Contact: Kelvin Tori

Chief Executive Officer

Melton City Council

Telephone:

To the Committee,

< I T , O f

l\I E I, T O N

Melton City Council (Council) welcomes the opportunity to address the Parliamentary Inquiry

into Sustainable Employment for Disadvantaged Jobseekers. Council has a long standing

commitment to addressing disadvantage, social exclusion and associated barriers to

employment and commends the Victorian Government for taking this very important step to

exploring sustainable employment pathways and solutions.

As an accredited UNESCO Learning City, this Council is a committed essential partner in the

delivering lifelong learning opportunity, place based community building and evidenced

based evaluation to support the local community to find meaningful employment.

As the arm of government closest to the community, and given the nature by which Council

staff work with individuals, families and community organisations, Council is ideally suited to

support community based responses that promote pathways to sustainable employment.

Council is also uniquely placed to challenge attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate

barriers to existing employment or limit the opening up of future employment pathways.

Council acknowledges the application and use of the term 'disadvantage' is a value laden

one. Council understands that disadvantage does not arise from the absence of income

alone, but rather the lack of employment opportunity, capacity and access.

In this regard, Council understands that barriers to sustainable employment can be systemic,

geographical and socially determined. For this reason, Council understands the

multidisciplinary and multi-layered nature of responses required to bridge the access to

employment gap for community generally, while understanding the individual and nuanced

needs of community members experiencing barriers the most-people identified as

disadvantaged.

Council welcomes the recommendations from this Inquiry and look forward to outcomes that

have a preventative focus and lead to a long-term, coordinated and resourced approach

to eradicating and overcoming barriers to sustainable employment for this community.

Please find attached our response to this important Inquiry.

Kelvin Tori

Chief Executive Officer

A thriving community where everyone belongs

Civic Centre Postal Address (). ·.;

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LA EIC - Disadvantaged Jobseekers Inquiry Submission no. 30Received: 30 July 2019

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Melton City Council

Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sustainable Employment for

Disadvantaged Jobseekers

July 2019

For more information contact: Melton City Council

Social Planning and Wellbeing (03) 9747 7200

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Contents Overview of the City of Melton ....................................................................................................... 4

Planning the City for local employment ........................................................................................ 5

Where will future employment be located in the City of Melton? ............................................. 5

Related challenges for Melton as a growth Council ................................................................... 6

Interface Councils Human Services Gap Analysis (2017) ........................................................ 7

Defining disadvantage ........................................................................................................................ 7

How the City of Melton understands and responds to ‘disadvantage’ .................................... 7

Disadvantage within Melton ........................................................................................................... 7

Council’s role ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Social Procurement Framework ...................................................................................................... 9

The employment environment in the City of Melton ..................................................................... 11

Qualifications ................................................................................................................................... 12

Highest level of Schooling .............................................................................................................. 12

Institution attending ........................................................................................................................ 13

Need for Assistance ........................................................................................................................ 14

Travel to work .................................................................................................................................. 14

Travel and transport modelling ..................................................................................................... 15

Employment programs ....................................................................................................................... 16

Which jobseekers face higher barriers to employment? ............................................................... 17

Compounding barriers to employment ....................................................................................... 17

What support is needed? .................................................................................................................. 18

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity – addressing additional barriers ................................................. 18

What could we do more of now? .................................................................................................... 19

Additional Notes ............................................................................................................................. 21

Melton: A City for All People .......................................................................................................... 21

Melton is a Learning City and committed to Lifelong Learning ........................................... 22

Lifelong Learning Plan and implementation ........................................................................... 22 

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Overview of the City of Melton The City of Melton is located in Melbourne’s outer west, in one of the fastest growing regions

in Australia. The 2018/19 growth rate was 5.4 per cent and the population is 164,984.1 The

municipality has a SEIFA rating of 981, making it the 5th most disadvantaged municipality in

metropolitan Melbourne.2 The municipality consists of the Melton Township, the Eastern

Corridor – which has developed rapidly over the past 10-15 years, a number of isolated

townships and rural areas. The Melton major activity centre is around 35 kilometres north-west

of Melbourne’s CBD. It has a large culturally and linguistically diverse population that

continues to grow.

New arrivals to the City tend to be young couples with or intending to have young children,

making the City’s population one of the youngest in Victoria. The median age of residents

was 31 years at the time of the 2016 Census and more than 60 per cent of the population

were aged under 40 years. Almost half (43 per cent) of all households were couples with

children, and each week 42 babies were being born to parents residing in the City.

More than 30,000 people were born overseas, representing more than 130 different nations.

A particularly large number of the City’s residents were born in India, the Philippines, New

Zealand, Malta and Vietnam. In recent years, the City has welcomed an increase of people

                                                            1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) Census of Population and Housing, ABS: Canberra, available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/census 2 Ibid.

