Work for the Dole
jobactive is the Australian Government’s way
to help more Australians into work.
Work for the Dole is part of jobactive.
What is Work for the Dole?
Work for the Dole is a work experience
program which places job seekers in activities
where they can gain skills, experience and
confidence to move from welfare to work,
while giving back to their community.
Job seekers undertake work-like activities at a
host organisation or as part of a communitybased project. This helps participants in Work
for the Dole to:
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Job seekers who have mutual obligation
requirements (people on Newstart Allowance
or Youth Allowance (Other), or Parenting
Payment recipients whose youngest child is
at least six years of age) need to complete an
Annual Activity Requirement for six months
each year if still in jobactive after 12 months.
They can do this by participating in Work for
the Dole or another approved activity, such as
part-time work, part-time study in an eligible
course, accredited language, literacy and
numeracy training or voluntary work.
A job seeker’s jobactive provider will let them
know when they need to take part in Work for
the Dole.
develop the skills that employers want—
like team work, communication and
reliability
Job seekers who don’t have mutual obligation
requirements can also ask to participate in
Work for the Dole.
increase their confidence and show that
they are ready to start working
Job seekers on income support who are
participating in Work for the Dole can receive
an income support supplement of $20.80 per
fortnight.
meet new people and make contacts who
can be a referee
get involved in their local community
How many hours of Work for the Dole do
job seekers need to do?
meet their mutual obligation requirements
to continue to receive income support.
There are different requirements based on a
job seeker’s age. If job seekers are:
There may be job seeker prerequisites
depending on the place such as police checks
or work, health and safety training.
Who can do Work for the Dole?
Some job seekers need to meet certain
requirements in order to keep receiving
income support. These are called mutual
obligation requirements.
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aged under 30 years, they will need to
complete 25 hours per week of Work for
the Dole or another approved activity for
six months each year
aged 30 to 49 years, they will need to
complete 15 hours per week of Work for
the Dole or another approved activity for
six months each year
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aged 50 to 59 years, they will need to
complete 15 hours per week of an
approved activity for six months each
year, which can include volunteering for
Work for the Dole
60 years of age or over they can
volunteer for Work for the Dole or other
approved activities.
Job seekers who have a partial capacity to
work or who are principal carer parents will
need to participate for around half the number
of hours in Work for the Dole (or other
approved activities) as full capacity job
seekers. Work for the Dole is not available to
job seekers aged under 18 years.
Who can host a Work for the Dole activity?
Work for the Dole activities can only be
hosted by not-for-profit organisations and
local, state, territory and Australian
government agencies. Activities may also be
hosted in not-for-profit arms of for-profit
organisations.
Activities must not take place exclusively on
private property unless they are part of a
Community Support Project to assist in
recovery from natural disasters.
Work for the Dole activities must not involve
tasks which:
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Work for the Dole activities cannot take place
if the host organisation:
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has downsized in the past year and the
proposed tasks are the same as roles
made redundant
is using it as a stopgap measure while
recruiting or instead of creating paid jobs.
How can host organisations get involved?
Each Work for the Dole place will usually last
for six months.
Work for the Dole hosts can participate in the
programme by:
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offering individual places for job
seekers—hosts can offer more than one
at a time
undertaking a project delivered by a
group of job seekers.
Being a Work for the Dole host allows
organisations to undertake projects or
activities which they might otherwise not have
the capacity to do.
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See www.employment.gov.au/work-dole
for further information.
Find your local Work for the Dole
Coordinator at
www.employment.gov.au/wfdcontacts
would normally be done by a paid worker,
including a casual or part-time paid
employee
What is a Work for the Dole Coordinator?
reduce the hours usually worked by a
paid employee
There is a network of Work for the Dole
Coordinators across Australia who work with
potential host organisations to find suitable
Work for the Dole places and activities.
reduce the customary overtime of an
existing worker.
A Work for the Dole Coordinator is contracted
in each of 51 Employment Regions around
Australia, with 19 organisations providing
these services.
The Work for the Dole Coordinator:
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works with potential host organisations to
source suitable places across their
Employment Region
conducts a risk assessment of each
potential Work for the Dole place to
ensure there is a safe system of work
negotiates the funding to be provided to
the host organisation to assist to cover
the cost of the Work for the Dole places
advertises Work for the Dole places to
jobactive providers to be filled by eligible
job seekers
identifies and promotes good practice in
managing Work for the Dole places.
What is the role of the jobactive provider
in Work for the Dole?
A network of jobactive providers operates
across 1700 locations in Australia to provide
employment services to job seekers and
employers.
The activities sourced by Work for the Dole
Coordinators are made available to jobactive
providers to place job seekers into.
jobactive providers may also source Work for
the Dole activities. Where this occurs the
jobactive provider must undertake all of the
tasks that would have been undertaken by the
Work for the Dole Coordinator.
The jobactive provider:
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conducts a risk assessment for each
participant to ensure the Work for the
Dole activity is appropriate and safe for
the job seeker
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agrees the operational requirements with
the host organisation
ensures the host organisation implements
all actions identified in the risk
assessment prior to commencement of
the activity
makes sure the job seeker has any
necessary materials, equipment, special
clothing or prior training before starting in
Work for the Dole
monitors the job seeker while in Work for
the Dole.
Where a Work for the Dole activity involves
job seekers from multiple jobactive providers,
one jobactive provider will take a lead role
and be the primary contact with the host
organisation.
Want more information?
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Go to www.employment.gov.au/work-dole
Call the Employment Services Information
Line on 13 62 68*
Do you need help with this fact sheet?
If you need an interpreter, please call the
Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on
131 450* and ask for the Employment
Services Information Line on 13 62 68* or the
National Customer Service Line on 1800 805
260*.
If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech
impairment you can use the National Relay
Service. For more information, visit
www.relayservice.gov.au.
* Note that call charges apply for calls to ‘13’
and ‘1800’ numbers from mobile phones