Assessing income from seasonal work 108-05010000

SWPP assesses high income from seasonal, intermittent or contract work. It makes sure the income from work is used before claiming a payment. SWPP assesses the past 6 months of income before claim lodgement.

Family Tax Benefit (FTB) or Child Care Subsidy (CCS) customers or partners may need to revise their current income estimate. It will reduce the chance of a debt during the reconciliation process.

The SWPP will only apply to:

• single people who have earnings more than the Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) or
• couples whose combined earnings are more than twice the AWOTE (high income). See References for a link to section 1.1.A.375 of the Guide.

The SWPP can be waived in certain cases of hardship.

Any work that is only available for a part (or parts) of the year, each year.

Examples of seasonal work include, cray fishing, abalone diving, deep sea fishing, shearing, pearl diving, tourism and fruit picking.

Seasonal workers who accrue leave entitlements can still be affected by the SWPP. Only intermittent workers who accrue leave entitlements are not affected.

Intermittent work is work that stops and starts at intervals. It does not include work where the person:

• has leave entitlements, or
• could not predict when there would be no work

Contract work is any intermittent work that is performed under a contract for a specific function and/or period, including sub-contract work.

Seasonal, intermittent and contract work income comprises the gross income from work. For the purposes of SWPP, allowable deductions can be made if they are in related to the work and allowed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Treat short gaps in employment as 1 continuous period of work. The gap must be less than 14 days and within the same industry. This is known as the '14 day gap rule'.

Where there is a gap in time, or a change of industry, and the customer stops work for:

• less than 14 days and resumes in the same industry, treat the work as 1 continuous period
• less than 14 days and starts in a new industry, treat the work as 2 separate periods
• more than 14 days and resumes in the same or a different industry, treat the work as 2 separate periods

A Working Credits balance cannot be used during a SWPP. Working Credits will not accrue or deplete during these periods.

The Seasonal Worker Incentive Trial (SWIT) is run over a two year period from:

• 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018 and
• 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019

JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Jobseeker) customers who have received these payments continuously for at least three months may participate. Those who participate will benefit from:

• Being able to earn up to $5000 per financial year from eligible seasonal horticultural work, without affecting their payments
• Relaxed qualification rules, so they continue to receive their payment while undertaking seasonal work
• Access to a Seasonal Work Living Away and Travel Allowance. It is worth up to $300 per year. They must undertake seasonal horticultural work more than 120km from their home