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from African and Asian nations through skilled migration, family reunion and refugee

immigration streams, adding further to the City’s cultural diversity.

Planning the City for local employment Council is planning for future growth for our established, rural and growth areas. This involves

planning for future residential development and employment to ensure that jobs will be

closer to home. The City of Melton currently has a population of 164,984 people (January

2019), and will reach an ultimate population of over 500,000 people over the next 40 years.

Currently, nearly three out of four residents (73 per cent) who are employed work outside the

municipality. An additional 5.2 per cent have no fixed place of work but also work outside

the municipality. Workplace destination data shows that both groups regularly travel long

distances to their workplaces with average commuting times of 90 minutes plus per day. The

growth of the municipality will increase the pressure on transport systems; consequently,

increasing local employment is vital.3

As one of metropolitan Melbourne’s designated growth areas, development is guided

through the West Growth Corridor Plan, the Sunbury Growth Corridor Plan and Precinct

Structure Plans (PSPs).

Growth Corridor Plans are high level integrated land use and transport plans that provide a

long term strategy for the development of Melbourne’s growth areas. The West Growth

Corridor Plan which covers the municipalities of Melton and Wyndham, and the Sunbury

Growth Corridor Plan that covers Diggers Rest and Sunbury, assessed how much employment

land was needed to support the future residents of the growth areas.

The Growth Corridor Plans identify a variety of employment land uses such as industrial

precincts, business precincts, and a hierarchy of activity centres within the municipality.

Growth Corridor plans inform the PSP process. PSPs are more detailed long term plans that

set out how areas within the growth corridors are to be developed. The preparation of PSPs

are usually led by the Victorian Planning Authority in close consultation with Council.

PSPs identify land uses and infrastructure that facilitate holistic communities such as

residential areas, open space, activity centres, employment areas, community centres, and

the transport system required to support development. PSPs also protect important

biodiversity habitats and identify future transport infrastructure such as train stations and

future bus routes.

Where will future employment be located in the City of Melton? The City of Melton currently has 10 approved PSPs that are currently guiding development in

their respective areas. Each of these approved PSPs allow the development of areas for

future employment. There are two PSP areas which will provide significant employment

opportunity:

                                                            3 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) Census of Population and Housing, ABS: Canberra, available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/census 

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The Mount Atkinson and Tarneit Plains PSP will provide approximately 19,000 jobs in

the identified industrial, commercial and retail precincts. The employment generated

by this PSP will contribute to the State Significant Western Industrial Node.

The Toolern PSP will facilitate approximately 22,000 jobs through a massive 490

hectare employment and mixed use precinct, regionally significant Metropolitan

Activity Centre, and other commercial precincts. These employment areas within the

Toolern PSP will provide for a variety of commercial, office, service industry and

industrial jobs.

Major Activity Centres are located in the approved Plumpton, Rockbank, and

Rockbank North PSP areas. Each of these centres will provide significant employment

opportunities as the retail and community services provided in these centres will

service 50,000 people each.

The established areas within the municipality also have existing employment areas that

include industrial and commercial precincts. Established employment precincts include the:

Melton Gateway Industrial Precinct,

Ravenhall Industrial Precinct,

High Street Activity Centre in Melton,

Woodgrove Activity Centre, and

Caroline Springs Activity Centre.

Related challenges for Melton as a growth Council Along with planning for the City of Melton’s growth, comes a number of opportunities and

challenges. These include supporting the social cohesion of our growing and newly

emerging communities, education and employment opportunities, provision and

maintenance of infrastructure and open spaces, recreation and tourism opportunities, and

access to services and support throughout the lifespan and a focus on ensuring people can

feel and be safe. Our community is varied and as such Council seeks to engage and work

together in a fair and inclusive way, appreciating that not everyone has the same

background, circumstances or access to the resources required to support a healthy and

thriving life.

Within the City of Melton context, the following discussion focusses on the role of Council in

addressing the barriers to employment and the elements that sustain it that might be

addressed and contribute to sustainable jobseeker outcomes, particularly for those at risk of

disadvantage.

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Interface Councils Human Services Gap Analysis (2017)

Council is a member of the Interface Councils Group. This group commissioned a report into

the Interface Councils Human Services Gap. The Interface Councils Human Services Gap

Analysis (2017) demonstrated the inequitable and uneven spatial distribution of services that

disadvantage Interface communities generally. It advocated for service reform and

redesign, shifting and re-prioritising investment and improving service commissioning

processes. It recognised however, that investing money without a proper process is not the

solution and the specific needs of Melbourne’s outer suburban and growth councils need a

different way of providing services.

The Interface Councils group advised State Government of its willingness to fund new

solutions to the current service gaps. With a list of innovative health and human services pilot

projects to manage growth differently in the region being prepared and to be included as

this list of projects in the Interface Councils 2021-22 Budget Submission. This list is proposed to

support the request that the existing Growing Suburbs Fund be expanded to include an

additional $20 million for these projects specifically. These projects aim to address key service

needs in the region by implementing local commissioning models that are not used

presently.

Defining disadvantage How the City of Melton understands and responds to ‘disadvantage’ How disadvantage is defined within the local City of Melton context, is an important start in

addressing the Parliamentary Inquiry. The Productivity Commissions’ Staff Working Paper on

Deep and Persistent Disadvantage in Australia (2013) is informative in Council’s

understanding in this area, as well as how disadvantage relates to sustainable employment,

supportive capability pathways and social inclusion outcomes for community.

Disadvantage is traditionally linked to constructions of poverty, and poverty is defined as

inadequate resources or low income. Low income in itself does not necessarily establish

disadvantage. Income is a partial measure taken at a point in time. Some individuals might

experience a temporary loss of income, but have access to assets or borrowings.

Rather the application of ‘disadvantage’ as a descriptor, is more closely associated with an

‘impoverished life’ (including a lack of opportunities), rather than a lack of income alone.

Hence, Council associates disadvantage with this broader construction and the various

barriers and pathways toward, and out of vulnerability and disadvantage.

Disadvantage within Melton The Melton Local Government Area (LGA) has an overall SEIFA index rating of 981 and is the

fifth most disadvantaged municipality within the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area.

However, the aggregated figure obscures the levels of extreme disadvantage being

experienced within pockets of the Melton municipality. Low scores on the index occur when

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the area has many low income families and people with little training and in unskilled

occupations, as well as children in households with jobless parents. The areas experiencing

extreme comparative disadvantage within the Melton LGA include Rockbank (852.2),

Melton South (85.9.3), Melton (866.5), Melton West (932.2), and Kurunjang (938.5). 4

Overcoming the disproportionate levels of disadvantage will require a targeted and

localised approach to ensure there is equity of opportunity for employment for all Melton

residents.

Small Area Labour Market data supplied by the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and

Family Business highlight the issue of unemployment within the Melton municipality. The data

for the March 2019 quarter shows the unemployment rate for the Greater Melbourne area

was 4.8 per cent. The comparative unemployment for the Melton LGA is significantly higher

at 6.7 per cent. However, the aggregated LGA data obscures the disproportionately high

unemployment rates of some areas within Melton. The SA2 level data reveals the areas of

Melton, Melton South, and Rockbank – Mount Cottrell have unemployment rates of 15.1 per

cent, 10.5 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively. These SA2 data indicate that some parts

of the municipality are experiencing greater barriers to employment than others.5

Melton also has higher than average youth unemployment. Current disaggregated data for

age are not currently available in the Small Area Labour Market data. However, the 2016

ABS Census of Population and Housing revealed the unemployment rate for all residents

identifying as in the workforce and aged 15 years and over to be 7.6 per cent. In

comparison, the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 years was 17.1 per cent. Within

Melton, some areas experienced much higher levels of youth unemployment rates, such as

Melton South (22.2 per cent), Taylors Hill (19.9 per cent) and Melton (18.9 per cent). It is likely

that this pattern has remained, which would therefore give Melton a current youth

unemployment rate of between 15 and 20 per cent, with some areas within Melton likely to

have youth unemployment rates exceeding 20 per cent.

Council’s role Council plays a critical role on focussing on overcoming identified barriers and providing

equitable access as a fundamental principle in Council’s capacity building approach. This

higher order role is reflected in the Council and Wellbeing Plan 2017-2021, Intercultural Plan,

the Interfaith Plan, Equality and Respect Strategy and the Proud City, Safe Community Plan

(in development).

Council’s community building approach, is evidenced particularly through the place based

local community centre and neighbourhood house programming and activation, and the

critical role that recreation and leisure infrastructure plays in connecting community.

                                                            4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) Census of Population and Housing, ABS: Canberra, available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/census 5 Small Area Labour Markets, March 2019, Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, available at https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-publication 

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Council delivers an advocacy campaign with key priorities in infrastructure and service

delivery to minimise the impact of disadvantage through accessibility, isolation and distance

that limits availability of employment opportunities to residents. This includes public transport,

precinct planning including a new Hospital and commercial investment attraction.

The City of Melton is committed to lifelong learning to support the local community to gain

meaningful employment. It was conferred the UNESCO Lifelong City Award in 2015.

