About Us

CEO’s Report

2020-21 was a big year with the employment services sector preparing for the evolution and revolution of employment services against a backdrop of an ongoing global pandemic. While being known for its resilience and ability to rise to challenging and testing times, the last twelve months has undoubtedly challenged the sector in many ways.

As we navigated the operational and business viability challenges and complexities of 2020-2021, members’ key focus remained on assisting job seekers experiencing disadvantage – a clear testament of the sector’s unwavering commitment and strong spirit. Our sector should be proud of its ability to seamlessly assure employment services and maintain employer and job seeker support under the extraordinary circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NESA continued to work diligently to ensure we remained the voice for the sector, that our profiling of the good work that our members do each day reached a wider and broader audience, and that our advocacy and representation was strategic and influential and vigorously supported our members.

During 2020-21, NESA intensively engaged with members to understand the service and business impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government’s response, to inform representations to Ministers, senior departmental executives, and key stakeholders across relevant portfolios. This included representations to the Treasury’s Coronavirus Business Liaison Unit COVID-19.

The next generation of employment services is no longer just on the horizon. NESA has worked tirelessly to represent the sector in the development and design of the New Employment Services Model (NESM) including formal submissions to the Department in response to consultation on licencing models, payment models and purchasing arrangements, which resulted in the adoption of key recommendations from NESA’s submissions. Vital advocacy and representation on the reform of Disability Employment Services and the future of the Community Development Program was ongoing to ensure future services are strategic, fit-for-purpose and complementary.

At the beginning of 2020-21, there were over 1.4 million participants in jobactive, including approximately 400,000 in Online Employment Services. NESA continued to advocate for protections to ensure job seekers streamed to Online Employment Services were not disadvantaged. NESA supported the sector development of Digital Employment Services through the promotion of international experiences and best practice from countries who had utilised technology in different ways. Our Masterclass, ‘Digital Transformation – Global Trends in Hybrid Employment Services’ was delivered by a panel of international public employment services experts.

After eight years of capacity building in remote Australia, NESA People Solutions (NESAPS) concluded delivery of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid (AMHFA) Project. We are very proud of the work we achieved during those eight years to improve the employment, education, health, and well-being of remote communities. NESAPS also worked on the roll out of an Indigenous financial literacy pilot project called the Indigenous Money Health (IMH), which commenced across ten targeted communities and was well received by participants.

NESA’s Awards for Excellence continued to be embraced by the sector and stakeholders and highlighted the dedication, service strategies, innovative practices, and local approaches that the sector undertakes to change people’s lives through employment. The stories of transformation continually inspire me and reminds all of us of the positive impact that employment has on the lives of individuals, their families, and their communities. In the words of this year’s NESA Life Fellow recipient, John Perry OAM, “We’re not just in the game for putting people into work. We’re in the game of changing lives. I’ve seen so many lives change because they got a job. The hope and the dignity that comes with it.”

Over the next twelve months NESA will continue to be a strong voice for the sector and we will be engaging with and supporting members through this significant reform period. We will continue to strengthen our relationships with government, the opposition, key stakeholders, and the business community to ensure our voice on the key issues and priorities are heard.

I’d like to thank our Chair Matt Little and NESA’s Board of Directors for their unwavering commitment and for setting a strong governance framework that supports the achievement of the organisation’s goals and objectives. I’d also like to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of Matt Clarke, Deputy CEO who departed NESA after eight years.  Matt was instrumental in the successful delivery of large projects for NESAPS in remote Australia. His passion and commitment to supporting Indigenous communities was inspiring.

On behalf of myself and my dedicated team, thank you for your continued support.

Together with you, our members, we look forward to working to achieve our shared vision of opportunity for everyone through employment and inclusion.

I will leave you with the words of this year’s Champion Employer of the Year Winner, Angela Brown from Angela’s Domestic Duties, “this award means the world to me because it reflects the importance of giving people a chance to shine and an opportunity to fulfill a fundamental right that everybody deserves meaningful employment.”

Sally Sinclair CEO