Workforce Australia - Transition to Work (TtW) 001-02290000

To register a job seeker in Process Direct:

For customers who:

• submit an online claim, or
• Service Officer has completed the Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) workflow
• In the claim select > > Participation Interview > Job seeker registration & provider referral information > Start job seeker registration
• are currently receiving a payment (including a young person as a volunteer job seeker):
• select > > Participation Summary > Job seeker registration & provider referral information > Start job seeker registration

Young people who want to volunteer can directly register with their local Transition to Work (TtW) provider.

Note: when registering a young person who wants to volunteer, on the Job Seeker Registration screen, select the volunteer box. This will bypass the Job Seeker Snapshot and flow through directly to the Online Diary.

For job seekers with mutual obligation requirements:

• Register the job seeker as a Fully Eligible Participant (FEP)
• If the job seeker is a vulnerable youth, they are not eligible for referral to TtW

Job seekers receiving an income support payment and already participating with Workforce Australia, should be advised to discuss participating in TtW with their provider.

Job seekers in the 13 week allowable break period from Workforce Australia will be referred to their provider.

The Job Seeker Snapshot must be completed for all job seekers with mutual obligation requirements. It is not required for volunteers.

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) system will identify whether the job seeker is eligible for a TtW referral. If one exists locally, a TtW provider will be displayed in the Online Diary to allow referral.

After the completion of the initial Job Seeker Snapshot, the agency is not required to undertake a Job Seeker Snapshot change of circumstances review. Any change of circumstance is to be completed by the TtW provider.

Job Seeker Snapshot referral outcomes

For TtW job seekers with mutual obligation requirements, the following Job Seeker Snapshot outcomes apply:

• Workforce Australia employment services and ESL - eligible job seekers must be referred to TtW if a provider is available in the Employment Region. This will be identified in the Online Diary
• Indigenous job seekers aged 15 - 24 years - must be referred to TtW if a provider is available in the Employment Region. This will be identified in the Online Diary
• Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) - job seekers should be referred to an ESAt if one is triggered. Note: where the job seeker has not commenced in the TtW program, an ESAt referral recommendation has priority. Job seekers who have commenced and are participating in TtW where an ESAt flags for non-medical reasons are not required to attend or be referred for an ESAt. Noting where the Job Seeker Snapshot triggers a medical ESAt and the job seeker has not previously been assessed for a Partial Capacity to Work (PCW) the job seeker should be referred to an ESAt once medical evidence is provided. An ESAt referral has priority over TtW
• A TtW referral can be actioned by the Assessor on completion of the ESAt if applicable
• Existing ESAt - where an existing ESAt result is applied to the job seeker's record:
• If the job seeker has a Partial Capacity to Work (PCW) or a Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC) of less than 15 hours, they do not require a compulsory TtW referral, but may volunteer
• If the previous ESAt referral recommendation is TtW and the job seeker still meets eligibility the job seeker should be referred to TtW
• If the job seeker has a PCW of 15 hours or greater and are in Workforce Australia employment services, they are eligible for TtW
• If the previous ESAt outcome is Disability Employment Services (DES) - the job seeker must be referred to DES
• If the job seeker is Workforce Australia employment services, including provider and online services the job seeker should be referred to TtW
• If the Job Seeker Snapshot identifies that a job seeker is eligible for TtW and would also benefit from participating in Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) or Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), concurrent referrals can still be made to these programs without impacting on TtW eligibility

Job seekers eligible for TtW will be subject to existing RapidConnect rules of payability and appointment availability.

Note: job seekers must be advised how provider appointment attendance can affect payability.

If a job seeker is eligible for TtW and RapidConnect applies, then Services Australia will not apply the TtW suspension and/or cancellation process if they fail to attend a TtW appointment.

Where there is a TtW provider in a job seeker's Employment Region, but they are unable to offer any appointments within 14 days, refer the job seeker to Workforce Australia employment services. The job seeker must not be disadvantaged by having a delayed payment commencement date based on RapidConnect rules.

Similarly, job seekers are not penalised under RapidConnect rules for being referred to a TtW provider within 14 days, where there are local Workforce Australia employment services appointments available within 2 days. The system will consider only TtW appointment availability in this scenario.

The Online Diary will display a TtW provider if the job seeker is TtW eligible and there are providers in the job seeker's Employment Region. TtW referrals have priority over Workforce Australia employment services and eligible job seekers must be referred to TtW where TtW provider appointments are available.

If a TtW provider exists in the job seeker's Employment Region, but no appointments are available in the Online Diary the provider's contact details will be displayed:

• Contact the TtW provider and request an appointment timeslot, to allow the job seeker referral
• Select Refresh in the Online Diary to display the appointment for selection
• If a TtW provider cannot offer an appointment within 14 days, and RapidConnect rules would mean the job seeker's payment commencement would be delayed until the date an appointment is attended, make a Workforce Australia employment services referral instead

If there are no TtW providers in the job seekers Employment Region, Workforce Australia Employment Services Providers will be displayed and the job seeker must be referred to an employment services provider.

