Transfer to JobSeeker Payment (JSP) from another payment 001-19051505

A claim must be lodged for JSP, except where a customer loses eligibility for Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker) due to age and is transferring to JSP.

The customer will need to: contact Services Australia and complete an online claim. Note: a correspondence nominee (NOC/NOB) can submit a JSP online claim on behalf of their principal

If the customer cannot lodge an online claim, the Service Officer will need to:

• run the Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) workflow
• obtain identity confirmation documents as required

Customers with no major changes who are transferring from another payment will have fewer questions in their online claim.

Customers with working credits or a Student Income Bank (SIB) in the last 12 months may be eligible to transfer or restore their balance.

Customers currently in receipt of the following payments may be eligible to use the JSP Streamlined claim.

• Austudy (AUS)
• Youth Allowance (YA) (student only)
• Parenting Payment Single (before their youngest child turns 14)
• Parenting Payment Partnered (before their youngest child turns 6)

Straight through processing is where a claim for a social security payment or service is assessed using criteria to identify if it is suitable for an automated grant outcome.

The system may process some student to job seeker transfers automatically if they meet these criteria:

• Identity is confirmed
• Residency requirements met
• Tax file number recorded
• Employment status requirements met
• No change in known relationship details
• No change in known children details
• Youngest child has turned:
• 14 years old (PPS only), or
• 6 years old (PPP only)
• Not in receipt of PES (PPS only)
• Parental income requirements met
• Independence requirements met
• Homeowners on less than 2 hectares, or paying government rent
• No documentation is lodged with the transfer
• Transfer activity results in a grant outcome

Where claims meet the criteria for automated assessment, DOCs or Display Notes relating to the claim will show that ROXY has created these.

Customer contact

If a customer asks for an explanation or applies for a formal review of the decision, the Service Officer must enter their own logon as the Decision Maker and customer's local service centre when running the script.

If the claim was incorrectly granted, give feedback via ROXY.

Customers receiving a bereavement payment for a deceased child or care receiver will not have payments cancelled until the 14 week bereavement period has ceased.

Pre-filled Single Touch Payroll (STP) data may present to customers during their online claim. Employer details, name and ABN, will present to the customer if STP data is provided to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) within 8 weeks prior to claim.

Customers will have the option to confirm the employer within the claim. If a customer confirms the employer, once on payment, STP pre-filled income will present to the customer when they report. If the customer does not confirm the employer, once on payment, the STP employer may present to the customer again when they report.

Previous employment

If a customer left work or was terminated from a job in the last 12 months, check whether:

• they declared earnings and/or ceasing work
• an income maintenance period (IMP) should apply, for example where their previous income support payment was not IMP affected

If they did not advise earnings or ceasing work, an Employment Separation Certificate (SU1) must be requested to assess the reason for leaving work and if an IMP should apply.

STP cessation data, including termination payments, are not available for customers completing a new claim or transfer online.

If they became unemployed due to a voluntary act or misconduct, a compliance investigation may be required before granting payment.

If a claim for JSP is lodged:

• within 14 days of their benefit or pension ceasing, the transfer date will also be the start date for JSP
• more than 14 days after the cessation date, the start date is the date they lodged the claim

This period may be extended if the customer, a person they care for, or their partner is suffering from an illness or incapacity that prevents them from lodging a claim within 14 days of their transfer date. The JSP start date may be the transfer date if the claim is received within 13 weeks of the transfer date or as soon as the illness or incapacity ceases.

Youth Allowance (YA) job seekers who turn 22 years of age will automatically transfer to JSP from the date they turn 22 if their YA payments are current.

If a YA job seeker with a partial capacity to work was studying full-time when they turned 22, they would be able to continue their study full-time on JSP for the remaining period of that course.

Customers may transfer to JSP if their Disability Support Pension (DSP) is suspended due to the starting work.

They may no longer have a continuing inability to work, or a partial capacity to work. These customers may be deemed to be unemployed and thus an eligible job seeker if:

• the work is suitable work (taking into account their capacity to work), as determined by an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt)
• they work less than 70 hours per fortnight, and
• they earn less than the allowance income test

A streamlined claim is offered to some customers when they are losing qualification for their previous payment.

Eligible customers will be offered a 'task' on the home page of their online account, allowing them to advise that they wish to claim JSP. The task is variable according to the payment type. It is available from up to 28 days before qualification for their current payment ends, up until the date they lose qualification.

