Providing Disability Employment
Services to Pre-release Prisoners
Guidelines
V 3.1
Disclaimer
This document is not a stand-alone document and does not contain the entirety of
Disability Employment Services Programme Providers' obligations. It should be read
in conjunction with the Disability Employment Services Deed and any relevant
Guidelines or reference material issued by the Department of Social Services under
or in connection with Disability Employment Services Deed.
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V3.1
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Effective Date: 5 December 2015
Table of Contents
Overview
3
Eligibility
3
Registration
4
Servicing PRP job seekers
4
The Job 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
3.1
5 Dec 15
5 Dec 15
3.0
25 Aug
14
25 Aug 14
4 Dec 15
Throughout document – amended to new
template. Additional text added relating to
monitoring and removal of PRP indicator.
2.1
01 May
13
01 May 13
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
Update of terminology
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V3.1
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Effective Date: 5 December 2015
Providing Disability Employment
Services (DES) to Pre-release Prisoners
Guidelines
Overview
The Pre-release Prisoners (PRP) initiative provides access to employment services to
adult prisoners who have been referred to an employment services provider by a
state or territory corrective services agency; and for 15 to 21 year old detainees or
prisoners who are not in full-time education or training and who are registered with
the Department of Human Services (Human Services) as looking for work.
PRP policy in DES 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.
A PRP job seeker must be referred to a DES provider by a state or territory corrective
services agency. The PRP job seeker will be referred to DES Provider that is deemed
suitable by the corrective services agency. The suitability of the DES Provider will
depend on the consideration of factors such as proximity to the prison or pre-release
centre and the DES 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 Human Services administered payment (See Social Security Act 1991 Section
1158 23(5)).
Eligibility
A PRP job seeker must meet all of the following criteria at the same time when they are
being referred to a DES Provider:
 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 agency is responsible for assessing
a PRP job seeker’s eligibility. However, if a PRP job seeker is incorrectly referred and
does not fulfil the above criteria the DES Provider should Exit the job seeker. The
process for exiting job seekers is outlined in the Programme Review, Programme
Summary and Exits Guidelines on the DES Provider Portal.
Ex-Prisoners who have left a pre‐release centre and are in receipt of income support
from Centrelink may be eligible for employment services through referral by Human
Services. Once the job seeker is in receipt of income support from Centrelink, the
PRP indicator is no longer relevant and needs to be removed. The Department of
Employment’s national office monitors and removes PRP indicators.
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Registration
PRP job seekers must be Directly Registered by the DES Provider following a referral
from the state or territory corrective services agency.
DES Providers must initially complete a Registration in the Department’s IT System
(refer to the DES Direct Registration Guidelines) 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 agency 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 the Eligibility, Referral
and Commencement Guidelines. PRP job seekers will be referred for an Employment
Services Assessment (ESAt) to determine their eligibility for DES. 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
DES Provider to the one that directly registered the PRP job seeker, the Provider
must not action the referral. Instead, the DES Provider should notify their Contract
Manager of the recommendation. The Contract Manager will then seek permission
from the corrective services agency for the PRP to be referred to the recommended
service and, if permission is granted, arrange for the PRP job seeker to be connected
to the recommended service or DES Provider.
Where a PRP job seeker is subsequently released from prison and claims an Income
Support Payment from Centrelink and has a Mutual Obligation Requirement, the DES
Provider must remover the Special Client Type identifier at their first Contact with
the job seeker after their 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 DES Provider Portal.
Servicing PRP job seekers
PRP job seekers must receive the same level of services required under the DES Deed
that are available to other DES Participants. 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 from either the
DES - Disability Management Service (DMS) or DES - Employment Support Service
(ESS) as determined by their ESAt including:

Initial Interview to assess the Participant’s circumstances and employment
assistance requirements and develop a Job Plan.
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Effective Date: 5 December 2015



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.
Ongoing Support to assist the participant to maintain their employment.
The Job Plan
The DES Provider will negotiate a Job Plan 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 Job Plan:
 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 Job Plans, please refer to the Job Plans Guideline
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 Human Services to determine their Income Support Payment
entitlement and their eligibility for employment services.
Providing DES to Pre-release Prisoners Guidelines V3.1
TRIM ID: D15/606675
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Effective Date: 5 December 2015