Conducting a Job Seeker Snapshot interview 001-02050020

All staff who register customers as a job seeker, view or update the Job Seeker Snapshot must be registered in the ESSWeb 2.0 system before running the workflow in Process Direct.

To register, follow the process outlined in the Registering access to ESSWEB 2.0 taskcard on the Resources page.

A Job Seeker Snapshot interview may be conducted by either Services Australia or a Workforce Australia Employment Services Provider. The Job Seeker Snapshot can be conducted in person or over the phone with a job seeker.

JobSeeker Payment (JSP) and Youth Allowance (YA) (other) job seekers have the opportunity to complete the Job Seeker Snapshot online at the end of the online new claim process, before the Participation Interview is conducted.

The Job Seeker Snapshot is conducted by the agency in the following circumstances:

• Within the Participation interview when a job seeker has lodged an online claim with the agency to apply for an income support payment and has not completed the Job Seeker Snapshot online
• Within the Job Seeker Registration workflow from the Participation Summary screen when a job seeker without mutual obligations wishes to register for employment assistance
• Within the Job Seeker Registration workflow from the Participation Summary screen when a Parenting Payment Single customer commences to have mutual obligation requirements (youngest child turning 6), or as part of the Special Benefit job seeker new claim process
• When a job seeker who has completed the Job Seeker Snapshot online, indicates during the Participation Interview that their online responses may not be correct. In these cases, re-run the Job Seeker Snapshot from within the Participation Interview workflow
• When job seekers notify a change in circumstances to the agency which requires the Job Seeker Snapshot to be updated
• When a Service Officer believes that the Job Seeker Snapshot needs to be re-run because the job seeker is a vulnerable youth and may not have completed the Job Seeker Snapshot correctly
• For job seekers in receipt of a Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) payment, such as a War Widow/er or Partner Service Pension:
• These job seekers can access Employment Services Provider assistance
• They need to provide proof of their DVA payment, this can be done by displaying the cards issued to them by DVA
• War Widow/ers are issued with a Gold Card and Partner Service Pensioners are issued with a DVA Pensioner Concession Card
• As an outcome of a Comprehensive Compliance Assessment (CCA) when a job seeker notifies a change in their circumstances during the CCA specialist interview
• When a job seeker has participated in the Time to Work Employment Service (TWES) prior to claiming a payment and:
• has not already completed a Job Seeker Snapshot, or
• reports to the agency a change of circumstances, other than prison release, which may affect the outcome of the Job Seeker Snapshot. Note: if a Job Seeker Snapshot has been completed as part of TWES, another Job Seeker Snapshot does not need to be conducted at new claim unless there has been a change in circumstances that will impact the outcome of the TWES Job Seeker Snapshot

Note: the agency should not conduct a Job Seeker Snapshot for a job seeker who has commenced in Disability Employment Services (DES). These job seekers should be advised to contact their DES provider to report their change in circumstances.

Most job seekers claiming or receiving an income support payment who have mutual obligation requirements must have their job seeker registration (JSR) and Job Seeker Snapshot interview completed by Services Australia (unless they have recently completed a Job Seeker Snapshot online or as part of the Time to Work Employment Service (TWES) programme). This includes JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (YA), Parenting Payment (PP) and some Special Benefit (SpB) customers.

Job seekers can complete the online Job Seeker Snapshot at the end of the online new claim process. They will have an abridged Participation Interview that will not include JSR and Job Seeker Snapshot.

Workforce Australia providers are able to directly register and apply a Job Seeker Snapshot for customers who are receiving a Disability Support Pension (DSP) or Parenting Payment (without mutual obligation requirements).

The Job Seeker Snapshot workflow is accessed in Process Direct. The Job Seeker Snapshot should be launched via the Start job seeker registration button.

The Job Seeker Snapshot questions and responses determine the level of assistance the job seeker may be eligible to receive. The information gathered as a result of the Job Seeker Snapshot can be of a personal and sensitive nature and care needs to be taken when asking these questions. Ensure the job seeker understands the importance of disclosing information relevant to their personal circumstances as this will mean they will receive appropriate services.

