In 2024, the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) will commence a three-year pilot of the Community and Social Services Graduate Program (CASS-GP). CASS-GP will pilot a structured professional graduate intake and early career program for community services. The program will be a simple and attractive way for graduates to start their career and an enriched early career experience to improve practice, job-readiness and retention. (An overview of the whole program is included at Attachment 1)

DFFH is seeking suitably qualified and experienced parties to provide a critical component of CASS-GP: the Graduate Resource Centre. DFFH recognises that the breadth of skill sets needed to deliver all the Graduate Resource Centre functions may not be available in one organisation. Partnerships or consortia arrangements are welcomed.

The Graduate Resource Centre will provide three core functions as part of the CASS-GP. The three functions are:

1. Graduate recruitment, assessment and job-matching – provide a seamless intake service that enrolls graduates in the program, assesses their eligibility and suitability, and matches them to appropriate graduation positions in community and social services employers.
2. Community services workforce development support – provide capacity-building support to enable community and social services organisations to deliver their functions in the program and create a rich learning and development environment for graduates.
3. Enrichment program coordination – coordinate graduates’ participation in the program, including connecting them with potential employers, administration of graduates’ participation in program components, coordination of rotations, facilitation of the development of graduate learning and development plans, and oversight of participation by graduates in the program over the course of the 12-month program.