What is community services work?
Under the Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme (the Scheme), the community services sector is where community services work is undertaken that provides training and employment, financial, accommodation, home care and other support for people with a disability or people who are otherwise vulnerable, disadvantaged or in crisis.
This can include community legal, education and advocacy services; community development services; fundraising assistance for community groups and services to assist cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
The scope of work carried out in the community services sector is broad and expansive.
The Long Service Benefits Portability Regulations 2020 further clarified that community services employers are required to include workers performing services that support, supervise or manage the provision of community services.
NDIS and children’s services
From 1 January 2020, an activity funded by the NDIS, as well as services provided by non-profit licensed children's services and approved providers under the Education and Care Services National Law, are included in the Scheme as community services work.
The Regulations 2020 further clarified that an entity for profit that is an approved children's service is not an employer for the Scheme.
What is not community services work?
Health services (as defined in section 3(1) of the Health Services Act 1988) and residential aged care are not classified as community services work for the Scheme.
Who is a community services employer?
Employers in the community services sector who have workers performing work in Victoria must register with the Portable Long Service Authority if they are:
- a non-profit entity employing at least one person to perform community services work
- an entity for profit that employs at least one person to perform community services work for people with a disability
- registered Community Health Centres
- Women's Health services.
The following information aims to provide clarity on certain sections of the Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme for community services employers:
Who is not an employer?
The following are not employers for the Scheme, even if they have workers performing community services work:
- federal or state government departments or agencies
- local governments or other public statutory bodies
- entities with a governing body appointed under an Act of the Commonwealth or the State
- a public health service or a public hospital and aged care services operated by hospitals
- bush nursing centres
- an entity for profit that is an approved children’s service under the Children’s Services Act 1996 or an approved provider under the Education and Care Services National Law (Victoria).
Who is a community services worker?
To be eligible for portable long service in the community services sector, workers are:
- Employed by an eligible employer for the Scheme
- Covered by one of the 5 community services sector awards included in the Long Service Benefits Portability Regulations 2020. The awards are very broad and cover most workers in the sector.
The awards are:
- the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010
- the Children's Services Award 2010
- the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2010
- the Labour Market Assistance Industry Award 2020
- the Supported Employment Services Award 2020.
Note:
- Workers covered by one of the 5 awards are considered to be employed under that award even if an enterprise agreement exists in the workplace.
- Workers on an individual agreement, common law contract or employed under the National Employment Standards are still eligible workers if one of the community services sector awards covers them.
- If an employer is a community services employer, it is unlikely that they have ‘award free’ workers.
- The Registrar may be satisfied that a worker is covered by an award even if they are not actually employed under that award. For example, they may be incorrectly employed under the wrong award. This will depend on the facts of each individual worker, information provided by the employer and whether it’s more likely than not that the worker is covered by one of the 5 awards.
In summary, so long as an employer and worker fall within the scope of the 5 community services awards, they are covered by the Scheme regardless of whether or not they are employed under the award, an enterprise agreement or an individual contract.
Workers for the community services sector can be employed on a full-time, part-time, casual or seasonal basis.
The following information aims to provide clarity on certain sections of the Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme for community services workers:
Registration of workers - community services sector
Employer obligations
Registered employers must submit quarterly returns to the Authority in October, January, April and July each year.
Quarterly returns are completed through the employer portal(opens in a new window) and employers will need to provide details for all eligible workers during the reporting period, including:
- the hours worked and ordinary pay received by each worker
- any long service leave taken by a worker
- workers who stopped working for the business.
Based on this information, a levy will be calculated that employers must pay. This levy will cover the cost of future portable long service claims by eligible workers.
The Authority recognises that some workers may have been omitted from quarterly returns, or incorrectly terminated, based on award coverage. If this is the case employers are required to contact the Authority to obtain advice about the inclusion of these workers in previously committed quarterly returns.
Case studies and examples
Updated