Post by Banker on Mar 30, 2012 8:09:57 GMT 7
The government has moved to ''preserve the integrity'' of the $4.7 billion welfare-to-work program after a top-level inquiry found widespread rorting of the scheme.
The deputy secretary of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Sandra Parker, last night issued letters to about 100 employment agencies warning of changes to the way they were able to claim fees against the program.
The inquiry was prompted by a Sydney Morning Herald investigation that revealed rampant abuse of the scheme and that the government and senior industry figures had known about the problem for more than a decade.
Advertisement: Story continues below
In December it reported that the Catholic Church's employment arm had systematically defrauded the program by claiming it had found positions for job seekers that they had found themselves.
The Sydney Morning Herald also named the ORS Group, one of many private providers, as having made similarly false claims.
The welfare-to-work scheme, now called Job Services Australia (JSA), had rewarded agencies that ''brokered'', or found, jobs for Centrelink recipients with higher fees. This led many organisations to encourage staff to lodge these and other false claims. In the letter, Ms Parker said the higher fee for such brokerages was to be eliminated from July 1.
''We have recently been informed by the independent adviser that there is sufficient evidence of substandard practices to immediately consider changes to the current payment structure,'' Ms Parker's letter said.
''With this advice, the government has decided to move to preserve the integrity of the JSA system. By acting now, we are in a position to determine the optimal policy settings, as well as make clear our expectations of behaviour in the next contract term.'' The government is assessing bids for the next round of contracts.
The government would remove, she said, the ''differential payment rate'' between jobs claimed to have been brokered and those found by the job seekers.
''As you would appreciate, this policy change needed to be settled before we could offer new business or contract extensions. We believe you need to be fully aware of the nature of the offer from 1 July so as to make informed decisions.''
The new round of contracts is to be announced next week.
Industry sources have said enormous pressure was being put on staff inside agencies to broker as many jobs as possible in the lead-up to these bids to bolster the agency's apparent success.
Although the inquiry by Robert Butterworth is continuing, he had identified sufficiently compelling evidence to force the government to act before he handed up his report.
''The department will continue to work with you to ensure accountability for the efficient, effective and ethical use of taxpayer funds,'' Ms Parker wrote.
During the next two years, the department would offer ''education and prevention strategies, reviews of documentary evidence and in specific circumstances, provider self-audits with targeted departmental follow-up''.
Mr Butterworth's audit had targeted 14 agencies, demanding detailed documentation to substantiate claims worth thousands of dollars they had made for placing the long-term unemployed in jobs.
ORS denied it had defrauded Job Services Australia but admitted having repaid a small amount in fees after a government audit.
In the case of CatholicCare, as many as 70 per cent of the jobs it claimed it had brokered were found by the job seekers.
The Sydney Morning Herald interviewed 63 job seekers whom CatholicCare serviced between October 2009 and December 2010 and whose job placements were lodged with the department as brokered.
Of those, 44 said they had found the job, contradicting the organisation's official claims for fees. Many had a long history with the employer that pre-dated their relationship with the agency.
Agencies lodge claims for fees through an electronic interface with the department and have not in the past been required to show a high level of evidence for their claims.
The government spent more than $1.5 billion last year on Job Services Australia programs.
Last year auditors working in the department reclaimed about $6.4 million in fees from providers - not all of which was deemed fraud.
There are two cases before the courts.
Do you know more? investigations@smh.com.au
39 comments
I was out of work late 2010 for the first time in 35 years, Both my wife and i went to Centrelink, and were told we were entitled to nothing and sent to an agency. They told us that we could use their services (computers) and had to apply for 10 jobs per week. Within 2 days using my own computer, we both found work and then had the agency constantly call us and ask for details of our new employers so they could advise the Governement that we had obtained employment. When I refused they got narky so i knew it must have had something to do with money. They didnt stop calling me until i threatened to contact the Ombudsmen. The unemployment system is a joke. And to top it off, we were not even entiled to a cent from the Govt after paying tax for 35 years, says it all doesnt it. A rort.
