The Community Development Program (CDP) is an existing remote employment and community development service administered by the National Indigenous Australians Agency. CDP aims to support job seekers in remote Australia to build skills, address barriers to employment and contribute to their communities through activities and training.
The Australian Government has committed to change the way it delivers remote employment programs and services by replacing the CDP in two stages.
The first stage, announced in February 2024 is the Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) program.
The $707 million program is creating 3000 new jobs over three years until 2027.
It will support people in remote communities to move into meaningful jobs that communities want, with fair pay and conditions.
The second stage of replacing CDP is the design and delivery of the Remote Australia Employment Service (RAES).
The Government is investing $1.9 billion over 5 years to support people who are currently looking for work or may need help to get job-ready, with the skills and resources they need.
A competitive grants process is expected to open in May 2025 for interested organisations to apply for funding to deliver these services. A forecast opportunity for these grants has been published on GrantConnect.
Draft Grant Opportunity Guidelines were released for information and feedback between 27 March and 21 April 2025. What we heard is being used to finalise the design of the RAES grant opportunity.
Read an open letter from the Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, for more information about the timing of the grant opportunity.
Grant assessments are expected to be conducted in August. It’s anticipated funding applicants will be notified in September, with a view to executing funding agreements in October.
Current CDP services have been extended to continue to support remote job seekers until 31 October 2025, before the RAES begins on 1 November 2025.
There is planning underway to ensure a smooth transition between programs.
Where CDP operates
CDP covers 75 percent of Australia’s land mass including over 1,000 communities currently known as CDP regions (will be known as Remote Australia Employment Service (RAES) regions). It supports around 40,000 people.
Local service providers deliver the program and act as the single point of contact for job seekers, employers and host organisations in each community.
To find the contact details of the provider in your local area, you can use the provider search tools on the Australian Government’s Workforce Australia site, which allows you to enter your town or postcode and filter results to show CDP providers.
CDP participants
CDP participants receive personalised assistance from their service provider to help build their skills, get a job and participate to their maximum capacity. Some of the activities available for CDP participants include formal training, with the opportunity to gain qualifications, or foundational skills training, including language, literacy and numeracy and driver’s training.
1,000 Jobs Package
The 1,000 Jobs Package aimed to increase employment opportunities in remote Australia for Community Development Program (CDP) participants.
Applications for the package closed as planned on 30 June 2023.
The NIAA will administer all current 1,000 Jobs agreements through to their relevant end date.
The NIAA is focused on working closer with communities on more effective ways to support local people into jobs.
Read more about the 1,000 Jobs Package.
More information
- For enquires about the CDP in your region, contact your local provider or your nearest NIAA Regional Office.
- You can contact the Job Seeker Hotline 13 62 68 for general information on employment services and the CDP.
- For enquiries about the Remote Australia Employment Service, contact RemoteEmploymentService@niaa.gov.au
- The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, National Customer Service Line 1800 805 260 can help with questions about Workforce Australia, the Government's employment services program that operates outside remote Australia.
- Complaints can be sent to complaints@niaa.gov.au