Processes for RapidConnect appointments 001-02030010

The Participation Interview is a mandatory process for all job seekers wanting to claim JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) as job seekers:

• to determine if RapidConnect provisions apply, and
• to facilitate a referral to an Employment Services Provider

Is an interpreter being used in conducting the interview?

• Yes, select Yes to the question Is an interpreter being used for this interview?
• No, select No to the question Is an interpreter being used for this interview?

The Participation Interview will identify whether a job seeker is subject to RapidConnect from the job seeker's responses to the questions.

If the job seeker:

• has previously attended a RapidConnect provider appointment, then reclaims within 14 days, go to Step 3
• is subject to RapidConnect requirements and requires an appointment with an Employment Services Provider, go to Step 4
• is subject to RapidConnect requirements and is referred to Online Services, go to Step 5
• is not subject to RapidConnect requirements, go to Step 6

Note: for some circumstances, manual override exemption codes need to be recorded on the Job Seeker RapidConnect (JMRC) screen to manually exempt from RapidConnect.

If the Participation Interview is requiring a job seeker to attend a RapidConnect appointment, but they have already attended one in the last 14 days:

• Manually code an exemption on the Job Seeker RapidConnect (JMRC) screen. See Table 3 RapidConnect exempt due to Other Reasons table for examples
• Procedure ends here

Is the job seeker claiming within the allowable break in registration and was previously connected to a provider?

• Yes, an appointment with their provider is not required. The provider will contact the job seeker to arrange a follow-up appointment. Procedure ends here
• No, and previously registered with an Employment Services Provider, refer the job seeker to the provider they had previously selected. If it is a new registration, the job seeker must select a provider
  Note: there is only one provider for each Community Development Program (CDP) region. Refer Job seekers in CDP regions to the provider for their region. Go to Step 6

• The job seeker does not require a referral to an Employment Services Provider
• The job seeker must complete their Career Profile
• The job seeker must agree to a Job Plan online to meet their RapidConnect obligation
• Read to the job seeker the information on the Provider Appointment page that explains Online Services and their obligations
• Help the job seeker to create a myGov account if required
• The job seeker will receive more information from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) regarding the online employment service

Procedure ends here.

The job seeker must have an appointment booked with an Employment Services Provider within 2 working days but not outside 14 calendar days.

Use the Online Diary to arrange a suitable appointment time for the job seeker.

Note: for job seekers in Community Development Program (CDP) regions ensure the appointment being booked is in a location or community in which the job seeker would normally be serviced. This is usually the community where the job seeker resides.

To find an appointment at the correct location for a CDP job seeker, Service Officers may need to search for more appointments in the Online Diary by selecting More Appointments.

Service Officers are only required to conduct one search for more appointments in the Online Diary when booking appointments for CDP job seekers.

If after selecting More Appointments once after an initial search, and an appointment cannot be found in the community in which the job seeker resides or in which the job seeker is normally serviced:

• book an appointment with the provider at their main office
• the main office address is located at the top of the Online Diary
• during the booking process, record notes in the Online Diary Make a Referral workflow > Additional Requirements: > Appointment Detail section stating:
  'Unable to identify correct CDP site on Online Diary. Appointment has been booked at main provider site office for DD/MM/YYYY. Provider to arrange appointment at suitable site and notify the job seeker of the time, date and location'
• tell the job seeker the provider will contact them to arrange an appointment
• the provider will manage the process of scheduling an appointment at an appropriate site

Is an appointment available within 2 working days?

• Yes, book the appointment for the job seeker with the provider
• No
• If the job seeker re-registers and was previously linked to a provider, contact the provider to arrange an appointment time within 2 working days
• If an appointment cannot be arranged for the next 2 working days, arrange for an appointment for the next 14 calendar days
• If, after this contact, an appointment is still unavailable within 14 calendar days, the job seeker is exempt from RapidConnect. Book the next available appointment
• If the job seeker is a new registration, check if there are any appointments within 2 working days at any provider in their area using the Online Diary. If an appointment cannot be arranged within the next 2 working days, contact the provider and arrange for an appointment within 2 days. If no appointments are available within 14 calendar days, the job seeker is exempt from RapidConnect. Book the next available appointment

If the job seeker contacts to change the date/time of their appointment, it can be rescheduled, provided the appointment date has not passed and the provider has not already recorded a result.

View the appointment within the Online Diary and select Reschedule Appointment.

Service Officers and providers must determine whether a request to reschedule a RapidConnect appointment is for an acceptable reason. This decision will determine the start date of payment.

When rescheduling the RapidConnect appointment, Service Officers must ensure:

• the appointment is made within 14 days from the date the original Participation Interview is run, and
• the job seeker is advised of their obligation to attend a RapidConnect appointment. If this is not done, the job seeker's income support payment start date may be affected.

Service Officers must tell the job seeker about their appointment details verbally or in writing, as a letter will not auto-issue to the job seeker from the agency's system for provider appointments.

Note: if the job seeker missed their appointment, or, the provider has recorded a result for the appointment, a new appointment must be booked.

If the customer claimed using the online or Assisted Customer Claim (ACC), then Service Officers can rebook the appointment through the Participation Interview.

