Assessing independence when a customer is self-supporting through full-time paid employment 001-04060040

Where a customer indicates they have worked an average of 30 hours per week for at least 18 months in a 2 year period, they may be considered independent.

For:

• Youth Allowance (YA)
• Customers who have indicated in their YA student online claim or Assisted Customer Claim they are undertaking full-time study, or an approved concessional study load, go to Step 2
• Otherwise, go to Step 4

Where the customer has indicated in their YA student online claim or Assisted Customer Claim they are independent under the self-supporting criterion, they will be asked to enter their employment details. This includes their employer/s, hours worked and income earned. Based on that information, the system will determine if the customer has worked enough hours to be considered to have met independence.

If the customer has met the Independence criteria, the system will not request a MOD JY - Parent/Guardian details form at Next Steps.

Has the online claim requested the customer to provide a MOD JY form?

• Yes, the customer does not meet the independence criteria based on the information they have provided. Go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 3

Customers advising they are independent under this criterion in a YA student online claim or Assisted Customer Claim may not need to provide evidence such as payslips or payroll reports to verify their employment history.

If the claim determines evidence is:

• not required, the student will be advised to retain evidence of their employment history for 2 years
• required, the customer will be advised at Next Steps

Was employment evidence a Required task in the YA student online claim or Assisted Customer Claim?

• Yes, and the customer:
• has indicated a period of self-employment, go to Step 5
• was an employee, go to Step 6
• No, self-supporting independence has been established by the claim responses. See Step 3 in Table 2

Note: if the customer has not been asked for evidence of their employment income, but has provided it, Service Officers can use this income evidence to verify the information in the online claim.

Where available information indicates the Youth Allowance (YA), ABSTUDY or Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer has claimed, or may meet the criteria for independence through full-time paid employment, Service Officers must establish the type of employment.

If the customer has requested an assessment of independence, and evidence:

• indicates periods of self-employment, go to Step 5
• indicates customer was an employee, go to Step 6
• was not provided, go to Step 10

Customers applying for independence who had periods of self-employment are required to supply evidence. This evidence must be sufficient to satisfy the Service Officer that the customer has worked an average of 30 hours per week for at least 18 months in a 2 year period.

Examples of evidence that can be used to assess independence through paid employment when self-employed are:

• profit and loss statements
• receipt books for work undertaken
• the customer's Tax Notice of Assessment

Note: documents such as Tax Notices of Assessment, which show an amount of income for a financial year, cannot be used to verify hours worked, but can be used to verify cumulative earnings.

If assistance is required with determining eligibility based on evidence, contact Local Peer Support (LPS).

Go to Step 7.

Customers applying for independence who were employees, are required to supply appropriate evidence of their employment, such as:

• letter(s) from employers which outline periods of employment and hours worked
• payslips, payroll reports or payment summaries (group certificates) from their employer showing the weekly hours worked and periods of employment
• Employment Separation Certificate may be accepted if it is supplied in conjunction with other forms of evidence as listed above

Documents such as Tax Notices of Assessment, which show an amount of income for a financial year, cannot be used to verify hours worked. Statements of service from the Australian Defence Force (not reserves), without hours per week are acceptable as it is not possible to do part-time military service.

Service Officers assessing a claim for independence may obtain evidence through verbal contact with employer/s or a written letter from previous employer/s already in the customer's possession. Staff must:

• only discuss periods of employment
• remain diligent in protecting the customer's privacy

Where there is reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the evidence provided, additional evidence may be requested. For example, where the customer has provided a letter from the customer's family business stating the hours worked, payslips or a TNA could also be requested to support the claim.

Go to Step 7.

Check the period of employment and the number of hours worked per week during any period of 2 years. The hours worked can be averaged over periods of up to 13 weeks. For example, the customer must have worked at least:

• 120 hours of work in each of 19 periods of 4 weeks, or
• 390 hours of work in each of 6 periods of 13 weeks
• 30 hours of work in each of 78 weeks (that is 30 hours or more for 78 weeks)

Note: 19 periods of 4 weeks is a total of 76 weeks only. Customers will also need to show they have worked at least 30 hours each week for an additional 2 weeks to meet 78 weeks in total.

The hours worked cannot be averaged over periods longer than 13 weeks. A letter from an employer that states the customer has worked (at least) 30 hours per week over an 18 month period can be accepted but a letter stating the young person has worked an average of 30 hours each week over an 18 month period cannot be accepted. Evidence is required of the hours worked per week so that the averaging can be assessed over periods of 13 weeks or less. Statements of service from the Australian Defence Force (not reserves) without hours per week are acceptable as it is not possible to do part-time military service.

Hours worked can include the following:

• Periods of paid leave - annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, Pandemic Leave Disaster Payments (PLDP)
• Periods of unpaid leave due to an employer shutdown, that is outside the control of the person. For example, mandatory Christmas leave
• Periods of engagement in a full-time apprenticeship or other full-time training agreement
• Periods of full-time employment participation in a Community Development and Employment Program
• Periods of receiving workers' compensation and the customer can demonstrate they are still connected to their employment
• Periods of full-time employment overseas

For assistance in determining if the customer has worked an average of 30 hours per week for a period of at least 18 months during any period of 2 years, use the Independence Calculator in Process Direct.

Service Officers are able to view the customer's work history information and calculations completed by the system when processing a YA student online claim. No further evidence/ assessment is required in these cases.

Service Officers undertaking an Independence assessment for a current customer must check 'DL' to establish if the customer has submitted a COC (Change of circumstance) activity through Check Independence through work history online tool.

Has the customer provided evidence to fully support they worked an average of 30 hours per week (i.e. full-time) for periods of at least 18 months in a 2 year period?

• Yes, the customer satisfies this criterion. See Step 1 in Table 2
• No
• for DSP, go to Step 8
• for YA, go to Step 9
• for ABSTUDY, the customer is not eligible for independence on the basis of being self-supporting through paid employment. See Step 4 in Table 2

To be assessed under this criterion, the customer must provide evidence with their claim to prove they:

• worked part-time for at least 15 hours per week for at least 104 weeks (time worked does not have to be consecutive) since leaving secondary school, or
• earned at least 75% of the Wage Level A of the National Training Wage Schedule (NTWS) rate in any 18 month period since last leaving secondary school

Does the evidence provided by the DSP customer indicate they have met one of these criteria?

• Yes, see Step 1 in Table 2
• No, the customer is not eligible for independence on the basis of being self-supporting through paid employment. See Step 4 in Table 2

This applies to YA customers who are at least 18 years of age, not living with or being supported by their parent(s), and who have an education or employment disadvantage. They may be assessed as independent if they have had employment of at least 30 hours per week for a 12 month period or periods totalling 12 months.

There are no questions about the special safety net criteria in the YA online claim or Claim for Youth Allowance (SY001), nor the Assisted Customer Claim. The claim details should be checked for the following information:

• the customer is at least 18 years of age
• the customer is not living at the home of either or both parents
• have had full-time employment of at least 30 hours per week for a period of at least 12 months, or for periods that total at least 12 months
• the highest level of education that they have completed in Australia or overseas

Deciding if the customer is specially disadvantaged in terms of education or employment

Specially disadvantaged refers to:

• education:
• for a student - a person who has not completed Year 12 or the equivalent
• for a job seeker - a person who has not completed Year 12 (or equivalent) or a Certificate III or higher
• employment: a person whose personal circumstances and labour market skills make it difficult for them to find a job. For example, a person who is classified as high risk on the Job Seeker Snapshot

Note: the decision that a customer is specially disadvantaged is not dependent on the activity the customer is undertaking. For example, a customer qualified as an Australian Apprentice could meet the criterion of specially disadvantaged with respect to education if they have not completed year 12 or equivalent.

For assistance in making this decision, see the References page for a link to details in the Guide on Education or Employment Disadvantage for YA.

To be assessed under this criterion, the customer must provide evidence with their claim to prove they:

• were working for 30 hours per week in a 12 month period, or for periods totalling 12 months (for example, payslips), and
• are not being financially supported (indirectly or directly) by their parent(s). This could be a statutory declaration or bank statements

Is the customer specially disadvantaged in terms of education or employment?

• Yes, the customer is independent. Note: this criterion is reviewable if the customer's circumstances change. For further information, see Reviews of independence for Youth Allowance. See Step 1 in Table 2
• No, see Step 4 in Table 2

Where further evidence is required, Service Officers must request relevant documents, see Requesting information (CLK), and place the work item on hold until the due date.

If the customer fails to provide evidence, see Step 4 in Table 2.

Procedure ends here.

For:

• Disability Support Pension (DSP), go to Step 2
• Youth Allowance (YA) or ABSTUDY, go to Step 3

To pay the independent rate, go to the Pensions Disability Information (PDI) screen and code one of the following in the Independent Living Code field:

• PSS - worked in full-time employment averaging 30 hours or more per week for at least 18 months during any period of 2 years
• PSE - earned 75% of Wage Level A of the National Training Wage schedule included in a modern award in an 18 month period since the person last left secondary school
• PSP - part-time employment of at least 15 hours per week for at least 18 of the past 24 months
• Event Date field, code the commencement date for independence
• Complete the Source and DOR fields
• Complete the assessment on the Assessment Results (AR) screen

Go to Step 7.

Where the YA student online claim has automatically determined the customer is independent through paid employment of on average 30 hours per week for at least 18 months in a 2-year period, this will be auto-coded in Process Direct (NIH/NIHS) screen.

Otherwise, if the customer meets the approved independence criterion, complete the appropriate independence coding for:

New claims in Process Direct:

• Super Key field, Independent/Homeless/Away From Home Details (NIH)
• Action field, code 'IND'
• Start date field, code the commencement date for the independent status. See the Resources page for examples
• Start/Reject Reason field, code the appropriate grant reason:
• PSS - worked in full-time employment averaging 30 hours or more per week for at least 18 months during any period of 2 years
• PSN - specially disadvantaged (safety net criteria)
• If the COVID-19 concession period was required to determine independence, code the grant reason as follows:
  PSC (discontinued from 25/09/2022) - working full-time for average of at least 30 hours per week for 18 months within a 2 year period including the COVID-19 concession period

Current customers in receipt of YA or ABSTUDY and new claims not processed in Process Direct:

• Next field, Independent/Homeless/Away From Home Details (NIH)
• Action field, code 'IND'
• Start Date field, code the commencement date for the independent status. See the Resources page for examples
• Start/Reject Reason field, code the appropriate grant reason
• PSS - worked in full-time employment averaging 30 hours or more per week for at least 18 months during any period of 2 years
• PSN - specially disadvantaged (safety net criteria)
• If the COVID-19 concession period was required to determine independence, code the grant reason as follows:
  PSC (discontinued from 25/09/2022) - working full-time for average of at least 30 hours per week for 18 months within a 2 year period including the COVID-19 concession period
• Source and DOR field, as appropriate
• Press [Enter] to update NIH details
• Complete the assessment on the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Record a DOC on the record

Some independent students who are disadvantaged by personal circumstances may qualify for Relocation Scholarship. See Relocation Scholarship (RS) eligibility.

Is the customer claiming independence under specially disadvantaged (safety net criteria) PSN?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 5

If rejecting, consider other grounds for independence, see:

• Independence for ABSTUDY customers
• Independence for Youth Allowance (YA) customers or
• Assessing payment rates and independence for Disability Support Pension customers under 21 years

The customer does not meet the independence criteria based on self-supporting through paid employment or the YA safety net criteria.

New claims in Process Direct:

• Super Key field, Independent/Homeless/Away From Home Details (NIH)
• Action field, code 'IND'
• Start Date field, code the rejection date for the independence status
• Start/Reject Reason field, code the rejection reason:
• RSS - Working full-time (an average of at least 30 hours per week) for 18 months within a period of 2 years - not supported
• If the COVID-19 concession period was required to determine independence, code the rejection reason as follows:
  RSC (discontinued from 25/09/2022) - working full-time for an average of at least 30 hours per week for 18 months within a 2 year period including the COVID-19 concession period - not supported

Current customers in receipt of YA or ABSTUDY and new claims not processed in Process Direct:

• Next field, Independent/Homeless/Away From Home Details (NIH)
• Action field, code 'IND'
• Start Date field, code the rejection date for the independent status
• Start/Reject Reason field, code the rejection reason
• RSS - Working full-time (an average of at least 30 hours per week) for 18 months within a period of 2 years - not supported
• RSC (discontinued from 25/09/2022) - working full-time for an average of at least 30 hours per week for 18 months within a 2 year period including the COVID-19 concession period - not supported if the COVID-19 concession period was required to determine independence
• Source and DOR field, as appropriate
• Press [Enter] to update NIH details
• Complete the assessment on the Assessment Results (AR) screen

Check if customer can, and wants to be assessed under the Parental Income Test (PIT).

Determine if the Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details for the Base Tax Year and Current Tax Year MOD JY is required and assess the customer as a dependent customer.

For DSP customers:

When processing a claim for a DSP customer, and the customer is not independent for any other reason, code 'NID' in the Independent Living Code field on the PDI screen. This screen is displayed as part of the new claim screen flow. If the customer is currently receiving the dependent rate of DSP, no coding is required.

Go to Step 7.

Generally, independent customers who live in the parental home will receive the 'at home' rate of YA or ABSTUDY. This is called the 'accommodated independent rate'. They are not subject to the Parental Income Test (PIT). Some customers are exempt from the accommodated independent status and will receive the away from home rate regardless of where they live.

Does the customer have an exemption from accommodated independent status?

• Yes, customer will be paid at the 'away from home' rate
• No, customer will be paid at the 'at home' rate

If the customer lives with a parent, Service Officers must ensure the AC screen has the Sharers Status field as 'LWP' (Lives with Parents) to ensure the correct rate of payment is made.

See Commencement, cessation and coding of the away from home rate for Youth Allowance (YA) for independence away from home.

Go to Step 6.

If the YA or ABSTUDY customer meets all of the following criteria:

• has been assessed as independent
• is aged 16-19
• is in full-time secondary study

Service Officers must notify Child Support of this event. Create a Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > Update > Child Support – Action Req'd.

See Maintenance Income Test (MIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA) for details.

Go to Step 7.

Service Officers undertaking an independence assessment must ensure a DOC on the record outlines the significant decision.

Current customers in receipt of YA (students or apprentices) or ABSTUDY, and new claims not processed in Process Direct:

• Create an IND Granted/Rejected DOC:
• Use Fast Note - select Auto Text > Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > IND Granted/Rejected
• Select Use Chosen Template/Confirm
• Complete the DOC, giving the reasons for Grant/REJ

For YA (jobseekers or other) or DSP customers:

• The information recorded on the DOC should indicate the grounds on which the customer's claim for independence should be granted or rejected as well as all relevant facts and evidence that lead to the decision

Note: if a determination is made in the new claim activity, a separate DOC is not required as the assessment information must be included within the grant/reject DOC/Note.