An investigation into the remediation of income support cancellations and oversight of decisions made by employment service providers affecting job seekers in the Targeted Compliance Framework (TCF). The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ (DEWR) administers the TCF but delegates functions and decision-making powers to Services Australia and employment service providers.

The report recommends that DEWR improve oversight of decisions made by providers through monitoring data trends, responding to inconsistent or inappropriate decision-making, providing guidance on record keeping and updating current oversight activities to actively address poor provider performance. It provides eight recommendations and one suggestion. DEWR and Services Australia have accepted all recommendations. The report also identifies lessons for all agencies.

Key findings

• DEWR's oversight of decisions by providers is poor and lacking in transparency.
• DEWR and Services Australia's strategy to remediate job seekers affected by unlawful income support payment cancellations is not fair or reasonable.
• DEWR and Services Australia do not provide clear, written explanations of penalty decisions to job seekers, and information on how to seek a review or make a complaint lacks clarity and accessibility.