On 19 December 2008, the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP and the Minister for Workforce Participation, the Hon Brendan O'Connor MP
announced reforms to the
Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) program and
Indigenous Employment Program (IEP) which will be implemented on 1 July 2009. The reforms are key to making progress on the Government's aim of halving the employment gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade.