW System Steps Guidesign-in required (sign-in required) and the Calendar - Booking a Youth Advisory Session for an Online Base Service Participant (KB0017404)sign-in required (sign-in required).

(Deed Reference(s): Clause 140, Annexure B2: Payments – Table 5)

The Points Based Activation System (PBAS) is a flexible approach by which relevant Participants can meet their Mutual Obligation Requirements by undertaking sufficient tasks to meet a specified Points Target.

Participating in a Session is a task that can be counted towards a Session Participant's Points Target. Points will be automatically attributed to the Session Participant’s Points Target by the Department’s IT systems when a Session is marked as Attended.

PBAS are only available to Workforce Australia Online for Individuals Full Service Participants who attend a Session.

The Department may, from time to time, assess the quality and delivery of these Sessions against the following criteria:

• Efficiency – The Session was conducted seamlessly. For example, the Provider gave concise information and instructions to the Session Participant and the format of the Session worked for all parties.

• Quality – The Session Participant found the Session/s helpful.

• Engagement – Session Participants were engaged and received valuable information from the Session/s, have booked future Sessions or advise they would recommend the service to other young people.

The Department will employ various ways to measure these, including via Provider and Participant surveys, and feedback to the DSCC.