Work
for the Dole gives you the chance to get some work experience while doing something
worthwhile for your community. It is also an approved activity for mutual obligation—so
you can meet your mutual obligation by doing a Work for the Dole placement at
the same time as earning benefits like Training Credits.
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What
is Work for the Dole? |
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Work
for the Dole gives you the chance to get some work experience while doing something
worthwhile for your community. It is also an approved activity for mutual obligation
- so you can meet your mutual obligation by doing a Work for the Dole placement
at the same time as earning benefits like Training Credits. If you’re
18 or over and on Newstart or Youth Allowance, you can volunteer for Work for
the Dole. If it is your first year on allowance you can volunteer after you finish
Intensive Support job search training with your Job Network member. If you have
been unemployed for sometime, you can volunteer for Work for the Dole when you
are not doing another activity. From 20 September 2003 you will also be able to
do Work for the Dole if you are receiving Parenting Payment. (top) |
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Volunteering
for Work for the Dole can be very rewarding. You will develop skills in:
•
Teamwork
• Responsibility
• Problem solving
• Organisation
•
Work processes
• Leadership
• Networking
There are also
environmental activities designed especially for volunteers who are over 35. These
activities are called Green Reserve activities. You will make new friends and
might even find a new career path! You can have a successful Work for the Dole
placement regardless of your age and level of experience. You can also earn a
Training Credit to move you even closer to your career or job goals.
The
Active Participation Model (APM) was introduced from 1 July 2003 to ensure that
job seekers and their communities receive quality assistance. The APM seeks to
engage job seekers through Job Network and other complementary employment and
training programmes to maximise their chances of finding work as quickly as possible.
Job Network services are closely linked with mutual obligation activities through
the APM. (top) |
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What kind of work
can I do? |
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There
are many different types of interesting industries and services that you can take
part in when you volunteer for Work for the Dole. You can find details on the
touch screens at Centrelink or through your Job Network member or Community Work
Coordinator. These are just some of the activities that participants have been
involved in:
Caring for the environment:
• building picnic areas,
campsites, lookouts, walking trails and safety fences in a state forest recreational
area, regeneration and revegetation of an old sand mining site; and
•
critical koala habitat to promote eco-tourism, fencing bushland and building shelters
to form a protected site for endangered mammals, helping to construct fire breaks
and fire trails to reduce bushfires in an old growth forest.
Caring for
the community:
• constructing a new house and landscaping the grounds
for sale, generating a profit for local charities building an observation tower
for a community surf life saving club; and
• developing and running a
national music competition helping out in emergency situations such as natural
disasters.
Caring for people:
• Helping to provide services to
visually impaired people at a community centre designing and building sailing
boats for use by people with disabilities and helping them learn to sail. presenting
singing and dancing to kindergarten and preschool-aged children from diverse cultural
backgrounds and low socio-economic groups, working with an Indigenous community
to provide medical receptionist and other support services in a community medical
centre Caring for our heritage restoring an old jail to Heritage Council guidelines
and converting it into a community centre building and exhibiting an operational
replica of an historic aircraft, recording local history, including doing research
and interviews, taking photographs and locating old photographs and drawings for
illustration restoring a Pearl Lugger to museum standard to preserve maritime
history. (top) |
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What will I get
out of it? |
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You’ll
get valuable work experience and will be able to demonstrate your abilities to
potential employers. You’ll get references from your supervisors about your
work. You’ll build wider networks that open up more opportunities for you.
Doing Work for the Dole shows that you’re motivated, willing to develop skills
and committed to your community. It makes you more employable.
There are
thousands of approved courses you can choose to do with your Training Credit.
They include:
• competency-based training in industries such as hospitality,
retail, building and construction, health, manufacturing and business services,
to name just a few.
There are also accredited training courses such as
book keeping, data entry, metal fabrication, aged care and driver’s licences
for fork lifts, light trucks and heavy vehicles.
You can even do driving
lessons and pay for your driver’s licence! (top) |
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Are
there any other benefits? |
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When
you complete your placement you may receive a Training Credit of up to $800.
Your
Training Credit will pay for accredited education or training to help you become
more job ready. The table below outlines the hours you have to do to get a Training
Credit. Number of hours work Value of Training experience I will do Credit I will
receiv
If I am aged under 21 & 21 and over
• 200 hrs &
240 hrs =$500
• 255 hrs & 315 hrs =$650
• 310 hrs & 390
hrs =$800
Who will benefit? YOU and your local community. (top) |
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How
long will I take part in Work for the Dole? |
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Usually
it will be for six months. Normal working hours are between 9.00 am and
5.00 pm, two days a week, but you can negotiate this with your Community Work
Coordinator as some activities involve non-standard hours of work. If you’re
aged 18–20, your minimum hours will be 24 each fortnight.
If you’re
aged 21–39, your minimum hours will be 30 each fortnight.
If you’re
aged 40 or over, your minimum hours will be 12 each fortnight. (top) |
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Can I work more
hours? |
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| Your
Community Work Coordinator may agree that you can work more hours by taking part
in an activity for an additional day or by being a volunteer for a Community Action
Group. If you work more hours, you will meet your mutual obligation and complete
your placement earlier. When you begin Work for the Dole you may be asked if you
want to be a Community Action Group volunteer. This means you may be asked to
do extra work to help out in emergency situations such as when there are floods
or bushfires or when other community organisations need urgent assistance. (top) |
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What
will I do on a Community Action Group? |
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You
will be a member of a team which provides short term, emergency relief. You might
help protect houses from high seas by sandbagging along a beach front. You could
help clean up after hailstorm damage or flooding. You might provide assistance
to fire fighters and their support teams during bushfires. In times of community
need, you could help deliver meals to the elderly or provide food relief at a
local community centre. (top) |
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What
help will I get if I do Work for the Dole? |
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| If
you are on Newstart or Youth Allowance and participate in Work for the Dole, you’ll
get an extra $20.80 a fortnight to help with your transport and other costs. You
can get help to meet the costs of childcare if you need it. If you require protective
clothing for your activity or transport to assist in emergency situations, it
will be provided. (top) |
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What else do I
need to know? |
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| All
participants will need to enter into a Newstart or Youth Allowance Preparing for
Work Agreement. You can also clean slate if you join Work for the Dole after receiving
a reduced rate penalty in any activity other than during another Work for the
Dole activity. It works this way. If you are on a reduced rate because you have
not met your activity test requirements you will be put back onto your full rate
of pay when you sign your Preparing for Work Agreement and commence on Work for
the Dole. For more information, contact Northern Skills Alliance on 4041 2597
or the Work for the Dole enquiry line on 13 62 68 or visit our employment support
page at http://www.workplace.gov.au (top) |
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