Employment services

The Remote Australia Employment Service (RAES) will begin on 1 November 2025, directly replacing the Community Development Program (CDP).

The new service will operate in Remote Australia Employment Service (RAES) regions (currently known as CDP regions).

It will support people who are currently looking for work or may need help to become job ready, to get the skills and resources they need to take up job opportunities, including those created through the Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) program.

Current CDP services have been extended until 31 October 2025 to continue to support remote job seekers, before the new service begins.

There is planning underway to ensure a smooth transition between programs.

Read a factsheet about the Remote Australia Employment Service

How will it work

The RAES will provide more opportunities for job seekers and service providers who live and work across more than 1,200 communities in remote Australia. It will support around 40,000 job seekers in remote Australia who are currently receiving income support payments to build their skills and address barriers to employment.

The service will:

• Help job seekers prepare for work, move into a job when available and stay employed with greater access to mentoring and tailored support.
• Support job seekers where work is not available through engagement in community projects that build their skills and help them become job ready. These projects give communities more flexibility to design solutions locally, tailored for individual needs.
• Change the way providers are funded, supporting improved service delivery in critical areas, such as employment placement support (currently known as post placement support).
• In a small number of regions, trial local approaches to build language, literacy and numeracy as these are foundational skills for getting a job.
• Trial how existing job seeker assessment processes could be improved so that job seekers feel supported and comfortable, with providers working with job seekers to identify their strengths, skills and aspirations.
• Provide an increased investment to deliver higher quality, culturally safe services tailored to remote job seekers.

What it means for job seekers

Job seekers will still be required to agree to a job plan, attend regular appointments, undertake job search (if appropriate) and accept paid work. 

Participation in activities to meet mutual obligations will remain voluntary until 2027 under the new service.

How to apply

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. 

A competitive grant selection process is expected to open in June 2025 for interested organisations to apply to deliver remote employment services from 1 November 2025. Read an open letter from the Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, for more information about the timing of the grant opportunity.

Grants will be open to interested organisations within RAES regions (currently known as CDP regions).

A forecast opportunity with further details is available on GrantConnect.

An approximate timeline for assessment of RAES grants this year is below:

• July – Grant round closes
• August – Assessment of applications
• September – Successful organisations notified
   

How it's different from the CDP

The RAES will be more flexible and address the barriers to employment opportunities that job seekers have faced for many years (including training and skill development opportunities). It will also link participants with suitable employment opportunities, including those created through the RJED program.

Providers will work with communities and individuals to better understand the needs of the more than 40,000 job seekers on the caseload living and working in RAES regions (currently known as CDP regions). The service will be more flexible with: 

• Community projects as a key focus, funding providers to deliver innovative approaches to enterprise development, and supporting community projects that engage job seekers to build skills and become job ready.
• Trials of improved assessment processes in a small number of regions to help providers identify barriers for participants but also work with them on their strengths.
• Participants being more supported to feel culturally safe.
• New trials of local approaches to build language, literacy and numeracy skills for job seekers in a small number of regions.
• A design that complements existing policies led by other government departments, while also aligning with broader employment policy reforms.

How it's being designed 

To help design the service so far, we have used feedback from previous consultations, existing evidence and learning and successes of job trials. 

The feedback we received on the draft Grant Opportunity Guidelines that were open for consultation between 27 March to 21 April will also inform the final service.

Some of the feedback we’ve heard already is that:

• There is a need for more local job creation – moving people off income support and into real jobs (jobs stimulated through the RJED program or other).
• It should be planned and led by communities.
• Communities want some form of compulsory activity attendance to be introduced under the new model.
• Compulsory activities should be culturally appropriate and help participants move closer to paid employment.
• Activities should be flexible to allow for cultural obligations and personal circumstances.
• Training should be tailored to the individual and relevant to participants needs.
• The new service should support opportunities for full-time, part-time, seasonal and casual work.
• The new service should encourage engagement with a strengths-based approach.
• It should be participant-centred with case management to reflect job readiness pathway.