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

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

If the PPS 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 PPS and would like to apply for PES, the agency would need to approve the course in order to grant PES
• Procedure ends here
• has mutual obligation requirements, different processes apply for the type of study they are undertaking, go to Step 2

PPS 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.

PPS job seekers 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, PPS 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. If approved, the Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen will need to be manually coded. Ideally, if the PPS 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, staff must advise the customer to provide proof of enrolment (POE).

Where POE has not already been supplied:

• In Process Direct select > Request Documents - select Evidence of study - enrolment
• Procedure ends here until POE is provided

Upon return of the POE, go to Step 3.

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

• Assess and record the approved study on the AEX screen, and
• Update the customer's Job Plan for Centrelink managed job seekers

If the PPS job seeker is waiting to commence a course of study, they are still required to look for work. In these cases, the job seeker is still required to search for and accept suitable employment that does not preclude them from undertaking their course of study.

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.

For a full-time short course, record course details on the Short Course Details screen. See Process > Table 1 > Step 6 in Part-time or full-time study as an approved activity for JobSeeker Payment (JSP). Then go to Step 5.

For qualifying study that is more than 12 months:

• In Process Direct code the approved study on the AEX screen:
• Activity - 'Parenting - Fully Approved Study' (PFT)
• Update the start and end dates of study
• Complete the activity
• Record decision on a DOC
• Issue Q133 letter (advising of approval to undertake course) and send to job seeker
• Go to Step 5

When the AEX screen has been updated, the PPS job seeker is assessed as Centrelink managed and a Job Plan needs to be negotiated by Services Australia.

Note: staff must not negotiate a Job Plan for Disability Employment Services (DES) 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.

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.

If the PPS 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. Advise the PPS job seeker to discuss their studies with their provider.

Record the decision on a DOC and advise the job seeker 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.