Social Procurement Framework Melton City Councils’ role in securing social and economic outcomes for the local

community through procurement practices is articulated in its Social Procurement (SP)

Framework.

This Framework acknowledges that under the Local Government Act 1989, Victorian councils

have a responsibility to properly manage public goods, resources, and/or facilities in a way

that supports sustainable development objectives and promotes the public interest. Social

procurement can achieve the best overall cost-benefit outcome if the benefits and costs are

assessed in more than monetary terms.

Definition of Social Procurement

Social procurement is a strategic approach to meeting social objectives through

procurement.

Social procurement involves using procurement processes and purchasing power to

generate positive social outcomes for the local community in addition to the delivery of

efficient goods, services and works.

Social procurement aims to connect local community members with meaningful work and

skill development opportunities arising from the procurement contract. For the City of Melton,

it aims to level the barriers for people who identify as experiencing one or more of the

following social characteristics:

A person whom identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander;

A person whom identifies as a person with a disability or as being in need of

additional personal support to realise equitable access to employment or pathways

to requisite skills advancement opportunities;

A person who was not born in Australia, including new arrivals, refugees and skilled

migrants where qualifications may not be readily translated within Australia.

A young person who is not currently engaged or is at risk of becoming disengaged

from ongoing education, training or workforce opportunities.

A person who has experienced a prolonged period of absence for the workforce,

due to ill health, labour force shortages, skills matching misalignment, parental leave

or relocation from another community.

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People who have relocated to the municipality as a result of incarceration,

community based order, or family violence order, either personally or as a result of

immediate family connection; and identifies as experiencing barriers to employment

or skills development opportunities.

A person who has retired or semi-retired from the workforce seeking to apply or

adapt existing skills and aptitude to a meaningful social benefit or community

program deliverable.

Melton City Council’s Social Procurement Policy seeks to support Council’s objectives

towards social procurement including:

To enhance direct employment and traineeship opportunities for specific target

population sectors within the municipality.

To incorporate Social Procurement practices in Council business through Council

contracts.

To ensure the following key success factors are implemented where Social

Procurement occurs;

- Customised pre-employment training and preparation for jobseekers

- Tailored preparation and support for employers

- Supported work placement and

- Post work place transition

Through its Social Procurement Framework, Melton City Council proposes to do this through a

range of methods including:

procuring from local social benefit suppliers where such purchases may be

justified on a “Best Value” basis and are competitive across a range of evaluation

criteria;

procuring from local businesses (as above);

inclusion of social benefit clauses in tenders and contracts to provide

employment and training opportunities for specific community groups who would

otherwise find it difficult to find employment in the job; and

Engagement of social enterprises to deliver Council services.

The Framework applies to identified long term contracts and tenders (minimum five years)

across Council including but not limited to parks, open space, tree maintenance, road and

drainage maintenance, graffiti removal, building maintenance and cleaning.

Internal traineeships and Capital Works contracts are excluded from the scope of this

framework.

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The employment environment in the City of Melton The 2016 Census analysis of employment sectors and occupations, held by the resident

population in City of Melton shows the top five industry sectors were:

Retail Trade (6,554 people or 10.9%)

Health Care and Social Assistance (6,442 people or 10.7%)

Transport, Postal and Warehousing (6,242 people or 10.4%)

Construction (6,075 people of 10.1%)

Manufacturing (5,164 people or 8.6%).

In combination, these five industries employed 30,477 people in total or 50.7 per cent of the

total employed resident population.

In comparison, Greater Melbourne employed 10.1 per cent in Retail Trade; 12.0 per cent in

Health Care and Social Assistance; and 5.0 per cent in Transport, Postal and Warehousing.

The major differences between the jobs held by the population of the City of Melton and

Greater Melbourne were:

A larger percentage of persons employed in transport, postal and warehousing

(10.4% compared to 5.0%)

A larger percentage of persons employed in construction (10.1% compared to 8.2%)

A smaller percentage of persons employed in professional, scientific and technical

services (4.8% compared to 9.0%) and

A smaller percentage of persons employed in education and training (7.0%

compared to 8.6%)

Emerging groups

The number of employed people in City of Melton increased by 9,074 between 2011 and

2016.

The largest changes in the jobs held by the resident population between 2011 and 2016 in

the City of Melton were for those employed in:

Health Care and Social Assistance (+1,701 persons)

Manufacturing (-1,288 persons)

Education and Training (+1,122 persons)

Transport, Postal and Warehousing (+1,085 persons)

The 2016 Census revealed three dominant occupations as:

Clerical and Administrative Workers (9,503 people or 15.8%)

Technicians and Trades Workers (8,882 people or 14.8%), and

Professionals (8,871 people or 14.8%)

In combination these three occupations accounted for 27,256 people in total or 45.4 per

cent of the employed resident population. In comparison, Greater Melbourne employed

13.9 per cent in Clerical and Administrative Workers; 12.6 per cent in Technicians and Trades

Workers; and 25 per cent in Professionals.

