Part-time or full-time study as an approved activity for Parenting Payment (PP) 001-09070230

For all PP job seekers, eligibility for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and/or Education Entry Payment (EdEP) should be assessed.

If the PP customer has no mutual obligation requirements, they may undertake full-time or part-time studies at any stage.

• If these customers have voluntarily accessed an Employment Services Provider, they should discuss the study with their provider
• If the job seeker is receiving PP as a single person and would like to apply for PES, the agency would need to approve the course in order to grant PES

Procedure ends here.

If the PP job seeker has mutual obligation requirements, different processes apply for the type of study they are undertaking, go to Step 2.

PP job seekers with mutual obligation requirements are not required to claim for a student payment when they commence study and can have study approved as a requirement to fully satisfy their requirements.

PP job seekers undertaking qualifying study for PP should be taken as meeting all mutual obligation requirements and the course must be assessed as a compulsory requirement.

PP job seekers, as principal carers, can fully satisfy their mutual obligation requirements through approved study of at least 15 hours per week, or 30 hours per fortnight. There is no minimum number of contact (classroom or otherwise directed) hours.

The study can be approved whether the institution regards the course as full-time or part-time. The study can also be approved regardless of the duration of the course. In other words, PP job seekers with mutual obligation requirements are not subject to short course approval rules, so undertaking full-time study does not affect their qualification for payment.

• If the course is longer than 12 months, only Services Australia approves the study and updates the job seeker's record. When the SS362 form has been received, and the course approved code activity type, 'Parenting - Fully Approved Study (PFT)', on the Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen. Ideally, if the PP job seeker is provider managed, the provider should be involved in discussing with the job seeker any intention to study full-time
• If the course is less than 12 months, either Services Australia or the provider can approve the short course.
  If approved by the provider, notification that the job seeker is undertaking a short course will be sent to Services Australia automatically. Services Australia will receive this short course information from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and automatically update the AEX screen with the short course approved activity code 'SHD' (Short Course), with the start and end dates

For Services Australia to approve a course, issue the Request for course approval (SS362) form to the job seeker for completion. See the Resources page for a link to the form.

In Customer First:

• Use Mail Forms guided procedure in Workspace
• Select Search Forms/Claims
• Enter SS362 for Form Number/Name
• Select Search
• Form will appear under Available Forms/Claims
• Use down arrow to move form into Selected Forms table
• Select Finish

Upon return of the SS362, go to Step 3.

Ensure the form is completed by the:

• training institution, or
• organisation conducting the training

Does the course meet the guidelines as a suitable course that Services Australia can approve?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 7

Suitably skilled Service Officers are to record the approved study in Process Direct, by coding activity type 'Parenting - Fully Approved Study' (PFT), on the Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen.

Study should be approved and coded for only 12 months at a time where the course will be longer than 12 months.

Breaks in study

PP job seekers undertaking approved study to meet mutual obligation requirements are expected to undertake job search and other activities if they have a break from their study that is longer than three weeks.

This requirement should be taken into consideration when deciding on the requirement start and end dates coded on the AEX screen.

If the PP job seeker is waiting to commence a course of study, they are still required to look for work. In these cases, the job seeker should search for suitable employment that does not preclude them from undertaking their course of study. The PP recipient would be required to seek temporary, part-time or casual work, even if only for a short period.

Complete the activity via the Entitlement (ELD) screen.

• Record decision on a DOC
• Issue Q133 letter (advising of approval to undertake course) and send to job seeker

Smart Centre Service Officers who are suitably skilled may approve study as an approved requirement for PP with the job seeker over the phone.

If unsuitably trained:

• check Office Locator and determine whether it is appropriate to refer the job seeker as a walk-in or book a scheduled appointment. The service centre may have information under 'Office Notes' or 'Walk-in Hours' headings as to how different contacts should be handled
• where appropriate, refer the job seeker to their local service centre by booking the first suitable 'Compulsory Participation' appointment available
• once the appointment is booked, advise the job seeker of the time, date and purpose of the upcoming appointment, and
• advise the job seeker that they must ensure they notify the agency if their contact number changes so we can contact them

Record a DOC confirming the advice given, and any other relevant information disclosed by the job seeker.

Go to Step 5.

Suitably skilled Service Officers should update the job seeker's record as follows.

Job Plan

When the AEX screen has been updated, a Job Plan needs to be negotiated for Centrelink managed job seekers.

Note: staff must not negotiate a Job Plan for job seekers placed in Post Placement Support. See the job seeker's current Placement Type on the Provider referral information table within the Participation Summary workflow. For those in DES Post Placement Support, the DES provider will update the job seeker's Job Plan. Procedure ends here.

In Process Direct:

• Select >Participation Summary > Job Plan > Negotiate Job Plan
• Reiterate the job seekers requirements under their mutual obligation requirements and the consequences of non-compliance with those requirements
• The approved activity will auto-populate from the coding on the AEX screen
• If required, print the updated Job Plan, have the job seeker sign the plan, and issue the job seeker with a copy of the Job Plan
• Explain the job seeker's rights and obligations including:
• the right to request a variation or negotiation of the plan at any time
• the right of review and appeal
• the obligation to notify the agency of changes in their circumstances and to comply with the terms of their Job Plan
• Answer any queries the job seeker may have

Education Entry Payment

Where the job seeker is also eligible for Education Entry Payment (EdEP), manually assess and code the amount via the One Off Payment (OOP) screen.

Smart Centre Service Officers who are suitably skilled may update the job seeker's record over the phone.

If unsuitably trained:

• Book the first suitable 'Compulsory Participation Interview' available at the job seeker's local service centre. Advise the job seeker of the time, date and purpose of the upcoming appointment. Record a DOC confirming advice given, and any other relevant information disclosed by the job seeker. If the job seeker cannot accept a call from the service centre (for example, they have inbound calling restrictions on their telephone service), Service Officers should check Office Locator to determine whether a walk-in is required rather than a booked appointment. Procedure ends here

Job seekers who remain provider managed (for example, for short course approval) should advise their Employment Services Provider/Community Development Program (CDP) if their participation in an approved requirement ceases prior to the agreed duration.

Where a job seeker fails to attend, or satisfactorily participate on scheduled days, their provider is responsible for managing their compliance with compulsory requirements.

Procedure ends here.

Record the decision on a DOC and send the job seeker a letter advising them of the rejection and their review and appeal rights.

Make at least 2 genuine attempts to contact the job seeker to advise the unfavourable decision.

If the PP job seeker is participating in study for less than 15 hours per week, or 30 hours per fortnight, or study which is not suitable and cannot be approved, the principal carer must participate in another requirement. This could be a combination of paid work and study, or self-employment and study. If no other requirement can be approved to fully meet the job seeker's requirements, they will have job search requirements, despite their hours of study.