Providing Disability Employment
Services to Pre-release Prisoners
Guidelines
V 1.0
Disclaimer
This document is not a stand-alone document and does not contain the entirety of
Job Services Australia Providers' obligations. It should be read in conjunction with
the Disability Employment Services (DES) Deed and any relevant guidelines or
reference material issued by the Department of Social Services under or in
connection with DES Deed.
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V1.0
TRIM: D14/431963
1
Effective Date: 25 August 2014
Table of Contents
Background
3
Eligibility
3
Registration
4
Servicing PRP job seekers
4
The Employment Pathway Plan
5
Prior to release (21 days prior to the prisoner’s expected release date)
5
Document Change History
Version
Start
Date
Effective
Date
End Date
Change & Location
3.0
25 Aug 14
25 Aug 14
2.1
01 May 13
01 May 2013
24 Aug 14
p 3 Age of youth detainees amended from 20 to 21
2.0
01 Jul 12
21 Aug 12
01 May 13
Throughout document – amended to be correct
template, updated references to Centrelink to
reflect DHS; grammatical updates throughout.
1.0
01 Sep 11
01 Sep 11
30 Jun 12
Original
Throughout document – amended to new
template. Additional text added relating to
monitoring and removal of PRP indicator.
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V1.0
TRIM: D14/431963
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Effective Date: 25 August 2014
Providing Disability Employment Services to Prerelease Prisoners Guidelines
Background
Government employment services are available, under the Pre-release Prisoners
initiative (PRP), for adult prisoners who have been referred to an employment
services provider by state or territory corrective services; and for 15 to 21 year old
detainees or prisoners who are not in full-time education or training and are
registered with the Department of Human Services (DHS) as looking for work.
The PRP aims to maximise employment opportunities for people leaving prison and
reduce their reliance on welfare by improving their job search skills and building
connections with employers at the earliest opportunity.
PRP job seekers must be referred to Disability Employment Services (DES) providers
by state or territory corrective services. The PRP job seeker will be referred to a
provider that is deemed suitable by corrective services in the relevant state or
territory. The suitability of the provider will depend on the consideration of factors
such as proximity to the prison or pre-release centre and an employment services
provider’s performance and experience in servicing PRP job seekers.
A PRP job seeker is considered to ‘remain in legal custody’ and does not qualify for
any DHS administered payment (See Social Security Act 1991 Section 1158 23(5)).
Eligibility
Pre-release Prisoners must meet all of the following criteria at the same time when they are
being referred to DES providers:
 be in the last 12 months of their sentence;
 be considered by corrective services case managers to be granted a licence

for release to engage in paid work; and
be considered job ready.
The referring state or territory corrective services are responsible for assessing a pre-release
prisoners’ eligibility. However, if a job seeker is incorrectly referred and does not fulfil the
above criteria the provider should Exit the job seeker. The process for exiting job seekers is
outlined in the Exits Guidelines on the Provider Portal.
Prisoners who have left a pre‐release centre and are in receipt of an income support
payment may be eligible for employment services through DHS referral. Once the job seeker
is in receipt of an income support the PRP indicator is no longer relevant and needs to be
removed. The Department of Employment’s national office will monitor and remove the PRP
indicator.
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V1.0
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Effective Date: 25 August 2014
Registration
PRP job seekers, once referred to an employment services provider by state or territory
corrective services, must be Directly Registered by the provider.
Providers must initially complete a Registration in the Department’s IT System and then
apply the ‘Pre-release Prisoner’ Special Client Type indicator to the job seeker’s record. As
PRP job seekers are assessed by corrective services as job ready, a timely commencement
and servicing is expected.
PRP job seekers who are referred to a DES provider are Directly Registered in accordance
with the DES Direct Registration Guidelines and will be referred for an Employment Services
Assessment (ESAt) to determine their eligibility for employment services. Where an ESAt is
required, the DES provider should notify corrective services that the PRP job seeker requires
a referral. Corrective Services need to be involved in the process and to approve the referral
for an ESAt.
If the outcome of an ESAt recommends a different employment service or a different
provider to the one that directly registered the PRP job seeker, the provider must not action
the referral. Instead, the provider should notify their Contract Manager of the
recommendation. The Contract Manager will then seek permission from Corrective Services
for the recommended service and, if permission is granted, arrange for the PRP job seeker to
be connected to the recommended service or provider.
A PRP job seeker who is subsequently released from prison and is in receipt of an income
support payment, becomes an Activity Tested job seeker. In this instance the Special Client
Type identifier must be removed by the DES provider at their first Contact with the job
seeker after release.
For further information please refer to the Job Seeker Classification Instrument Guidelines
and the Explanation of the Job Seeker Classification Instrument Questions Supporting
Document on the Provider Portal.
Servicing PRP job seekers
PRP job seekers must receive the same level of services required under the Deed
that are available to other DES Participant. In some instances PRP job seekers may
require additional consideration related to their PRP status and the requirements of
corrective services arrangements in place in different states and territories.
PRP job seekers who are referred to DES are eligible for the services provided in
either the Disability Management Service (DMS) or Employment Support Service
(ESS) as determined by their ESAt including:



Initial Interview to assess the Participant’s circumstances and employment
assistance requirements and develop an Employment Pathway Plan (EPP).
Employment Assistance to help the Participant find sustainable employment
by addressing vocational and non-vocational barriers and building their
capacity to work.
Post Placement Support to ensure that the Participant settles into the
placement and addresses any issues that arise.
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V1.0
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Effective Date: 25 August 2014

Ongoing Support to assist the participant to maintain their employment.
The Employment Pathway Plan
The provider will negotiate an EPP with the PRP job seeker at the Initial Interview. The
following restrictions placed on PRP job seekers will need to be taken into account when
negotiating the EPP:
 proximity to the prison or pre-release centre;
 terms of their access to the internet;
 where they can travel to look for work;
 the type of jobs they can be referred to; and
 the employers they can work for.
For more information regarding EPPs, please refer to the DES Employment Pathway
Plan Guidelines available on the Provider Portal.
Prior to release (21 days prior to the prisoner’s expected release date)
Prisoners who are soon to be released, or have recently been released, from prison
will be assessed by DHS to determine their income support payment entitlement and
their eligibility for employment services.
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V1.0
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Effective Date: 25 August 2014