All streamlined claims can be processed while the customer is still in receipt of their current payment and before the customer's booked Student to Jobseeker or Participation Appointment. The customer's benefit status will display as JSP/PND RapidConnect.

Customers on the following payments may be eligible to access this service:

• Austudy (Student) - 'Confirm course end date' task
• Youth Allowance (Student) - 'Confirm course end date' task
• Parenting Payment - 'Your payment is ending' task

Eligibility criteria to access this service include:

• current or Current Zero Rate (CZR) on 1 of the above payments
• meets JSP age eligibility requirements on the date they will lose qualification for the current payment
• does not have a JSP claim commenced/submitted, and
• can access their Centrelink online account

Customers transferring from a student payment must:

• be within 28 days before their recorded Student End Date (SED)
• not have an outstanding study details Manual Follow Up (MFU) activity on their record

Customers transferring from Parenting Payment must:

• be within 28 days before their youngest Parenting Payment (PP) child's birthdate, where the child is turning:
• 6 years for Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP), or
• 14 years for Parenting Payment Single (PPS)
• not be in a bereavement period for a child

Appointments

The customer will book a participation appointment, through the streamlined claim task, as required. The appointment types are:

• Student to Job seeker Transfer (SJT) for customers transferring from a student payment
• Participation Transfer Appointment - PTT for customers transferring from PP

Note: the appointment must be booked using the online task. It cannot be booked by Service Officers. Appointment times will only be available to be booked after their current payment ends. The Participation Interview workflow cannot be conducted while the customer is receiving Parenting Payment.

Parenting Payment 'Your payment is ending' task requires:

• PPP customers claiming JSP to:
• book a Participation Interview phone appointment from their child's birth date + 1, and
• submit the simplified JSP claim
• PPS customers claiming JSP to:
• book a Participation Interview phone appointment from their child's birth date + 1, and
• submit the simplified JSP claim

PP customers who do not meet JSP age eligibility requirements on their youngest child's birthdate are still presented with the task, however they will be directed to the Payment and Service Finder to assist them in identifying the most appropriate payment for their circumstances.

When there is a transfer to JSP without a break from another payment, the same fortnight end-date is maintained but the day they receive payment may change.

Job seeker's subject to RapidConnect have 14 days from the date they are advised of their RapidConnect requirements at the Participation Interview to attend the appointment with their Employment Services Provider. The day of the Participation Interview is counted as Day Zero, with Day One being the following day.

In most cases, attendance at the first provider appointment is used to determine the start date of the job seeker's income support payment, subject to any waiting periods and qualification requirements being met.

There are a number of factors that may impact the RapidConnect payability start date, refer to Start Day for further information. The RapidConnect payability start date is displayed on the Job Seeker RapidConnect (JMRC) page.

If after 29 days the job seeker has not attended their initial appointment the claim will be automatically rejected.

Customers getting PES while receiving Parenting Payment Single (PPS) or Disability Support Pension (DSP) retain qualification to PES for the duration of their current course.

JSP (single principal carer) qualifies as a PES attracting income support payment. This means that those PPS or DSP customers who transfer to JSP (single principal carer) can continue to qualify for PES at any time. See Initial contact with students claiming PES and ABSTUDY PES.

PES, ABSTUDY PES and AIC PES payments are cancelled temporarily for customers transferring from a qualifying payment to Jobseeker Payment. A manual cancellation is needed due to a system limitation and is followed by a restoration, once the YA or JSP claim has been finalised. See, Cancellation of, or changes to qualifying payment for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), ABSTUDY PES or Assistance for Isolated Children PES.

Single customers with a dependent child in their care are entitled to the 'with child' rate of benefit for non-principal carers with shared care.

Single JSP customers who have been assessed as a principal carer are entitled to the 'with child' rate of JSP as well as assessment under a separate JSP single principal carer allowance income test.

Customers may be entitled to the 'higher rate' of JSP for single principal carers if they have one of the following exemptions from mutual obligation requirements:

• a registered and active foster carer
• providing home schooling for their children
• facilitating distance education for their children
• caring for a large family (where the customer is the principal carer of at least one child under 16 years of age and a total of 4 or more dependent children and secondary pupil children from 16 to 19 years of age)
• caring for a child when the customer is a relative (other than a parent), as directed by a Parenting Order made through the Family Court