Negotiating Job Plans for refugee appointments at 12 weeks, and conducting circumstance reviews at 12 months 005-18101149

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Description

If a BTSR customer has been voluntarily referred to Workforce Australia provider, can they be exited by the provider?

Workforce Australia providers can exit refugee customers who are eligible for the BTSR measure if requested by the customer.

If a BTSR customer has Refugee Activities (RAC) on the AEX screen, does this override the job search or can the WFA provider still book appointments for these refugee customers?

• RAC is not an exemption, it is an Approved Activity
• Refugee customers who are eligible for BTSR measure are not exempt from mutual obligation requirements. These customers are Centrelink managed for the first 12 months from their arrival in Australia. They meet their mutual obligation requirements by being Centrelink Managed and having a Centrelink Managed Job Plan and the RAC activity recorded on the AEX screen. These customers are not required to be referred to a Workforce Australia provider until 12 months after their arrival in Australia
• RAC is in place of the job search activity. When RAC is recorded on the AEX screen, then job search should automatically appear on the AEX page with a commencement date of the day after the RAC end date
• If the BTSR customer has chosen to be referred to a provider while they are eligible for BTSR (before they have been in Australia for 12 months), then they have a special 'non-compellable' status in the DEWR system. This prevents the provider from creating a Provider Managed Job Plan and raising compliance actions against the refugee customer. The provider is able to book appointments for the customer

Do Service Officers need to manually code an exemption on AEX screen to exempt refugee customers who are eligible for BTSR?

• No, refugee customers who are eligible for the BTSR measure are not exempt from mutual obligation requirements. Unless the customer is eligible for an exemption, manually coding an exemption is not appropriate
• Refugee customers who are eligible for BTSR do not need to be referred to a Workforce Australia provider until 12 months after their arrival in Australia. They meet their MORs by:
• being Centrelink Managed
• having a Centrelink Managed Job Plan
• having a RAC Activity recorded on the AEX screen

Is Workforce Australia able to see that the refugee customers are voluntary, Centrelink Managed, and have Refugee Activities (RAC)?

Providers are able to view this information.

However, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) advised that this information may not display on the customers 'Main Page'. Providers have to go to a secondary page to view the information, therefore it can be missed.

If a BTSR customer chooses to be referred to a Workforce Australia provider, do they still need a Centrelink Managed Job Plan to be negotiated?

• Yes, if a BTSR customer chooses to volunteer with a Workforce Australia provider, they:
• remain Centrelink Managed
• require a Centrelink Managed Job Plan to be created until 12 months after their date of arrival in Australia
• Make sure that the Centrelink Managed Job Plan is created before the referral to the Workforce Australia provider is made

BTSR customers need an ESAt before they can be referred to a Workforce Australia provider?

Refugee customers only need an ESAt if they have an illness, injury or disability that may affect the type or number of hours they can work. If a new assessment of the refugee customer's work capacity is not required, they can be referred to Workforce Australia without first having to do an ESAt.

Note: the Job Seeker Snapshot will automatically flag that an ESAt may be required for all refugees. Staff must remove the ESAt flag if the customer does not have an illness, injury or disability.

Do BTSR customers need an ESAt before they can be referred to a Workforce Australia provider?

Refugee customers only need an ESAt if they have an illness, injury or disability that may affect the type or number of hours they can work. If a new assessment of the refugee customer's work capacity is not required, they can be referred to Workforce Australia without first having to do an ESAt.

Note: the Job Seeker Snapshot will automatically flag that an ESAt may be required for all refugees. Staff must remove the ESAt flag if the customer does not have an illness, injury or disability.