Inconsistencies in an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) report 001-02320090

The agency requires a single professional view of a customer's functional impairment and work capacity between Assessment Services (Assessors and Health Professionals Advisory Unit (HPAU) Advisors) and other staff such as Service Officers, Authorised Review Officers (ARO), International Services (CIS) officers and Litigation and Information Release Branch staff.

The ESAt report contains the Assessor's recommendations about a customer's work capacity, appropriate interventions, recommended referrals to employment assistance programs, risk of non-compliance ratings and vulnerability indicator categories. If the ESAt report is upgraded to a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA), the report may also recommend an Impairment Rating.

The Assessment Services internal escalation process:

• provides a mechanism to capture and manage issues as required within the agency's quality framework including reporting that is consistent with continuously improving business practices
• provides a mechanism for Assessors to reconsider and adjust work capacity, in line with legislative requirements and the Social Security Guide
• helps in clarifying congruency of medical evidence to assessed impairment and work capacity
• maintains relationships between Assessors, HPAU advisors and determining staff to provide timely advice and consideration of a customer's functional impairment and work capacity when additional information becomes available during the review and appeal process
• gives staff ways to discuss extra information provided during the review and appeal process where reassessment is not warranted. For example, evidence of mental health diagnosis by clinical psychologist or psychiatrist
• helps International Services staff in determining complex matters regarding impairment and work capacity for foreign pension and Agreement claim matters