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The major differences between the jobs held by the population of the City of Melton and

Greater Melbourne were:

A larger percentage of persons employed as:

Machinery Operators And Drivers (10.7% compared to 5.6%) and

Technicians and Trades Workers (14.8% compared to 12.6%)

A smaller percentage of persons employed as:

Professionals (14.8% compared to 25.0%)

Managers (10.3% compared to 13.2%)

Emerging groups

The number of employed people in City of Melton increased by 9,086 between 2011 and

2016. The largest changes in the occupations of residents between 2011 and 2016 in the City

of Melton were for those employed as:

Community and Personal Service Workers (+1,777 persons)

Professionals (+1,676 persons)

Managers (+1,225 persons)

Sales Workers (+1,179 persons)

Qualifications Overall, 45.7 per cent of the population aged 15 and over held educational qualifications,

and 44.2 per cent had no qualifications, (compared with 52.2% and 38.6% respectively for

Greater Melbourne).

The major differences between qualifications held by the population of the City of Melton

and Greater Melbourne were:

A larger percentage of persons with

No qualifications (44.2% compared to 38.6%) and

Vocational qualifications (20.6% compared to 15.3%)

A smaller percentage of persons with Bachelor or Higher degrees (16.0% compared to 27.5%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the qualifications of the population in the City of Melton between

2011 and 2016 were in those with:

No qualifications (+5,511 persons)

Bachelor or Higher degrees (+5,220 persons)

Vocational qualifications (+4,811 persons) and

Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+3,220 persons)

Highest level of Schooling Analysis of the highest level of schooling attained by the population in the City of Melton in

2016 compared to Greater Melbourne shows that there was a higher proportion of people

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who had left school at an early level (Year 10 or less) and a lower proportion of people who

completed Year 12 or equivalent.

Overall, 28.3 per cent of the population left school at Year 10 or below, and 50.9 per cent

went on to complete Year 12 or equivalent (compared with 22.9% and 59.4% respectively for

Greater Melbourne).

The major differences between the level of schooling attained by the population in the City

of Melton and Greater Melbourne were:

A larger percentage of persons who completed:

year 10 or equivalent (15.5% compared to 11.4%)

year 11 or equivalent (12.3% compared to 10.2%) and

9 or equivalent (6.4% compared to 4.9%)

A smaller percentage of persons who completed year 12 or equivalent (50.9% compared to

59.4%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the level of schooling attained by the population in the City of Melton,

between 2011 and 2016 were:

Year 12 or equivalent (+13,682 persons)

Year 10 or equivalent (+1,900 persons)

Year 11 or equivalent (+1,294 persons) and

Year 9 or equivalent (+730 persons)

Institution attending Analysis of the share of the population attending educational institutions in the City of Melton

in 2016 compared to Greater Melbourne shows that there was a higher proportion attending

primary school, a higher proportion attending secondary school, and a lower proportion

engaged in tertiary level education.

Overall, 10.7 per cent of the population were attending primary school, 7.2 per cent of the

population were attending secondary institutions, and 5.1 per cent were learning at a tertiary

level, compared with 7.9 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively for Greater

Melbourne.

The major differences between the share of the population attending learning institutions in

the City of Melton and Greater Melbourne were:

A larger percentage of persons attending:

a Government primary school (10.7% compared to 7.9%)

a Catholic primary school (7.1% compared to 5.3%)

A smaller percentage of persons attending University (3.5% compared to 6.4%)

A smaller percentage of persons not attending (66.4% compared to 68.6%)

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Emerging groups

From 2011 to 2016, City of Melton's population increased by 26,197 people (+24.0%). This

represents an average annual change of 4.39 per cent per year over the period.

The largest changes in the number of persons attending education institutions in the City

of Melton, between 2011 and 2016 were in those who nominated:

Primary school (+3,847 persons)

Primary - Government (+2,785 persons)

Secondary school (+2,299 persons)

University (+1,784 persons)

Need for Assistance Analysis of the 2016 Census need for assistance information of people in the City of Melton

compared to Greater Melbourne shows that there was a similar proportion of people who

reported needing assistance with core activities. Overall, 4.8834% of the population reported

needing assistance with core activities, compared with 4.8636% for Greater Melbourne.

