Assessing independence for Youth Allowance (job seeker) customers with a partial capacity to work 001-04030050

Where a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) requires acceptance in Process Direct for a DSP new claim, the Medical Conditions Details (MC) screen and the Independent/Homeless/Away from Home Details (NIH) screen will automatically populate in the following scenarios:

• Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker receiving payment at the start date of the DSP claim
• YA job seeker receiving payment at the start date of the claim and has a previous reviewable independence reason coded on the NIH screen
• YA job seeker if the start date on the Newstart Education Status (NES) screen is after the start date of the DSP claim

An error message E516NM may present when attempting to accept the JCA report if the auto coding is unable to complete. To resolve the error the JCA must be accepted in Customer First.

Has the JCA been accepted with the MC and NIH screens coded from the DSP claim PNA date?

• Yes, no further action is required, continue with DSP claim processing
• No, and:
• JCA accepted dates on the MC and NIH screens do not align with DSP claim PNA date, go to Step 2
• error E516NM is displaying when attempting JCA acceptance, see Table 2 > Step 7

If the MC and NIH screens have not been coded from the correct date, the screens will require correction within the DSP new claim SOA.

Correct MC screen:

• Key 'MC' in the Super Key, select [Enter]
• Select Edit
• Change the event date to match the start date of the DSP claim

Correct NIH screen:

• Key 'NIH' in the Super Key, select [Enter]
• Select Delete for the incorrect partial capacity to work (PCW) line
• Select Add to add a new line and key 'IND', and 'PCW' from the correct event date. For a customer who:
• was a YA job seeker at the start date of the DSP claim, the event date is the start date of the DSP claim
• became a YA job seeker after the start date of the DSP claim, the event date should match the date recorded on the NES screen for Not a Student

Continue with DSP claim processing. If the customer is being rejected for DSP, tell the customer they have been granted the independent rate of Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker, during the Service Officer Interview.

Procedure ends here.

If the customer is lodging a YA new claim, check the claim to establish if the customer states they have a partial capacity to work (PCW).

• check Personal Details in the online claim, or
• check Personal Details Question 15 of the claim for Youth Allowance form (SY001)

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, the customer is not independent on these grounds, go to Step 9

Regardless of the age of the assessment, a partial capacity to work (PCW) remains in place for a job seeker:

• for the purposes of determining mutual obligation requirements
• until superseded by a new Employment Services Assessment (ESAt)/Job Capacity Assessment (JCA)

Obtain a new ESAt when:

• there is a change in circumstances, and/or
• the assessment is no longer valid

Has the customer's current capacity to work been assessed?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, independent status cannot be granted at this stage, go to Step 4

The customer's current capacity to work must be assessed by an Assessment Services Assessor.

If the customer does not have a current assessed reduced work capacity, make a referral for the customer to attend an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) appointment.

See Request an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt).

Go to Step 9.

A customer's current participation category is identified on the Participation Summary screen. For details on coding, see Participation Summary screen.

The customer's participation categories are calculated based on their payment type, age, mutual obligation requirements indicator, Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC) and future capacity to work with intervention (PCW).

The following participation categories represent customers assessed as having a PCW:

• JSP/PP/YA/SPL WKCAP 0-14 hrs/wk - N00
• JSP/YA/SPL WKCAP 15-22 hrs/wk - N15
• JSP/YA/SPL WKCAP 23-29 hrs/wk - N23

Check the Participation Summary screen for the customer's participation category.

Has the assessment of the customer's work capacity resulted in them having a partial capacity to work (PCW)?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, the customer is not independent on these grounds, go to Step 9

Note: this assessment of independence does not apply to:

• YA (students/Australian Apprentices), or
• Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers

The customer is independent. The commencement date for the independent status is taken to be one of the following:

• YA New claims and current customers
• The partial capacity for work (PCW) status start date should be the ESAt acceptance date
• Transfer from YAL-STU to YA (job seeker)
• If the job seeker already has a PCW assessed, code the commencement date as the date they transferred to YA (job seeker)

For coding instructions, go to Step 7.

Code independence on the system:

• Key 'S' in the NSS/JCA activity on the Activity List (AL) screen that has been used to accept the ESAt/JCA. Before selecting [Enter], key 'AR' in the Nxt field as this will keep the user in the activity
• The Independent/Homeless/Away from Home Details (NIH) screen can now be updated within the activity
• Go to the NIH screen
• On the NIH screen, key 'IND' in the Act field
• Key the commencement date for the independent status in the Start date field

Note: if the PCW is the result of a JCA completed for a DSP claim, or an upgraded ESAt being used for a DSP claim, then the commencement date for the NIH coding will be the PNA date, as it will need to match the MC coding if the customer was on YA as a job seeker at that date. Otherwise, it is necessary to match the NIH start date to the date from which the customer is confirmed as having a PCW as shown on the Customer Target Category Summary (CTCS) screen. If the dates do not match, the error E516NM - This customer is eligible for the Independent Rate of YAL will prevent further updates.

• Key the current independent status in the Start/Reject Reason field as PCW
• Complete the Source and DOR details as appropriate
• Select [Enter] to update the screen details
• Go to the Accommodation (AC) screen
• On the AC screen, key 'LWP' in the Sharer Status field if living with parents
• Finalise the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen

Tell the customer they have been granted independent status for the period they are assessed as having a partial capacity to work (PCW). An auto letter will issue.

Note: an automatic review is created to reassess the customer's eligibility for independent status if there is a change to their work capacity. See Reviews of independence for Youth Allowance for details, if required.

Record details on a DOC.

Note: if a customer has received a Crisis Payment (CrP) and a change has occurred, a manual reassessment of the Crisis Payment (CrP) may be required. For more information, see Reviewing and reassessing Crisis Payment (CrP).

Procedure ends here.

New claim:

Did the customer provide parental income?

• , and the customer is:
• payable as a dependant, process the claim as normal pending the ESAt outcome
• not payable as a dependent due to Parental Income too High (PIH)
  - do not reject the claim
  - place the claim on hold for 28 days using the Third Party to Provide Information hold reason, until the ESAt is completed
  - record why the claim is on hold by creating or updating the Progress of claim DOC on the Document List (DL) screen
  - if the ESAt is not completed within 28 days of the claim being placed on hold, place the claim on hold for a further 14 days and DOC the record
• No:
• Do not reject the claim Parental Income not Provided (PIA)
• Place the claim on hold for 28 days using the Third Party to Provide Information hold reason, until the ESAt has been completed
• Record why the claim is on hold by creating or updating the Progress of claim DOC on the Document List (DL) screen
• If the ESAt has not been completed within 28 days of the claim being placed on hold, place the claim on hold for a further 14 days and DOC the record

If the outcome of the ESAt is unfavourable, continue to process the claim as normal.

Non new claim:

The customer is to remain on current dependent rate pending the outcome of the ESAt.

If claim is to be rejected, consider other grounds for independence. See Independence for Youth Allowance (YA) customers.