Eligibility and rate impacts for JobSeeker Payment (JSP) 001-19051556

To qualify for JSP the customer must:

• 22 years and over, and under 67 years of age (Age Pension age)
• meet Australian residence requirements for JSP
• not be in receipt of any other social security benefit, social security pension or a Service Pension, Income Support Payment (ISP) or Veteran Payment
• not be receiving ABSTUDY Living Allowance
• be unemployed, or:
• unable to look for work due to a medical condition, illness or injury, or
• employed or studying full time and are unable to undertake these due to a medical condition, illness or injury and have a job or study to return to
• be prepared to negotiate and agree to a Job Plan if required, comply with or renegotiate an existing Job Plan
• satisfy the requirements of a Job Plan

For further details eligibility criteria, see the Process page.

A person who is regarded as the principal carer of a dependent child may qualify for additional entitlements or reduced mutual obligation requirements in respect of their JSP.

Only one member of a couple can be regarded as a principal carer of a dependent child. If care of a child is shared with another person (other than the customer's partner) a determination needs to be made as to who is the principal carer.

A child can be a dependent child of more than one person, but only one person can be the principal carer for a child. This determination may affect the person's rate of payment as well as their mutual obligation requirements.

A non-principal carer parent may access the JSP 'single with child' rate if they have shared care of 14% or more of a dependent child.

Generally full-time students are not considered to be job seekers and do not qualify for JSP as they are not unemployed.

In most circumstances when a customer is studying full-time, they should test their eligibility for a student payment.

To qualify for JSP, they should give up their studies or reduce their study-load to part-time, and willing to accept work if it is offered.

In some circumstances a customer studying full-time can qualify for JSP where they:

• have transferred to the payment from Disability Support Pension (DSP) or Parenting Payment (PP) as a single person and:
• were receiving Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) at the time, and
• are continuing in the same course for which they were receiving PES
• are single principal carers receiving JSP and granted PES

JSP customers are subject to normal mutual obligation requirements.

In some circumstances, a customer studying full-time can satisfy mutual obligation requirements when the study is treated as an approved activity. See Part-time or full-time study as an approved activity for JSP.

If a customer is assessed as having a partial capacity to work they may qualify for additional entitlements and/or reduced mutual obligation requirements.

Single customers with a PCW assessment of 0 -14 hours per week will be eligible for the higher rate of JSP, if they are not already in receipt of a higher rate for another reason.

The higher rate will only apply when both the customers baseline work capacity and work capacity with intervention (as assessed in an ESAt or JCA) are less than 15 hours per week.

Bandwidths include:

• 0-7 hours per week
• 8-14 hours per week

Customers receiving the higher rate for the reason of PCW, will have Single Over 22 PCW 0-14hrs pw on the NREX screen.

Note: Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC) does not meet the criteria for the higher rate.

See Resources for Frequently Asked Questions.

If the customer is a professional or amateur sports person, they will need to meet the eligibility criteria including mutual obligation requirements for JSP

To meet their mutual obligation requirements, they need to show:

• they are actively seeking suitable paid work
• their commitment to finding work, or undertaking study/training or other tasks or activities is not affected by training, practice, or competition, and
• financial or sponsorship arrangements are not considered a form of employment

Income received by sports persons is assessed under the income test.