Commenter
My experience with this and is soon to re-occur, is that they aren't interested in any debt level you may be carrying, just total assests. They are quite happy for your assets to depelte and see your savings gone.
If you can't get actual financial assistance you're probably doing better than most people. However there a few other benefits like travel and pharmacuetical cards that will assist a few people on tight budgets. If you get lucky you go on a training course that can be quite entertaining although a complete waste of time.
Lucky you were back in work so quickly, I'm not certain that's everyone's experience.
By the way I used to woork with a guy we called 'Marky Mark', if that's you I guess you wouldn't part with the Harley.
Commenter
Welfare-to-work is not only open to rorts and systemic corruption, it's too expensive and doesn't work. Change it instead to Welfare-to-Education. Give people the tools to improve their lives, rather than sending them to inappropriate, mickey mouse jobs.
Commenter
@marky mark
I don't think it is ever about entitlement no matter how long you're paying tax for. Your tax, like millions others, are used for defense, infrastructure, subsidies, paying the state governments, etc.
If according to your logic, that you are entitled to benefits after working for a number of years, the government would have to put aside all your contribution so far, in the event that you be out of work, and then pay it back to you. Now, imagine they have to do that for 22 million Australians. You wouldn't be able to get nice things like healthcare, police, fireman, border protection, roads, highway, airport, shipping port, electrical distribution lines, etc.
I don't understand the Centerlink employees' reaction; may be it has to do with some red-tape they have to deal with. However, nobody is entitled to unemployment benefits JUST BECAUSE they worked for X amount of years.
Commenter
@tester
Mark isn't saying he was entitled to Centrelink payments because he had worked and paid taxes for 35 years, simply expressing surprise and perhaps disappointment that after supporting others in financial need (as well as helping fund the other things you mention) he was deemed as not qualifying for assistance himself when he believed he needed some.
The essential point of his post was that commercial agencies went to extensive and possibly illegal lengths to attempt to claim rewards to which they were not entitled.
Commenter
Read more: www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/crackdown-on-job-claim-rorts-20120329-1w15i.html#ixzz1qYf3Avpx
The deputy secretary of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Sandra Parker, last night issued letters to about 100 employment agencies warning of changes to the way they were able to claim fees against the program.
The inquiry was prompted by a Sydney Morning Herald investigation that revealed rampant abuse of the scheme and that the government and senior industry figures had known about the problem for more than a decade.
Advertisement: Story continues below
In December it reported that the Catholic Church's employment arm had systematically defrauded the program by claiming it had found positions for job seekers that they had found themselves.
The Sydney Morning Herald also named the ORS Group, one of many private providers, as having made similarly false claims.
The welfare-to-work scheme, now called Job Services Australia (JSA), had rewarded agencies that ''brokered'', or found, jobs for Centrelink recipients with higher fees. This led many organisations to encourage staff to lodge these and other false claims. In the letter, Ms Parker said the higher fee for such brokerages was to be eliminated from July 1.
''We have recently been informed by the independent adviser that there is sufficient evidence of substandard practices to immediately consider changes to the current payment structure,'' Ms Parker's letter said.
''With this advice, the government has decided to move to preserve the integrity of the JSA system. By acting now, we are in a position to determine the optimal policy settings, as well as make clear our expectations of behaviour in the next contract term.'' The government is assessing bids for the next round of contracts.
The government would remove, she said, the ''differential payment rate'' between jobs claimed to have been brokered and those found by the job seekers.
''As you would appreciate, this policy change needed to be settled before we could offer new business or contract extensions. We believe you need to be fully aware of the nature of the offer from 1 July so as to make informed decisions.''
The new round of contracts is to be announced next week.
Industry sources have said enormous pressure was being put on staff inside agencies to broker as many jobs as possible in the lead-up to these bids to bolster the agency's apparent success.
Although the inquiry by Robert Butterworth is continuing, he had identified sufficiently compelling evidence to force the government to act before he handed up his report.
