Mutual obligation requirements for principal carers 102-17010000

All job seekers with mutual obligation requirements must enter into a Job Plan with either Services Australia or an Employment Services Provider (if provider managed).

Once the job seeker has been advised that they are required to enter into a Job Plan they must:

• enter into a Job Plan at the first available opportunity
• take reasonable steps to comply with the terms of the Job Plan while it is in force
• be prepared to enter into another Job Plan instead of the existing one if required

Note: a temporary exemption from mutual obligation requirements may be appropriate, depending on the job seeker's circumstances. Some exemptions apply only to principal carers.

Job seekers who live in a designated remote area are referred to a Community Development Program (CDP) provider. These job seekers are required to complete a Job Plan with their Remote Jobs and Communities Programme (RJCP) Provider.

Note: RJCP has been renamed to Community Development Program (CDP). The system references to RJCP will be retained until the system changes are implemented.

Activities included in a Job Plan should be negotiated between the job seeker and Services Australia or the Employment Services Provider, see Negotiating Job Plans.

A Centrelink managed job seeker should negotiate a Job Plan with Services Australia, and providers will negotiate the Job Plan for a Provider managed job seeker.

The activities included in the Job Plan must be reasonable, measurable and achievable by the job seeker.

Mutual obligation requirements must not place at risk either the welfare of the job seeker's children or the job seeker's own health or well-being.

In the majority of instances, Service Officers will be negotiating Job Plans for Centrelink managed job seekers. For principal carers, this will primarily be for job seekers who can fully meet their mutual obligation requirements by participating in paid work, self-employment, study or a combination of these activities (principal carers under 55 years of age can be fully meeting their requirements through voluntary work once approved by their provider).

If a principal carer is no longer able to fully meet their requirements, they should be immediately registered and referred to an Employment Services Provider.

In general terms, the following issues should be considered when negotiating a Job Plan:

• the job seeker's individual circumstances, in particular their assessed work capacity (where relevant), their capacity to comply with the requirements and their personal needs
• the job seeker's education, experience, skills and age
• the impact of any disability, illness, mental condition or physical condition of the person on the person's ability to work, to look for work or to participate in activities
• the state of the local labour market and the transport options available to the person in accessing that market
• the participation opportunities available to the person
• the family and caring responsibilities of the person (including availability of child care)
• the length of travel time required to comply with the requirements (90 minutes each way or 60 minutes if the job seeker is a principal carer parent or has a partial capacity to work (PCW))
• the financial costs (such as travel costs) of complying with the requirements, and the person's capacity to pay for such costs
• any other matters that the Provider considers relevant in the circumstances (including if they disclose that they are a victim of family and domestic violence)
• if the job seeker has any vulnerabilities or vulnerability indicators (as identified by Services Australia) such as homelessness, psychiatric problems or mental illness, severe drug or alcohol dependency, traumatic relationship breakdown, etc
• any history of the job seeker not complying with their mutual obligation requirements

If the job seeker is required to enter into a Job Plan and fails to do so, either by refusing to negotiate one or by unreasonably delaying its negotiation, the job seeker is no longer qualified for payment. Cancel or reject the payment using Failed to agree to Job Plan (FJP). See Cancellation, suspension and rejection reason codes for Newstart System (NSS).

A Job Plan commences from the date it is agreed by the job seeker. The plan remains current until the end date of all compulsory activities included in the plan are reached, or the job seeker negotiates a new Job Plan.

The job seeker can request a review of their Job Plan at any time by either Services Australia or their provider (if they are provider managed).

Activities that occur outside of school hours may be included in a Job Plan, but only with the consent of the job seeker.

Parents must not be required to undertake activities that might interfere with their capacity to supervise and care for their children, unless they, themselves, wish the activity to be included in the Job Plan.

The following principal carers are subject to part-time mutual obligation requirements:

• Parenting Payment Single (PPS) job seekers from the date their youngest dependent child turns 6 years. Note: single job seekers cease to qualify for PP once their youngest child turns 14 years of age; Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) customers cease to qualify for PP once their youngest child turns 6 years of age; so they are not subject to compulsory mutual obligation requirements
• Principal carers receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker or Special Benefit (SpB), regardless of the age of their youngest child. However, principal carers in receipt of SpB who have a youngest dependent child under 6 years can be granted an exemption from their mutual obligation requirement. Service Officers should advise job seekers about possible entitlement to PP if their youngest child is under 6 for partnered principal carer, under 14 if single

A temporary exemption may be appropriate, depending on the job seeker's circumstances.

Specific exemptions may apply to principal carers due to special family circumstances.

PP job seekers not subject to mutual obligation requirements may volunteer to participate. They may volunteer to be referred to an Employment Services Provider and enter into a Job Plan. See Eligibility to access employment assistance services through Workforce Australia for referrals.

To code a temporary exemption:

• Type AEX in the Super Key field, select Enter
• The Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) will display
• Select Add
• Create Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) will display
• Complete the Activity Type, Start date and End date, select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields, select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings
• Finalise the transaction by selecting Assess again, then select Finish. Record details of the update on the Finalise screen
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction

Principal carers who are meeting their mutual obligation requirements in full through the activities listed below are not required to be connected with an Employment Services Provider but may choose to volunteer for services. The activities are:

• sufficient work, including self-employment
• approved study
• or a combination of these activities

Principal carers should be informed of available services and offered the opportunity to volunteer if they wish.

