Parent Pathways 101-24081353

Parent Pathways:

• is a free and voluntary support service for parents and carers of children aged under 6 years
• helps customers to plan for and pursue their personal, study or work goals
• provides flexible and individualised support. Customers can choose to participate, leave or take a break or come back at any time without it affecting their income support payment
• participants do not have mutual obligations requirements

Parent Pathways offers eligible customers a range of support options, including working with a mentor to find activities, supports, services and/or training that meets the individual needs of each parent or carer.

Services available

• Financial support, for example to help with the cost of obtaining a driver’s licence, training courses or to purchase a computer
• Referral to support such as health and family and domestic violence support services or financial information services
• Support to find a child care centre and/or assistance with the cost of child care
• Training, such as a short course at a local Technical and Further Education (TAFE)
• Career guidance
• Language or literacy programs

Individual Fund

A customer’s Individual Fund is allocated $1,250 (GST inclusive) every 12 months they are active in the service. The customer can use this fund:

• to purchase items to build skills to help achieve their goals
• for assistance to attend appointment or activities

The funding for Engagement Support vouchers is taken from the customer’s Individual Fund.

Engagement Support Vouchers

Customers are eligible for up to $250 in Engagement Support vouchers every 12 months they are active with the service. Engagement Support vouchers can be used for groceries, fuel, transport, training and/or education expenses.

Customers will receive a:

• $100 voucher at their face to face initial appointment
• $50 voucher at their face to face follow-up appointments

Pooled Fund

The Pooled Fund is a separate fund, managed by the provider. It is used for customers that need additional assistance. It can be accessed for customers that have used all their Individual Fund.

Financial support provided under Parent Pathways is:

• exempt from the income test
• not treated as in-kind support for assessment of income support payments

The Resources page has links to Parent Pathways brochure and factsheets which are in 6 languages.

To be eligible for Parent Pathways, parents and carers must meet all of the following:

• Principal carer of a child under 6 years old
• Not be in paid employment including self-employment
• Live in an area where there is an available Parent Pathways provider. To find a provider, see Resources
• Aged over 15
• Not participating in Workforce Australia or Disability Employment Services (DES)

They must also be receiving one of these payments:

• Parenting Payment (PP)
• Carer Payment (CP)
• Special Benefit (SpB)

If the parent or carer is not receiving a Centrelink payment, they may still be eligible if they are:

• under 22 years old, or
• an early school leaver (parents who do not have a Year 12 qualification or an equivalent qualification or higher), or
• a First Nations parent or carer

Note: parents and carers who receive an income support payment and live in a Community Development Program (CDP) region are not eligible to participate in Parent Pathways. They can be referred to a CDP provider.

Staff can discuss Parent Pathways when a customer indicates they need assistance with:

• financial support, for example to help with getting a licence, training course, textbooks or to buy a computer
• referral to a support service, for example family and domestic violence, mental health or counselling
• finding a child care centre and help with child care costs
• language and literacy programs

See Conversation Guide.

Parent Pathways is run by Parent Pathways providers and managed by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).

Services Australia supports Parent Pathways by:

• identifying income support customers who are eligible for Parent Pathways
• informing them about Parent Pathways
• helping customers to notify DEWR of their interest in Parent Pathways
• sharing the customer's information with a Parent Pathways provider (with the customers consent)

Income support customers are sent a letter advising them they are eligible for Parent Pathways.

Customers not ready to participate in Parent Pathways can have a reminder letter sent to them by choosing one of the following options:

• In 3 months
• In 6 months
• In 9 months
• In 12 months
• Never (for Special Benefit (SpB) and Carer Payment (CP) only)

If the customer changes their mind before the reminder letter is sent, they are still able to connect with a Parent Pathways provider by:

• completing the Parent Pathways question set online
• contacting a Service Officer in person or over the phone
• directly contacting a Parent Pathways provider

Letter exclusion rules

Some eligible customers may not receive a letter if they meet one of the following:

• They have previously advised they never want to be reminded about Parent Pathways (for Special Benefit (SpB) and Carer Payment (CP) only)
• They have set a future date to be reminded
• Their youngest child is aged 5 years and 6 months, or older
• CP claim has been granted and finalised, or a change of circumstances has occurred in the last 6 weeks
• They have exited Parent Pathways in the last 6 months
• They are in a bereavement period (for their child, partner or care receiver)
• They are in receipt of CP and the care receiver is in hospital (on Adult Medical Details (ADMD) and Child Medical Details (CDMD) screens)
• They are in receipt of CP and the care receiver is terminal (on ADMD and CDMD screens)
• They reside in an emergency affected area (mutual obligations are paused for other employment services)
• They have a Registered, Pending, Commenced or Suspended participation status in Parent Pathways

Note: these customers are still able to provide their consent to share their details with a Parent Pathways provider using their Centrelink online account or contacting a Service Officer in person or over the phone.

Income support customers who are eligible for Parent Pathways:

• are selected for Parent Pathways based on their circumstances at the time of the eligibility assessment, such as the age of the youngest child, payment status, address and income
• will have their participation status displayed on the Parent Pathways (PPW) screen in Process Direct and on the Benefit Status line. For more information on Benefit Status indicators, see Resources
• can connect with a Parent Pathways provider by:
• using the Manage consent details service in their Centrelink online account in myGov or their Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, see Accessing and using Centrelink self service
• asking a Service Officer to send their details to a Parent Pathways provider. Service Officers can use the Customer Interest and Consent (CIC) screen in Process Direct to complete the customer’s request
• directly contacting a Parent Pathways provider

Once a customer has commenced in Parent Pathways, their provider will manage their participation, including if a customer chooses to leave or take a break.

Direct registration

Customers will need to contact a Parent Pathways provider directly if:

• they have a Restricted Access record
• Services Australia is unable to match the customer's details with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)
• Services Australia’s system does not assess the customer as eligible, however they meet the eligibility criteria. For example, not receiving an income support payment
• they want to transfer to a new Parent Pathways provider

Assist the customer by searching for an available Parent Pathways provider in their area. Use Find a provider - Workforce Australia on the Resource page.

Once a customer is participating in Parent Pathways, a change of circumstances may result in the Parent Pathways provider exiting them from the service. This will occur if they no longer meet the eligibility criteria.

Parent Pathways participants will exit from the service when one of the following occurs:

• their youngest child turns 6 years of age
• their income support payment is cancelled or suspended for any reason
• they relocate to a Community Development Program (CDP) area or Norfolk Island
• they are temporarily overseas
• they start (have been recorded as attending an appointment) in Disability Employment Services (DES), Workforce Australia or Workforce Australia Online
• the customer passes away

Customers who have a Commenced or Suspended (Paused) participation status with Parent Pathways are eligible for an individual base level of 36 CCS hours per fortnight. For partnered customers, the number of subsidised hours is based on the member of the couple with the lowest Activity Test result.

Customer's active participation in Parent Pathways will be recognised as a Program of Support (POS) when applying for Disability Support Pension.