''The department will continue to work with you to ensure accountability for the efficient, effective and ethical use of taxpayer funds,'' Ms Parker wrote.
During the next two years, the department would offer ''education and prevention strategies, reviews of documentary evidence and in specific circumstances, provider self-audits with targeted departmental follow-up''.
Mr Butterworth's audit had targeted 14 agencies, demanding detailed documentation to substantiate claims worth thousands of dollars they had made for placing the long-term unemployed in jobs.
ORS denied it had defrauded Job Services Australia but admitted having repaid a small amount in fees after a government audit.
In the case of CatholicCare, as many as 70 per cent of the jobs it claimed it had brokered were found by the job seekers.
The Sydney Morning Herald interviewed 63 job seekers whom CatholicCare serviced between October 2009 and December 2010 and whose job placements were lodged with the department as brokered.
Of those, 44 said they had found the job, contradicting the organisation's official claims for fees. Many had a long history with the employer that pre-dated their relationship with the agency.
Agencies lodge claims for fees through an electronic interface with the department and have not in the past been required to show a high level of evidence for their claims.
The government spent more than $1.5 billion last year on Job Services Australia programs.
Last year auditors working in the department reclaimed about $6.4 million in fees from providers - not all of which was deemed fraud.
There are two cases before the courts.
Do you know more? investigations@smh.com.au
39 comments
I was out of work late 2010 for the first time in 35 years, Both my wife and i went to Centrelink, and were told we were entitled to nothing and sent to an agency. They told us that we could use their services (computers) and had to apply for 10 jobs per week. Within 2 days using my own computer, we both found work and then had the agency constantly call us and ask for details of our new employers so they could advise the Governement that we had obtained employment. When I refused they got narky so i knew it must have had something to do with money. They didnt stop calling me until i threatened to contact the Ombudsmen. The unemployment system is a joke. And to top it off, we were not even entiled to a cent from the Govt after paying tax for 35 years, says it all doesnt it. A rort.
Commenter
My experience with this and is soon to re-occur, is that they aren't interested in any debt level you may be carrying, just total assests. They are quite happy for your assets to depelte and see your savings gone.
If you can't get actual financial assistance you're probably doing better than most people. However there a few other benefits like travel and pharmacuetical cards that will assist a few people on tight budgets. If you get lucky you go on a training course that can be quite entertaining although a complete waste of time.
Lucky you were back in work so quickly, I'm not certain that's everyone's experience.
By the way I used to woork with a guy we called 'Marky Mark', if that's you I guess you wouldn't part with the Harley.
Commenter
Welfare-to-work is not only open to rorts and systemic corruption, it's too expensive and doesn't work. Change it instead to Welfare-to-Education. Give people the tools to improve their lives, rather than sending them to inappropriate, mickey mouse jobs.
Commenter
@marky mark
I don't think it is ever about entitlement no matter how long you're paying tax for. Your tax, like millions others, are used for defense, infrastructure, subsidies, paying the state governments, etc.
If according to your logic, that you are entitled to benefits after working for a number of years, the government would have to put aside all your contribution so far, in the event that you be out of work, and then pay it back to you. Now, imagine they have to do that for 22 million Australians. You wouldn't be able to get nice things like healthcare, police, fireman, border protection, roads, highway, airport, shipping port, electrical distribution lines, etc.
I don't understand the Centerlink employees' reaction; may be it has to do with some red-tape they have to deal with. However, nobody is entitled to unemployment benefits JUST BECAUSE they worked for X amount of years.
Commenter
@tester
Mark isn't saying he was entitled to Centrelink payments because he had worked and paid taxes for 35 years, simply expressing surprise and perhaps disappointment that after supporting others in financial need (as well as helping fund the other things you mention) he was deemed as not qualifying for assistance himself when he believed he needed some.
The essential point of his post was that commercial agencies went to extensive and possibly illegal lengths to attempt to claim rewards to which they were not entitled.
Commenter
Read more: www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/crackdown-on-job-claim-rorts-20120329-1w15i.html#ixzz1qYf3Avpx