Australia’s employment services, 1998–2012: Using performance monitoring and evaluation to improve value for money

The development of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union Rating Scale (AUWURS) of employment service providers

“…The star rating system was initially intended to serve as an aid to choice and is currently the only rating system that unemployed workers can use to judge the quality of a service provider. However, evaluations of this system report that the star ratings do not influence choice (Jarvie & Mercer, 2018; Productivity Commission, 2002), which is consistent with the authors’ previous research that reported few unemployed workers were aware of the star rating system's existence and those that were, were sceptical about the ratings (O'Halloran et al, 2020). Furthermore, it is argued this system has become, through a process of institutional isomorphism (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), primarily a mechanism for contract management—with providers’ focusing on their star ratings only to retain their contracts rather than using it as a mechanism for service improvement or to aid customer choice (Considine et al., 2020).…”

Is this the end of the Job Network model? The evolution and future of performance‐based contracting of employment services in Australia

“…While providers did not compete on price, their survival and profitability depended on employment outcomes achieved since this triggered outcome fees and determined their prospects of increasing their business share and winning contracts against local competitors in the next purchasing round. The department used its monopsony (single purchaser) power to reduce prices from one contract round to the next (Dassiou et al, 2015; Hart et al, 1997; Jarvie & Mercer, 2018).…”

“…An early adjustment to the model to prevent under‐investment was the "star ratings" system (Jarvie & Mercer, 2018). This ranked providers on a scale of one to five according to their estimated net impact (or value‐added) on employment outcomes for unemployed individuals.…”

“…From the outset, the Job Network contracting model was controversial. Its advocates argued it offered better value for money and more personalised service than the former Commonwealth Employment Service or CES (Abbott, 2003; Jarvie & Mercer, 2018). Some critics have raised concerns that public responsibility for an essential service has been shifted to private providers (Morton, 2020).…”

How independent should administration be from politics? Theory and practice in public sector institutional design in Australia

“…In a later tender process, however, the government provider was not successful and was subsequently wound up. Job Network (now called Job Services Australia) remains today a system of non-government providers paid by the Department of Employment via competitive tender with payments based on successful outcomes (Jarvie & Mercer 2017).…”