- Implementation and transition arrangements
Committee members have listened carefully and reflected deeply in grappling with the evidence received through this inquiry, and in engaging directly with participants and providers during the Committee’s program of site visits. The Committee has been struck by the genuine goodwill of all who have given evidence and shared their views, notwithstanding the widely divergent and strongly held positions expressed. Opinion has been entrenched and polarised, and evidence—including from those with lived experience of the program and from policy experts and peak bodies—has varied widely. The Committee’s conclusion is that ParentsNext is not as bad as many say, but not as great as others claim. The Committee encourages those who may be involved in designing a replacement service to accept the values and key design principles outlined in this report, to respect the wisdom and positive intentions of the incredibly diverse range of stakeholders involved with the program, and not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In previous chapters, the Committee has set out evidence which captures support for and opposition to the current ParentsNext program and made recommendations that aim to improve the supports available to parents, carers, and children. Most significantly, the Committee has recommended that ParentsNext be replaced with a new pre-vocational service, co-designed with parents, providers, advocates, experts, and other key stakeholders. The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has asked for this interim report on ParentsNext to be presented by the end of February2023, to allow sufficient time for Government to consider the report in the 2023–24 Budget context. Many of the Committee’s recommendations have legislative, design, operational and budgetary implications that require time to address. Accordingly, it is unlikely that the Government will be able to fully consider or implement these recommendations in the upcoming Budget process. It is also unlikely that Government will be able to conduct a genuine, comprehensive co-design process to 2023–24 Budget timeframes. However, it is the Committee’s strong view that several of the recommendations set out in this report can and should be implemented prior to the end of the current ParentsNext contracts. Critically, the threat of income support suspension and financial penalties must be lifted from ParentsNext participants. The Committee also considers that as many of the core features of the new service as possible should be in place by the time existing ParentsNext contracts end (including as extended). These include changes to the program eligibility, participation and reporting requirements, and the new compliance framework. Design and implementation of other elements of the new service, as well as certain system changes to improve the supports available to parents and carers, will be an ongoing process as the service continues to evolve. This includes ongoing co-design to improve the service and trialling and evaluation of different service offers. |
Consideration in the 2023–24 Budget
6.1The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Tony Burke MP, has requested that an interim report on ParentsNext be presented by the end of February2023, to allow sufficient time for Government to consider the Committee’s recommendations in the 2023–24 Budget context.
6.2There will only be a very short window between the tabling of this report and Government consideration as part of the 2023–24 budget process. As at the date of this report, the 2023–24 Budget is to be presented in early May 2023.
6.3The Committee appreciates that some of its recommendations will not be able to be fully considered or implemented in the upcoming Budget process. In particular, the co-design process necessary to ensure that the new program engages and gives voice to key stakeholders including parents and carers, advocacy organisations, and service providers will require significant time to conduct. Accordingly, the Committee has proposed extending current ParentsNext contracts for the minimum time possible to allow for a co-design process to inform a replacement service. This is likely to mean the replacement service could not be implemented until early to mid-2025.
6.4The Committee encourages the department and stakeholders to agree as soon as possible on a realistic timeframe for a co-design process that is not rushed, but which moves as quickly as possible to enable a replacement service to commence sooner rather than later.
6.5Several of the recommendations set out elsewhere in this report can—and should—be implemented to the greatest extent possible prior to the end of the current ParentsNext contracts (as extended, if necessary) to address the serious concerns identified and provide people with a more positive and supportive experience. Critically, these include recommendations in relation to participation and reporting requirements, compliance and enforcement, and improvements to how Services Australia engages with and provides evidence to both participants and the public.
6.6The Committee also strongly encourages government to progress recommendations relating to exemption criteria (including giving greater frontline discretion for Services Australia and providers), and recommendations relating to the Participation Fund—in particular to support participants to obtain driver licences—as a matter of urgency. The Committee strongly encourages the government to examine options to wind back the Targeted Compliance Framework (TCF) as soon as possible. At the very least, government must make clear that Participation Plan requirements (that is, requirements to complete and report on activities) are no longer mandatory and ensure that the only requirements during the transition are to attend appointments and meaningfully participate in ParentsNext. The Committee also encourages government to develop guidelines which help define ‘meaningful participation’, to assist these changes to compliance arrangements.
6.7Beyond these changes, the Committee’s preferred approach would be for the government to wind back participation, reporting and compliance requirements as far as possible—and broadly consistent with this report. If that is not possible within a reasonable timeframe in 2023, then consideration must be given to making the program fully voluntary until a more reasonable set of requirements can be put in place. While it will take time to implement changes, the current situation cannot continue without a clear commitment to change.
6.8The Committee notes that the Government has a broad ability to ‘switch off’ mutual obligation requirements as used during the COVID-19 pandemic and during recent natural disasters. The Committee appreciates that making ParentsNext effectively a voluntary program could make it more difficult for providers to engage participants and risk vulnerable participants disengaging. However, the Committee also notes evidence provided by the National Employment Services Association that when mutual obligation requirements were lifted during the COVID pandemic, there was only a small drop in engagement.
6.9The Government should also progress amendments to legislation and adjustments to IT systems to implement a partial payment withholding mechanism as soon as practicable, noting that this may have other application across the social security system over time as an alternative to harsh payment suspensions and penalties that too often leave vulnerable people with little or no money for critical basic needs.
6.10Noting the timeframes and complexity of making changes to the existing program while designing a new service, and the various costs and trade-offs involved, the Committee acknowledges that it will not be possible for every recommendation for change to be in place before the new service commences. Similarly, the Committee appreciates that Government may not adopt every recommendation, that some things may be adjusted through the co-design process.
6.11The Committee envisages that additional measures to improve supports for parents and carers can be added over time, and would be supported by ongoing co-design, monitoring and evaluation of the program, and trialling of service offers and incentives.
Ongoing co-design, trialling, and continual improvement
6.12Critical to the design, implementation, and delivery of the pre-vocational program to replace ParentsNext is that the program is subject to ongoing co-design and trialling, focused on ensuring that the service continually improves.
6.13A key feature that the Committee has recommended is that there be flexibility in the service to support the trialling of various approaches and innovative service delivery practices. The Committee considers that various types of incentives be trialled to encourage participation by parents who are not required to participate. The effectiveness of each incentive should be subject to rigorous, co-designed and co-managed evaluation to inform which of the possible incentives is the most effective.
6.14Co-design should also be an ongoing process. It should be informed by the experience during the transition, ongoing evidence and evaluation from any trials conducted, and learnings from the co-design and co-managed monitoring in place.
6.15The Committee recommends that the Australian Government develop and publish a transition plan for ParentsNext by July 2023, outlining:
- changes that can be made immediately and in the short and medium term to the current ParentsNext program, pending a replacement service being implemented;
- changes that cannot be made until a replacement service is in place;
- a timeframe for contract extensions to be determined; and
- the process and timelines for co-design process for a new ‘Your Future Planning’ pre-vocational service to replace ParentsNext.
Mr Julian HillMP
Chair