There are two types of appointments for TtW:

• RapidConnect, and
• Initial

Existing RapidConnect rules will apply when booking an appointment for TtW as part of a claim for income support. Eligible job seekers with mutual obligation requirements must be referred to a TtW provider for an appointment within 2 days, but no later than 14 working days after the Participation Interview is run.

If a job seeker has been connected to Workforce Australia employment services in the last 91 days, for example, they are in the allowable break period, they cannot be referred to TtW.

Warm Transfers

Warm transfer TtW eligible job seekers to the provider if they have no access or limited/unreliable access to a phone that the provider can contact on. Warm transfers should be done via phone by staff in Smart Centres. If the job seeker has contacted in person and is being referred to TtW, ask them to contact the provider using the self-service phone in the service centre.

Rescheduling appointments

If a TtW eligible Job seeker subject to RapidConnect requires their appointment to be rescheduled, existing RapidConnect rules apply.

Job seekers subject to RapidConnect can have their appointment rebooked if they:

• have claimed using the online or Assisted Customer Claim (ACC), and
• missed their RapidConnect appointment, and
• are still within 14 days of the Participation Interview being run

For customers who:

• submit an online claim or Service Officer has completed the Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) workflow
• In the claim, select > > Participation Interview > Job seeker registration & provider referral information > Start job seeker registration
• currently receiving a payment and are RapidConnect Exempt, or RapidConnect does not apply, can have their appointment rebooked or rescheduled by:
• selecting Customer Summary from the Process Direct landing page
• enter the customer's CRN, select Go
• in the customer's record select > > Participation Summary > Online diary

Where the job seeker contacts after 14 days the entire Participation Interview will need to be re-run.

See Processes for RapidConnect appointments.

Job Seekers with mutual obligation requirements participating in TtW are provider managed. It is the responsibility of the TtW provider to negotiate a Job Plan.

By participating in TtW, the job seeker will fully meet their mutual obligation requirements.

The Activities and Exemptions Summary (AEX) screen displays the date a TtW participant with mutual obligation requirements has commenced or completed the program. The code is TW5 for records before 1 July 2022. The code TW6 is for all records from 1 July 2022.

Job seekers are expected to participate in TtW services for 25 hours per week for a maximum of 18 months. Job seekers who face significant non-vocational barriers, may have their participation extended to 24 months.

For information about how to code the Newstart Education Status (NES) screen once the initial referral to a TtW provider has been completed for Early School Leavers (ESL), see Checking and coding ESL manual reviews.

Participants in TtW cannot be subject to compliance. However, if the job seeker is not compliant, they will be exited from the service and transferred to Workforce Australia employment services by their TtW provider, if they have mutual obligation requirements.
Note: customers not on a payment with mutual obligation requirements, who are volunteering will not be referred to Workforce Australia employment services.

Refer to Item 13 if a job seeker's income support has been suspended or cancelled with a reason code TWA.

After the job seeker has completed the TtW service, job seekers with mutual obligation requirements will be transferred to Workforce Australia employment services by their TtW provider, if they are not tracking towards an outcome.

TtW participants who fail to meet their mutual obligation requirements will be exited from the service and will be transferred to Workforce Australia employment services by their TtW provider.

Job seekers receiving income support who exit TtW, will be transferred by their TtW provider to Workforce Australia employment services.

If a volunteer fails to participate in the service or exits from TtW, they will not be transferred to Workforce Australia employment services.

Change of address

When a job seeker notifies Services Australia of a change of address, this information is automatically updated in the DEWR IT system.

If a job seeker has moved to a new location and their TtW provider services in the new area, they will be automatically allocated to the same TtW provider in their new area. If the original TtW provider does not service the new area, the job seeker will be randomly allocated a new TtW provider.

The job seeker will be automatically referred to another employment service if there is not a TtW provider which services their new address.

Transfer by agreement

Job seekers may transfer to a new provider if their current provider, their proposed provider and the job seeker all agree to the transfer. Job seekers should discuss a transfer with their current TtW provider or, if they are unable to, contact the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) National Customer Service Line.

Transfers due to breakdown of the relationship between a job seeker and their TtW provider

It may be appropriate for a job seeker to transfer to a different TtW provider where a job seeker and their TtW provider experience a breakdown of relationship. Where a job seeker advises Services Australia they are not able to work with their existing TtW provider, Services Officers should refer the participant to the DEWR National Customer Service Line.