For further information see Part-time or full-time study as an approved activity for JobSeeker Payment (JSP). If a JSP single principal carer contacts Services Australia regarding undertaking study, advise:

• they can apply for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• if approved, the PES approval letter/ documentation should be provided to the Employment Services Provider

If the study is approved as a short course by the provider to fully meet the mutual obligation requirements (that is the course is 30 hours or more per fortnight), Services Australia will receive the study approval information via automatic update and the job seeker's Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen will display:

• the course approved activity code of SHD (Short Course)
• the start and end date

The job seeker will be suspended or exited from employment services and becomes Centrelink managed.

Services Australia will:

• negotiate a new Job Plan
• remove all provider activities other than the study

If the course is less than 30 hours per fortnight, the job seeker will

• remain connected to the provider
• continue to be treated as a job seeker
• be required to undertake other approved activities, including job search

If the job seeker wishes to volunteer to be connected with an Employment Services Provider they should be registered as a Fully Eligible Participant (FEP)/Remote Fully Eligible (RFE) and referred to a provider.

• Advise the job seeker to provide relevant evidence of the activity at the income support finalisation interview
• At the income support finalisation interview, ensure the relevant evidence is provided. The Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen must be coded to record any approved activity the job seeker is undertaking (for example, 'PTW' where working at least 15 hours per week, or 'PFT' where Parenting job seeker is doing approved study). If the job seeker is Centrelink managed, then negotiate the Job Plan. The AEX screen must have an end date of no longer than 12 months duration

Workaround is required when conducting compulsory participation service update interviews.

Note: do not run the Job seeker registration workflow in Process Direct for the Service Update as these job seekers are not required to be connected with an Employment Services Provider, unless the job seeker volunteers to be connected.

Ensure relevant evidence is requested and provided and the appropriate approved activity is recorded on the AEX screen.

For Centrelink managed job seekers, go to the AEX screen and record the agreed activity as the compulsory activity. The end date must be no longer than twelve months in duration. The relevant approved activity, start and end date match the end date recorded on the AEX screen will display in the sentence text of all Job Plans negotiated on or after 1 July 2024.

When coding the service component Service Action 231, Run Looking for Work should be recorded with the result of 'No Action Taken' (NAT).

Principal carer job seekers, who are engaged in self-employment, will be able to satisfy their mutual obligation requirements if they are working in the business for at least 30 hours per fortnight and their net business income is equivalent to at least 30 hours per fortnight at the national minimum wage.

The situation may arise where the job seeker has a viable and ongoing business; however it is operating at a loss or below the national minimum wage due to significant tax deductions. In these circumstances, the income must be assessed as not meeting the job seeker's mutual obligation requirements of 30 hours per fortnight, when calculated against the national minimum wage. The job seeker has not met their mutual obligation requirements and they cannot fully meet their mutual obligation requirements. They must be referred to an Employment Services Provider who is responsible for determining appropriate activities to include in a Job Plan. This would normally be job search.

Any gross income and allowable deductions that relate to the business must be taken into account when assessing business income. The processes surrounding the treatment of self-employment have not changed and should not be altered for the purposes of mutual obligation requirements. See:

• Self-employment as an approved activity to satisfy mutual obligation requirements, and
• Assessing sole trader income

When job seekers with mutual obligation requirements fit into more than 1 of the following categories:

• job seekers mature age (55 years and over)
• job seekers with a partial capacity to work
• job seekers with a temporary reduced work capacity
• principal carers

The system will place the job seeker into the most beneficial participation category, depending on their circumstances.

Principal carers who are fully meeting their mutual obligation requirements through part-time work, self-employment or approved study do not have to be referred to an Employment Services Provider but can volunteer to participate. Volunteers must be registered as a Fully Eligible Participant (FEP) and be referred to an Employment Services Provider. Additional activities may be included in the Job Plan, but these must be voluntary.

The Annual Activity Requirement is the set number of hours a job seeker must complete in approved activities when in the Work for the Dole Phase.

Employment Services Providers must determine the activities the job seeker must undertake to meet their Annual Activity Requirement and record these in the job seeker's Job Plan, including the relevant hours of participation the job seeker must undertake each fortnight.

Principal carers are not required to meet the Annual Activity Requirement if they are fully meeting their mutual obligation requirements through 30 hours per fortnight of paid work (including self-employment), approved study or a combination of both.

See Applying mutual obligation requirements.

