Commonwealth Outcomes Fund projects

Project selection

Projects under the Outcomes Fund are selected by the Australian Government. They are delivered in partnership with state and territory governments, service providers and social enterprises. 

The first projects have been confirmed. The selection process sought well developed projects from states and territories. The projects will be further developed with state governments and service providers in 2025. 

We are developing a more proactive, targeted approach for the selection of future projects. 

South Australia

The Workplace Program

The Workplace Program will provide people with:

• supported accommodation when leaving custody if they don’t have a home
• support to reconnect with community and gain employment and housing
• help to find long term housing and support.

The support may include:

• group sessions
• workshops in living skills
• help to establish routines
• help to rebuild positive relationships with family, friends and community
• help to get a job.

The South Australian and Australian governments are both providing $6.75 million in funding.

The Workplace Program aligns with 2 Commonwealth Outcomes Fund focus areas. They are:

• Focus Area 2 – overcoming barriers to employment
• Focus Area 3 – supporting people facing or experiencing homelessness.

It supports Target 10 under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap(Opens in a new tab/window): ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system’. 

The Young Parenting Program

The Young Parenting Program is a 16-week program for young parents up to 25 years, who are either pregnant or parenting a child up to age 5. It is an evidence-based intervention that can break the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage.

The Young Parenting Program aims to:

• increase parenting capacity
• improve child development and family functioning and wellbeing
• create employment pathways.

The course is led by peer mentors who have had similar experiences to the young parents. The peer mentors receive support from social workers and peer leaders. They provide group sessions teaching practical parenting skills alongside participation in playgroups. They encourage parents’ confidence. 

The South Australian and Australian government are both providing $1.43 million in funding. 

The Young Parenting Program aligns with 2 Commonwealth Outcomes Fund focus areas. They are:

• Focus Area 1 – supporting positive outcomes for families and children
• Focus Area 2 – overcoming barriers to employment.

The South Australian projects were announced on 16 December 2024. Read the Investing to overcome disadvantage in South Australian communities media release(Opens in a new tab/window). 

Victoria

Delivering self-determined Aboriginal employment initiatives

This project will develop the capacity of Aboriginal communities across Victoria to increase employment. It will do this by establishing a trained and experienced workforce. 

The project uses an Aboriginal-led and government-enabled model. It is based on the principle of self-determination. This means it recognises that First Nations communities have the expertise and knowledge to design and deliver localised programs that meet their needs. The initiatives will be developed through a co-design process between the Victorian Government and either a Traditional Owner Corporation (TOC) or TOC-nominated partner. We will support the process. 

The initiatives will be run out of TOC-operated Economic Hubs across Victoria. The hubs’ core aims are to:

• support place-based tourism
• provide co-working spaces and shopfronts for Aboriginal businesses and entrepreneurs to sell products and network. 

A range of employment support initiatives will be developed and delivered. This will begin in 2025. The design, scope and timeframe of the initiatives will vary. It will depend on the priorities and expertise of each TOC. There will be a core focus on tailoring the training and development of participants through the co-design process.

The Victorian and Australian governments are both contributing $7.84 million in funding.

The project’s focus area is aligned with the Commonwealth Outcomes Fund’s Focus Area 2 – overcoming barriers to employment.

The project was announced on 17 December 2024. Read the Community-led initiatives to improve employment outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians media release(Opens in a new tab/window). 

More information

Email outcomesfund@dss.gov.au.