An individualised and holistic approach to servicing disadvantaged youth is encouraged. Participants can engage with multiple programs concurrently where a provider or the Agency believes the participant can benefit. Concurrent servicing is restricted where programmes provide the same service (so a service that is specifically designed to assist with work readiness (such as Workforce Australia - Employability Skills Training) would not be allowable).

The following are examples of programmes that can be undertaken concurrently with TtW:

• Skills for Education and Employment (SEE)
• Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)
• Parent Pathways (may volunteer in TtW)

If the Job Seeker Snapshot identifies that a young person is eligible for TtW and would also benefit from participating in AMEP or SEE, the existing referral process for these programmes can be completed.

If a TtW participant is participating in:

• an Approved Program of Work activity (for example, Work for the Dole) they may be eligible for an Approved Programme of Work Supplement (APWS) of $20.80 per fortnight
• the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) programme, the Language Literacy and Numeracy Supplement (LLNS) of $20.80 per fortnight may be payable
• job search activities as part of their participation in TtW, Mobility Allowance at the higher rate may be payable

If a job seeker is exempt from RapidConnect requirements (or RapidConnect does not apply) a suspension and cancellation process applies when they are referred to TtW. Under this process, if the job seeker does not attend a compellable initial appointment with their TtW provider, their payment will be suspended and may subsequently be cancelled. The suspension, restoration and cancellation process applies as follows:

• Services Australia refers eligible job seekers to an initial TtW appointment as part of the Participation Interview - this appointment is the first non-compellable appointment
• If the job seeker fails to attend this appointment, their TtW provider will contact them to book another appointment. This new appointment is the second non-compellable appointment
• If the job seeker fails to attend the second non-compellable appointment, the TtW provider will contact the job seeker and book a third appointment. This third appointment is a compellable appointment
• If job seeker fails to attend the compellable appointment, the job seeker's income support payment will be automatically suspended with the reason TWA
• Following this, the job seeker will need to attend an appointment with their TtW provider for their payment to be restored
• The job seeker is required to attend a TtW appointment within 28 days of payment suspension. If job seeker attends the compellable TtW appointment within 28 days of payment suspension, the job seeker's income support payment will be automatically restored

Payment restoration for job seekers:

• Services Australia cannot manually restore a job seeker’s payment when a TWA suspension has been applied
• Payment restoration can only be triggered by DEWR following attendance at a compellable appointment

Payment restoration for Youth Allowance students:

• When a TtW participant notifies they have commenced full-time study, record the study details as per Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker or Australian Apprentice returning to full-time study
• If the customer has commenced full-time study, they will be exited from employment services and restoration of their Youth Allowance will be triggered by DEWR. Where payment restoration is not triggered, Youth Allowance can be manually restored via the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• If a TtW participant notifies they will commence full-time study at a future date, record the study details as per Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker or Australian Apprentice returning to full-time study. Payment restoration will not be triggered by DEWR for these customers and they will remain a job seeker until they commence study. Youth Allowance cannot be manually restored via the BA screen. Advise the customer payment restoration can only be triggered following attendance at a TtW appointment

Provider Transfer:

• If a job seeker moves to an area where TtW services are not available they will be automatically transferred to a Workforce Australia or Community Development Program provider. As a result, these job seekers cannot attend the subsequent TtW appointment that would trigger the automatic restoration of their income support payment
• If a job seeker's payment is suspended TWA at the time of transfer, their payment will automatically restore upon commencement with their Workforce Australia or Community Development Program provider

Cancellation:

• If a job seeker fails to attend a compellable TtW appointment within 28 days of payment suspension, the job seeker's income support payment will be cancelled with a non-restorable code of TWA
• If a job seeker's payment is cancelled following failure to attend their compellable TtW appointment they will need to reclaim payment. Restoration cannot be triggered by DEWR and Services Australia cannot manually restore the job seeker's payment

If a job seeker fails to attend a compellable appointment with their TtW provider, suspension of their income support payment will occur for the reason TWA. If this happens:

• Services Australia cannot manually restore the job seeker's income support payment
• payment restoration will occur automatically once the job seeker attends a subsequent appointment with their TtW provider

However, in some cases a job seeker may be incarcerated prior to attending their compellable TtW appointment. As a result, their income support payment remains suspended for the reason TWA. When this occurs, Services Australia cannot apply the correct suspension reason of IMP.

In these cases, the job seeker's income support payment can only be restored by DEWR. Once resolved by DEWR, Services Australia can apply the IMP suspension as per the existing process.

Escalate these type of cases via email to the Participation Programmes and Compliance (Mutual Obligations) Section for referral to DEWR. The email must include:

• Subject line: TtW participant imprisoned whilst SUS-TWA
• Content: Customer Reference Number (CRN) and date of incarceration