Determining when an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) is required 001-02330040

Job seekers do not need an ESAt referral when lodging a medical certificate seeking Temporary Incapacity exemption from mutual obligation requirements or Disability Support Pension (DSP) participation requirements.

In all cases, suitably skilled Service Officers are to decide whether to grant an exemption based on available evidence, including the medical certificate completed by the job seeker's medical practitioner. Some job seekers who lodge a medical certificate may be referred for an ESAt to assess other relevant circumstances, for example Partial Capacity to Work (PCW) or Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC).

An ESAt may be required for the following claims or services, unless there is already a current and valid assessment of the job seeker's work capacity:

• Assessments for Partial Capacity to Work (PCW) or Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC) for a job seeker receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (YA), Parenting Payment (PP) or Special Benefit (SpB), including YA (Jobseeker) assessment of independence
• JSP customers who have entered a residential care facility
• Youth Disability Supplement (YDS)
• Parallel servicing referrals from Disability Employment Services (DES) providers:
• where the Service Officer or a senior staff member continues to support the job seeker alongside the Employment Services Provider while the job seeker is undertaking activities aimed at addressing their non-vocational challenges
• Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers who are under 35 and have participation requirements
• DSP claimants who had their claim rejected and the Medical Assessment Team (MAT) recommendation is for a review of work capacity and/or employment services referrals
• Where a refugee is claiming or receiving a payment to determine eligibility for Better Targeting of Support for Refugees. An ESAt is required when their refugee exemption ends.
• Refugee customers requesting a voluntary referral to a Workforce Australia (WFA) provider

The requirement for an ESAt can be triggered as part of a Job Seeker Snapshot. A request for an ESAt referral is required to finalise the Job Seeker Snapshot, except where the:

• ESAt flag can be manually finalised by reapplying the outcomes of a current and valid assessment of the customer's work capacity
• requirement for the ESAt flag can be withdrawn where it is determined that the job seeker:
• does not have medical barriers to employment requiring assessment through an ESAt
• has a temporary incapacity - serious illness exemption
• job seeker is granted an exemption from mutual obligation requirements or Disability Support Pension (DSP) participation requirements for an extended period, or meets other conditions where it is appropriate to defer the ESAt referral:
• The period of deferment should depend on the job seeker's circumstances and not on the period of the exemption
• During this deferment there is no requirement for an ESAt referral to be made
• job seeker is a newly arrived Refugee or Humanitarian Entrant:
• The ESAt referral should generally be deferred up to 12 weeks after the job seeker's arrival in Australia

A Service Officer may use their judgement to determine when to request an ESAt for a job seeker.

See, Actioning a pending Job Seeker Snapshot initiated Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) activity.

Some job seekers are automatically referred to Workforce Australia Online services after claiming income support, such as the Workforce Australia Online for Individuals employment service.

When referred to Workforce Australia Online for Individuals, job seekers are asked to complete the Online Job Seeker Snapshot.

The Job Seeker Snapshot will flag when a job seeker might potentially need an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt), similar to how the Job Seeker Snapshot works when run by a Service Officer.

An automated referral system transfers ESAt requests from Workforce Australia Online to Services Australia. Once the customer's payment is granted, the Services Australia system will then:

• raise an RFL/UPD activity, and
• send it to Assessment Services for screening

Assessment Services will review the request and book an ESAt if it is required.

ESAt referral required

If an ESAt would likely result in a change in the job seeker's work capacity or type of employment service, Assessment Services will:

• contact the job seeker to ask for medical evidence (if required), and
• book a suitable appointment

If the job seeker cannot be contacted, Assessment Services may send a letter inviting the job seeker to provide medical evidence. Assessment Services will:

• monitor the job seeker's record, and
• book an ESAt once the medical evidence is returned

Assessment Services will document when this letter is sent, and a copy of this letter will be visible on the Document Tools screen. The Resources page contains an example of the invite letter.

ESAt referral not required

Assessment Services will not contact the job seeker if they decide that an ESAt is unlikely to change the job seeker's:

• work capacity, or
• type of employment service

The job seeker will either:

• continue with Workforce Australia Online for Individuals, or
• transfer to a physical Workforce Australia Employment Services Provider

For more information, see Selection or allocation of a Workforce Australia Employment Service.

An Employment Services Provider may request an ESAt:

• where the provider notes a significant change of circumstances either through individual disclosure or observing behaviour
• for individuals who have directly registered with an Employment Services Provider seeking employment assistance. This includes individuals who directly register with a Disability Employment Services (DES) provider and do not have a current and valid ESAt

An ESAt can be requested when a Job Seeker Snapshot has been run by the Workforce Australia provider as part of the Targeted Compliance Framework.

Customers who are not claiming or receiving an income support payment and are seeking access to a specialist employment assistance service such as Disability Employment Services (DES) may be required to undertake an ESAt to determine their eligibility to participate in the service.

The job seeker may need to attend an appointment for an ESAt under section 63 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. The requirement to attend an appointment must be reasonable, taking into account all of the job seeker's circumstances.