If the claim was submitted by another means, the Service Officer must contact the provider and ask them to schedule the appointment.

Customers can have their appointment rebooked by Services Australia or their provider if they:

• miss their RapidConnect appointment, and
• have claimed Online or via the Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) workflow, and
• are still within 14 days of the Participation Interview being run

Services Australia can rebook a RapidConnect appointment through the:

• Participation Interview if the claim has not been finalised, or
• Participation Summary if the claim is finalised

In Process Direct, find the Participation Interview/Participation Summary as follows.

For customers whose claim has:

• not been finalised:
• select the online claim or Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) from the Transactions icon
• when in the claim, select > Participation Interview > Job seeker registration & provider referral information > Start job seeker registration
• been finalised:
• select > Participation Summary > Online Diary > Select Appointment > Rebook Appointment

When rebooking the RapidConnect appointment:

• make the appointment within 14 days from the date the original Participation Interview is run, and
• tell the job seeker of their obligation to attend a RapidConnect appointment

If this is not done, the job seeker's income support payment start date may be affected.

Tell the job seeker about their appointment details verbally or in writing as a letter will not auto-issue to the job seeker from the agency's system for provider appointments.

Note: if the customer contacts after 14 days, the entire Participation Interview will need to be re-run.

If a job seeker's income support claim has already been granted (including where the status is current zero rate (CZR)) the RapidConnect appointment is no longer able to be rebooked:

• Exempt the job seeker from RapidConnect and have an initial appointment booked. The date of effect is either the RapidConnect determination date or the RapidConnect exemption date
• Contact the provider to request they book this appointment for the job seeker

Job seekers who are subject to RapidConnect requirements and not referred to the Online Service must have an appointment booked with an Employment Services Provider to meet their RapidConnect requirements. Once the job seeker is advised of their RapidConnect requirements, they should ideally attend their first appointment within 2 days but can be up to a maximum of 14 days. The day the job seeker is told about their RapidConnect requirement is counted as Day Zero, with Day One being the following day.

A job seeker, subject to RapidConnect and referred to an Employment Services Provider, will usually have their payment start date set as the date they attended their RapidConnect appointment, (subject to any waiting periods and qualification requirements being met). The RapidConnect payability start date is displayed on the Job Seeker RapidConnect (JMRC) screen.

In Process Direct: go to the JMRC screen

There are a number of other factors that may impact the RapidConnect payability start date, such as Provider appointment availability and if the appointment needed to be rescheduled. Refer to Start Day for more details.

If the customer:

• has been referred to an Employment Service Provider and the provider has:
• entered an attended appointment result, go to Step 2
• not entered an appointment result, go to Step 3
• has been referred to the Online Employment Service, go to Step 4
• has a recent exemption for reason Rejected on the JMRC screen for a later date than a required exemption date, go to Step 5

Once an attended result has been entered by the provider for a RapidConnect appointment, a flag is sent to the Services Australia system. This will auto-trigger the job seeker's payment to commence from the correct date.

A JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) record may remain at Current at Zero Rate (CZR) for the reason Awaiting RapidConnect Compliance when an attended appointment result has been entered.

This may be a result of:

• a job seeker fails to attend their RapidConnect appointment, and
• then attends an initial appointment

The JMRC screen will not auto-update:

• if the customer has complied with their obligations by attending an appointment with a provider, and
• the appointment was not a RapidConnect appointment

For the job seeker's payment to start correctly:

• check the Online Diary to verify that the job seeker has attended the appointment as required
• manually code an exemption on the JMRC screen, see Table 3 RapidConnect exempt due to Other Reasons

Procedure ends here.

If the provider does not enter a result within the required timeframe, a No Result Entered (NRE) flag will come back. This shows that the provider has not entered a result in the appropriate timeframe. The job seeker is deemed to have met their RapidConnect obligations and can therefore be paid their income support payment from the relevant date.

Procedure ends here.

Job seekers referred to the Online Services do not need to attend an appointment. They can meet their RapidConnect requirements by agreeing to their Job Plan online. From 4 December 2021, job seekers who are referred to online services under RapidConnect provisions need to complete their Career Profile before they can agree to their Job Plan online.

Their payability start date is usually backdated to the date they submitted their claim (subject to any waiting periods and qualification requirements being met).

When a job seeker is referred to the online service, if they:

• agree to their Job Plan and a RapidConnect result is not returned, or they are commenced from an incorrect start date, they may be eligible for a manual exemption. See RapidConnect exemptions
• do not agree to their Job Plan within 28 days of the Participation Interview being run, the payment will be rejected, and the customer must lodge a new claim. See Cancellation, suspension and rejection reason codes for Newstart System (NSS)

Procedure ends here.

If a recent exemption for reason Rejected exists on the JMRC screen for a later date than a required exemption date. For example, a customer is exempt for reason Youth Allowance Rejected 4/11/22, but RapidConnect status was determined on 15/10/22 and the customer complied within 14 days.

Run the Participation Interview again so that a new RapidConnect status determined line is created on the JMRC screen. Once the RapidConnect status determine line is created, code the appropriate exemption code to put the customer into pay. See RapidConnect exemptions.

Procedure ends here.