When completed with a Service Officer, the Job Seeker Snapshot interview must be conducted as a meaningful conversation and questions need to be asked as they appear to ensure a consistent approach is applied to all job seekers. Job Seeker Snapshot may also be conducted online by the customer.

Responses to some questions in the online claim will be used to pre-populate similar questions in the Job Seeker Snapshot. The job seeker will have the opportunity to review the responses and make changes where required within the Job Seeker Snapshot online or staff assisted.

Some questions within the Job Seeker Snapshot are voluntary. The voluntary Job Seeker Snapshot questions are identified with a response option of 'Do not wish to answer'. This response option should be disclosed to the job seeker.

The final stage of the process involves discussing the outcomes with the job seeker and organising appropriate referrals. The Job Seeker Snapshot will identify job seekers who may require a referral to:

• an Assessor for either a medical or non-medical Employment Services Assessment (ESAt)
• Skills for Education and Employment (SEE)
• Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)
• a Services Australia Specialist Officer for assessment. For example, social worker

There will be cases where the job seeker will not be immediately referred to a Workforce Australia provider, such as during a current exemption from mutual obligation requirements. Even though they will not be referred, the Job Seeker Snapshot will still need to be completed. The job seeker will be referred once the exemption has finished. The system will auto-check the job seeker's eligibility for a referral to Workforce Australia against any exemptions from their mutual obligation requirements.

All other job seekers including volunteers do not require a Job Seeker Snapshot to be applied.

Workforce Australia providers:

• are generally able to update a job seeker's Job Seeker Snapshot details if they identify the job seeker has had a change of circumstances that may affect their level of service

Workforce Australia Online for Individuals:

• present the job seeker snapshot to claiming job seekers as a task. Its aim is to get them to complete this online
• can identify a job seeker has not completed the Online Job Seeker Snapshot:
• a request for the Job Seeker Snapshot to be completed through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations system (ESS) is submitted
• the agency will receive this request to conduct the Job Seeker Snapshot with the job seeker
• are generally able to update a job seeker's Job Seeker Snapshot details however the outcomes may be limited

CDP providers are required to complete:

• the Job Seeker Snapshot as part of their first contact with the job seeker, or
• a referral to an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) if required

In limited circumstances, the Job Seeker Snapshot is completed by Services Australia for fully eligible job seekers who reside in CDP regions.

Where the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations system identifies a fully eligible job seeker who resides in a CDP region, the Job Seeker Snapshot is not mandatory and is only applied as part of Participation Interview for:

• customers flagged as Vulnerable Youth (VY) or Vulnerable Youth (Student) (VY(S)), or
• customers who are 55 years or older and managed by the agency

If a Service Officer identifies a referral to an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) may be appropriate, the Job Seeker Snapshot should be completed. If the Job Seeker Snapshot results in a pending status due to responses to the medical questions, the job seeker must be requested to provide medical evidence within 14 days of completing the Job Seeker Snapshot.

The Job Seeker Snapshot cannot be completed by the agency for CDP Community Volunteers (RCV). These job seekers should be advised to contact the CDP provider.

The Job Seeker Snapshot can also be applied or modified by a Workforce Australia or CDP provider.

Time to Work Employment Service (TWES) providers are required to:

• complete the Job Seeker Snapshot for job seekers participating in the TWES programme
• offer TWES participants an ESAt appointment prior to their release from prison regardless of the Job Seeker Snapshot outcome

The Job Seeker Snapshot Off-line paper form should be completed with the job seeker or correspondence nominee (where appropriate) when Process Direct is unavailable and:

• an extended system disruption has occurred or
• the job seeker is serviced offsite from a:
• hospital
• residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre
• mental health facility or
• refuge

Once the system becomes available or upon returning onsite, the responses within the Job Seeker Snapshot Off-line paper form (see Resources) should be utilised to complete the job seeker registration workflow.

The Job Seeker Snapshot Off-line paper form does not contain a form number or scanning bar code. It should be scanned with the UNS003 Reclassification page for Employer supporting documents (see Resources).