A principal carer is considered to be meeting part-time requirements if they undertake one of the following:

• Paid work for at least 15 hours per week (30 hours per fortnight) at the national minimum wage. This includes self-employment using net income after expenses
• Approved study of 15 hours per week, or 30 hours per fortnight, inclusive of contact and/or non-contact hours
• A combination of study and paid work of at least 15 hours per week, or 30 hours per fortnight
• A combination of study and paid work of at least 70 hours per fortnight (any job seeker/provider approved only). Once this activity ends, the job seeker will be referred back to employment services for a review
• A combination of study and self-employment of at least 15 hours per week, or 30 hours per fortnight
• Small Business Training (as part of Self-Employment Assistance) on a part-time basis of 15 hours per week
• Aged 55 or older and undertaking 30 hours voluntary work or a combination of voluntary and paid work, including self-employment, which equals at least 30 hours per fortnight (Service Australia and provider approved)
• Aged 55-59 years in the first 12 months of their current payment, satisfying the mutual obligation requirements by doing approved voluntary and paid work, with a minimum of 15 hours per fortnight of paid work or self-employment
• Under 55 years of age and undertaking at least 30 hours per fortnight of a standalone or a combination voluntary work activity approved by the provider and was suspended or exited from employment services for fully meeting their mutual obligation requirements. These job seekers become Centrelink managed. Once this activity ends, the job seeker will be referred back to employment services for a review

Note: income provided by a partner to a member of a couple who is in receipt of a social security payment, does not meet the definition of income under section 8(8) of the Social Security Act (1991). For example, a principal carer being paid by their current partner to provide child care to just their own children would not be regarded as meeting requirements. However, a principal carer who engages in a viable family day care business and cares for other children in addition to their own, may have this activity assessed for meeting mutual obligation requirements.

See Applying mutual obligation requirements.

If a principal carer is meeting their mutual obligation requirements by working 30 hours a fortnight or more and the hours fall below 30 hours in the fortnight:

• If the reduction is temporary and unforeseen, there is no impact
• If the reduction is likely to continue, they are to be immediately referred to a provider if they are not active with a provider. If they are Centrelink managed, their Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen activity should be end dated
• There are special provisions if the reduction occurs over the Christmas and New Year school holiday period or during the Christmas Day public holiday fortnight. See Mutual obligation requirements for principal carers of dependent children over the Christmas/New year period
• When a job seeker reports online that they have worked less than 30 hours in the fortnight (or 30 hours at less than the minimum wage) they are asked to provide a reason
• Payment is processed and a DOC created noting the reduced hours for the fortnight
• If the job seeker fails to work the required number of hours the next fortnight, a message displays stating that reporting has failed and a handoff is activated

Job seekers cannot select the same reason for 2 reports in a row or for any 2 reports in a 4 report cycle.

If a job seeker lodges a medical certificate, they may be eligible for an exemption due to being temporarily incapacitated for work.

For further information, see Assessing and coding medical evidence for temporary incapacity exemptions.

• If a break or holiday of less than 4 weeks that is outside the control of the job seeker occurs, there is no need to adjust the job seeker's requirements
• If a break is greater than 4 weeks, they are required to undertake other approved activities. This requirement should be included in the Job Plan by either Services Australia or the provider (if they are provider managed)

See Applying mutual obligation requirements.

Note: there are no exemptions for school holiday periods other than the special provisions if the break occurs over the Christmas and New Year school holiday period or during the Christmas Day public holiday fortnight. See Mutual obligation requirements for principal carers of dependent children over the Christmas/New year period.

Unless otherwise requested or agreed by the job seeker, mutual obligation requirements including Employment Services Provider interviews should be scheduled to occur during school hours, generally between 9 am and 3 pm, and during school terms.

Where a job offer would involve employment outside school hours or on school holidays, a job is generally considered suitable work if the job seeker can access appropriate care and supervision for their child during the hours of work, including the time it would take the parent to travel to and from work.

Appropriate care and supervision means:

• child care provided by an approved child care service
• any other care or supervision arrangements that the parent deems suitable
• the child is attending school

The Starting Blocks can be used to advise job seekers of the availability in their local area, but not to advise the actual number of vacancies or to guarantee that a place is available.

Discuss Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS). If they want to claim, see Claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS).

Depending on answers provided in the online claim or Assisted Customer Claim, customers may be given the opportunity to apply for ACCS (transition to work) within the claim.

• Type AEX in the Super Key field, select Enter
• The Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) will display

To create a new activity on the AEX screen go to Step 2.

To end date an existing activity on the AEX screen go to Step 3.

AEX screen is already coded, and the Centrelink Job Plan requires negotiation, go to Table 5, Step 1.

• Select Add
• The Add Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen will display
• Complete the Activity Type, Start date and End date, select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields, select Save
• Go to Step 4

• Type AEX in the Super Key field, select Enter
• Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) will display
• Select Edit next to the activity that needs to be end dated
• Change Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen will display
• Use the calendar to select a new End date, select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields, select Save
• Go to Step 4

• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Finalise the transaction by selecting Assess again, then select Finish
• Record details of the update on the Finalise screen
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction

For job seekers who:

• submit an online claim or a Service Officer has completed the Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) workflow:
• once in the claim, select > Participation Interview > Job Plan (tab) and Negotiate Job Plan or View Plan
• are currently receiving a payment:
• select Customer Summary from the Process Direct landing page
• enter the customer’s CRN, select Go
• in the customer’s record select > Participation Summary > Job Plan (tab) and Negotiate Job Plan or View Plan