PBAS Points Planner Trial

Last registered on October 04, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
PBAS Points Planner Trial
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012205
Initial registration date
October 03, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 04, 2023, 5:06 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Employment Behavioural Economics Team Registration
Affiliation
Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-10-09
End date
2024-06-30
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In July 2022, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (the department) replaced jobactive with Workforce Australia. The introduction of Workforce Australia included one key change, the Points Based Activation System (PBAS), a system which gives Workforce Australia individuals the flexibility and choice in deciding which activities and tasks to meet their mutual obligation requirements each monthly reporting period.
Under PBAS, individuals are set a number of points, or a ‘points target’, they need to achieve each reporting period. This points target is tailored to consider individuals’ personal circumstances and their local labour market conditions.
To complement this system, this research will test a ‘PBAS Points Planner’ tool that aims to help Workforce Australia individuals self-managing online understand, plan for, and meet their mutual obligations. The tool will be accompanied by personalised messaging throughout individuals’ reporting period, highlighting their progress towards their PBAS points target and/or minimum job search requirements.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Registration, Employment Behavioural Economics Team. 2023. "PBAS Points Planner Trial." AEA RCT Registry. October 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12205-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Treatment participants will receive access to the PBAS Points Planner. If they complete the PBAS Points Planner, they also will receive a copy of their Points Plan and tailored progress update emails during their reporting period.
Intervention Start Date
2023-10-09
Intervention End Date
2024-03-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcome variable for this trial will be PBAS point periods results.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes include engagement with the Workforce Australia Online platform, compliance with PBAS requirements, utilisation of PBAS functionality, changes in motivational scales and exits from the PBAS caseload.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This research will consist of a two-arm randomised controlled trial, where the intervention is embedded in a survey delivered online using the Qualtrics platform.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomisation will be conducted in Qualtrics using simple randomisation.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,500 in treatment and 1,500 in the control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The experiment will have 88% power to detect an effect size of 5 percentage points (this translates to a Cohen’s h of 0.1 for our primary outcome).
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Internal Ethics Review Panel
IRB Approval Date
2023-09-29
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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