The major differences in the age groups reporting a need for assistance in the City of Melton

and Greater Melbourne were:

A larger percentage of persons aged 85 and over (57.8% compared to 49.0%)

A larger percentage of persons aged 75 to 79 (25.1% compared to 18.4%)

A larger percentage of persons aged 70 to 74 (17.7% compared to 11.5%)

A larger percentage of persons aged 65 to 69 (13.3% compared to 8.0%)

Emerging groups

The major differences in the age groups reporting a need for assistance between 2011 and

2016 in the City of Melton were in the age groups:

20 to 59 (+688 persons)

65 to 69 (+287 persons)

10 to 19 (+259 persons)

70 to 74 (+218 persons)

Travel to work In 2016, there were 5,954 people who caught public transport to work (train, bus, tram or

ferry) in City of Melton, compared with 45,468 who drove in private vehicles (car – as driver,

car – as passenger, motorbike, or truck).

Analysis of the method of travel to work of the residents in the City of Melton in 2016,

compared to Greater Melbourne, shows that 9.9 per cent used public transport, while 75.7

per cent used a private vehicle, compared with 15.4 per cent and 65.0 per cent respectively

in Greater Melbourne.

The major differences in persons between the method of travel to work of the City of Melton

and Greater Melbourne were:

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A larger percentage of persons who travelled by car (as driver) (69.8% compared to

60.2%)

A smaller percentage of persons who travelled by train (9.1% compared to 11.5%)

A smaller percentage of persons who travelled by tram or ferry (0.1% compared to

2.4%) and

A smaller percentage of persons who walked only (0.8% compared to 3.0%)

Emerging groups

The number of employed people in City of Melton increased by 9,080 between 2011 and

2016.

The largest changes in the method of travel to work by resident population in the City of

Melton between 2011 and 2016 were for those nominated:

Car - as driver (+6,705 persons)

Train (+1,437 persons)

Worked at home (+505 persons)

Did not go to work (+391 persons)

Travel and transport modelling State-Wide Victorian Integrated Transport Modelling (S-VITM) conducted by GTA Consultants

in 2018 reveals that although the City of Melton is one of the fastest growing municipalities in

Australia, jobs growth is not keeping up at the same rate.

S-VITM indicates that the City of Melton currently has the lowest rate of employment per

household in the Melbourne metropolitan area, at 0.61 jobs. This is less than half the average

of 1.33 jobs per household.

As population growth in the municipality outstrips the growth in employment opportunities,

jobs per household are expected to be reduced to 0.59 by 2031, whilst metropolitan

Melbourne will increase to 1.39 jobs per household over the same period. As a result,

residents of the City of Melton will need to continue to travel considerable distances to

access employment compared to other municipalities.

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Jobs Per Household

LGA 2016 2021 2031

Melton 0.61 0.61 0.59

Darebin 0.87 0.91 1.00

Wyndham 1.01 0.96 0.94

Maribyrnong 1.19 1.15 1.11

Port Phillip 1.22 1.34 1.50

Greater Dandenong 1.32 1.80 1.81

Monash 1.63 1.65 1.86

Melbourne CBD 7.11 6.10 5.68

Metropolitan Melbourne 1.33 1.34 1.39

Source: GTA Consultants, (2018), State-Wide Victorian Integrated Transport Modelling (S-VITM)

Currently around three-quarters of working residents travel outside the municipality each

day, with over 16 per cent of these residents working in the City of Melbourne.

Only 10.1 per cent (241,532) of all jobs available in metropolitan Melbourne are located

within a 60 minute public transport commute of the City of Melton. By 2021 only 6.7 per cent

(179,329) of jobs will be located within 60 mins of the municipality.6

Employment programs Evidence and community feedback suggests that local employment programs are either

unsuitable for or have been poorly designed to meet the needs of disadvantaged

jobseekers. Based on evidence from evaluations of employment programs and from

practitioners, we argue that an employment program for jobseekers with high levels of

disadvantage should substantially address their deficiencies in job readiness and skills and

provide a pathway to employment via work experience. This is most likely to be feasible

where programs are implemented at a local level through a partnership between service

providers and employers. Why employment programs should include these elements is

explained, and a variety of issues in implementing the proposed model of employment

programs are discussed.7

                                                            6 GTA Consultants, (2018), State-Wide Victorian Integrated Transport Modelling (S-VITM) 7Jeff Borland, Mark Considine, Guyonne Kalb and David Ribar, What Are Best-Practice Programs for Jobseekers Facing High Barriers to Employment? Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne School of Social and Political Sciences, Melbourne, June 2016.  

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Which jobseekers face higher barriers to employment? High levels of disadvantage derived from low skills, a lack of job readiness, and/or other

barriers, are often compounded by weak local labour market conditions.

First, jobseekers may have personal histories that limit their opportunity to find work. For

example, growing up in a household where no one is employed may restrict a jobseeker’s

awareness of what is required to be job ready, and reduce access to informal networks that

may lead to jobs.

Second, personal characteristics, such as being a recent immigrant, may be associated with

skill limitations such as low English proficiency. Major health issues and disability are known to

be other factors that can seriously hinder job finding.

Third, low levels of education or training for people who left school early and out-dated skills

for some older workers who have been retrenched may restrict jobseekers’ employment

options. Jobseekers’ prospects of obtaining employment may also be adversely affected by

other barriers, such as where an individual does not have a driver licence and/or a car, in

which case a lack of public transport would limit the jobs for which they can apply. As well,

what ultimately matters for whether an individual can obtain a job are employers’

perceptions of his or her capability.

These perceptions will to a large extent depend on the individual’s actual capability, but

may also reflect employers’ attitudes, including discrimination against specific groups. For

example, a view by employers that it is too costly to hire and train older workers for new jobs

may over-state the actual capability gap for older workers. 8 Many of these barriers were

identified by young people at the recent Youth Forum held by Melton City Council and have

been identified by local community members from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Compounding barriers to employment Compounding poverty and social isolation challenges associated with disadvantage among

interface councils are:

unstable family accommodation and homelessness

poor maternal & child health

childhood disability and mental health

young people disconnected from schools and community

High incidence of family violence also contributes to housing and associated

issues relating to employment9

Council’s Young Communities Team recently hosted its inaugural Youth Forum, where young

people shared experience of direct race based discrimination. One African Australian young

male explained his frustrations that although he’d completed traffic management training,

                                                            8 Ibid.  9  422,   Interface Councils Human Services Gap Analysis (2017) 

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as soon as potential employers realise he is African, tall and black, he doesn’t even get an

interview. Forum discussion revealed that our young diverse communities need more

employment opportunities generally. Young people in the City of Melton specifically

requested initiatives to counter the negative bias, prejudice and stereotypes they

experience in the job hiring and recruitment process. 10

Young people shared their views that unless you want to work in hospitality or retail, there is

no work available to you locally. To look for work further away is difficult for them, because

they just can’t get there. When you are too young to drive, or can’t afford a licence, let

alone a car your employment options are severely limited. If you add disability or being from

an African background to the mix, gaining employment is next to impossible.

What support is needed? The employment programs to assist the most disadvantaged jobseekers need to provide the following elements:

Establish pathways to gaining experience and sustainable employment opportunity

Practical strategies to address race and religion bias and discrimination Develop job readiness skills;

Assist in obtaining job-specific skills necessary to obtain employment;

Help place people in jobs;

Provide on-going monitoring and support in the job placement11

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity – addressing additional barriers In recognising that the 30 per cent of the City of Melton’s future population will be from

culturally diverse backgrounds, we must work to identify, address and overcome the current

and additional, multilayered barriers which people of culturally and linguistically diverse

backgrounds experience in relation to employment, including:

Visa status

Lack of English Language skills

Recognition of overseas qualifications

Cultural family dynamics – gender roles- child minding

Transportation

Understand Australian corporate practices

Lack of local networks and social connections

Lack of local work experience and

Race discrimination.

                                                            10 Melton City Council Youth Forum 2019 Report 11 Adam Szirmai, Mulu Gebreeyesus, Francesca Guadagno and Bart Verspagen, 2013, Promoting Productive and Sustainable Employment: Elaborating a Knowledge and Research Agenda, Draft note, prepared for the meeting of the Knowledge Platform Development Policies, Accra, Ghana, 3-5 April, 2013 

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What could we do more of now? Additional strategies and approaches being explored by Melton City Council’s Community

Planning Team Include:

Supporting women into education/ employment – child minding

Better tailored services for disadvantaged job seekers- personal support, soft and

vocational skills development and work experience with alignment to local

employment opportunities.

Work with local businesses to develop cultural awareness and understand benefits of

diverse workplaces

acknowledge and reward businesses who are doing well in this space, including

casual employment for youth studying to gain employment experience

A current Intercultural Plan project involves active engagement with partner agencies,

seeking to address some of these identified barriers, current project partners include:

‐ West Justice -Employment Law train the trainer program

‐ Foundation House- Meltown- Youth mentor program

‐ Brotherhood of St Lawrence- Given the Chance program

‐ Atherston exchange to engage people of Diverse backgrounds

‐ Kowanj- recruitment agency.

Engaging local recruitment agencies such as Matchworks, Salvation Army Employment Plus

to take part in the Melton New and Emerging Communities Network to understand some of

the challenges for the CALD community and help connect them to other services that can

help support their clients.

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Reference list 422, (2017) Interface Councils Human Services Gap Analysis.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) Census of Population and Housing, ABS: Canberra,

available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/census

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) Census of Population and Housing, ABS: Canberra,

available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/census

Adam Szirmai, Mulu Gebreeyesus, Francesca Guadagno and Bart Verspagen, 2013,

Promoting Productive and Sustainable Employment: Elaborating a Knowledge and

Research Agenda, Draft note, prepared for the meeting of the Knowledge Platform

Development Policies, Accra, Ghana, 3-5 April, 2013

AEC Report – Melton Industry and Supply Chain and Skills Gap Assessment, Final Report,

October 2014.

Employment Outlook to May 2023 Based on the Department of Jobs and Small Business’ 2018

employment projections

GTA Consultants, (2018), State-Wide Victorian Integrated Transport Modelling (S-VITM)

Productivity Commissions Staff Working Paper on Deep and Persistent Disadvantage in

Australia (2013)

Jeff Borland, Mark Considine, Guyonne Kalb§ and David Ribar, What Are Best-Practice

Programs for Jobseekers Facing High Barriers to Employment? Department of Economics,

The University of Melbourne School of Social and Political Sciences, Melbourne, June 2016

Social Impact bonds, https://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/funds-programs-and-policies/partnerships-

addressing-disadvantage

Melton City Council, Youth Forum 2019 Report

Small Area Labour Markets, March 2019, Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family

Business, available at https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-

publication

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Additional Notes

Melton: A City for All People

Council’s commitment to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities, children,

young people, older people and people who live, learn, work or play in the City of Melton is

coordinated through the Melton: A City for all People plan. This plan is an integrated

approach to delivering four individual Council strategies, specifically:

the Disability Action Plan (recognising disability can be present at any age),

the Municipal Early Years Plan (0-12 years),

The Youth Strategy (12-25 years), and

the Ageing Well Strategy (50+ years) into one, all-encompassing document.

Community engagement was one of the key, underpinning factors in the development of

Melton: A City for all People, with Council using feedback gathered during the creation of

our community vision, Melton City 2036: The City We Imagine and our Council and Wellbeing

Plan 2017-2021, to inform this innovative strategy. Consultation was further supplemented by

engagement with staff, various advisory committees including the Early Years Partnership

Committee, Youth Advisory Committee, Disability Advisory Committee, and other key

partners such as the Melton Youth Advisory Network, and Service Provider Network; as well as

aligning with relevant State and Federal public policies and reforms.

The vision for Melton: A City for all People is that people of all ages and abilities are able to

grow and thrive within a community that’s supportive, accepting, safe and accessible. It’s a

document built on the foundation of five themes:

Being inclusive

Being connected

Being happy and healthy

Being all you can be

Being heard

By focussing our activities on these five themes, Council will be better placed to deliver

services, programs, facilities and infrastructure that are timely, cost effective and meet the

needs of everyone who calls our wonderful City home.

The health and wellbeing of every member of our community is of primary importance to

Melton City Council, and we as an organisation will continue to work to improve the quality

of life of all residents, irrespective of which life stage they are currently experiencing.

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Melton is a Learning City and committed to Lifelong Learning

The City of Melton was conferred the UNESCO Lifelong City Award in 2015.

Melton’s vision for the municipality is to make it a vibrant, proud, growing and healthy

community offering lifestyle choices. Linked to this vision is a commitment to building a world-

class learning community. To achieve its vision, Council recognises that, as a key stakeholder,

it must foster a community culture that embraces and encourages continuity of learning at

all ages. Sustainability is a priority consideration for the City.

Lifelong Learning Plan and implementation

Melton has an established Community Learning Board that acts as an Advisory Committee to

the Council. It provides recommendations and consults with the community on matters

relating to lifelong learning. It provides the governance structure for an overall city approach

to lifelong learning, and oversees the development, implementation and evaluation of its

community learning plans. This includes forging the necessary community and business

partnerships. The current learning plan is in development. It predecessor ‘Melton: A Learning

City – Community Learning Plan 2015-2018’ (CLP), is aligned with the Framework of Key

Features of Learning Cities and the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government’s.

‘Learning as a Driver of Change: Learning Community Framework’ was the sixth plan to have

been implemented since 1998. The CLP is designed to support, promote and incubate

initiatives that develop our community at the individual level (supporting personal

development and the gaining of skills and qualifications), and at the community level (for

improved social resilience and economic outcomes). The 2019 Plan, which will extend this

great work is currently in development.

The Board is committed to fostering a community culture that encourages continuity of

learning at all ages and supports the provision of high-quality learning opportunities for all

residents of the municipality.

The Board recognizes lifelong learning as a key mechanism through which personal, social,

cultural, economic and environmental growth occurs.

The strategic outcome of the Board is to build a learning community based on best practices

that features comprehensive engagement, innovation, effectiveness, inclusion and skilled

partnerships.