Social worker assessment for VWPR Notice 103-01180020

This procedure is not relevant for customers who are automatically identified under the VWPR Youth IM enhanced IM measure.

Customers may be assessed for enhanced IM under the VWPR measure by a Services Australia social worker. The social worker will consider the customer's individual circumstances and whether the customer is vulnerable and/or at-risk and would benefit from income management.

Income Management is an additional tool for social workers to use when working with vulnerable or at-risk customers.

A customer is to be income managed under the VWPR Notice measure if they meet the following conditions:

• A Services Australia social worker has determined that the customer is a Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient
• The customer's usual place of residence is within a VWPR enhanced IM location
• The customer is in receipt of an eligible welfare payment
• The customer is not already subject to an enhanced IM measure which is above the VWPR measure in the hierarchy of measures
• The customer does not have an excluded payment nominee. Note: the social worker may choose to cancel the nominee arrangement at the time they declare the customer as a Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient if it is shown that the arrangement is not in the customer's best interests

To determine if a customer is a Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient for enhanced IM, the social worker must consider whether:

• the customer is experiencing an indicator of vulnerability
• the customer is meeting the essential needs of their partner, children or other dependents
• enhanced IM is an appropriate support for the person to meet their responsibilities, build and maintain self-care and manage their money

Customers may be considered experiencing vulnerability due to one of the following indicators:

• financial exploitation
• financial hardship
• failure to undertake reasonable self-care
• homelessness