Eligibility criteria for participation with Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) 008-04030020

The Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) provider is responsible for monitoring the customer’s compliance with their Job Plan.

The IEA provider manages the customer’s Job Plan. They add IEA activities to the Job Plan at the initial interview or when the job seeker commences IEA. The IEA provider can add or change activities as they service the customer, tailoring to the customer’s requirements.

Services Australia can:

• view IEA activities on a Job Plan
• not add or remove an activity

Once the job seeker is placed (commenced) in IEA, the placement date is automatically updated on the Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen with an activity type of DS6.

Participation in IEA is an approved activity, which means the job seeker will satisfy their mutual obligation requirements for:

• JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Youth Allowance (YA)
• Parenting Payment (PP), or

IEA is one of the approved work focused activities that a Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer can choose to engage in if they have compulsory participation requirements. See Managing compliance with compulsory requirements.

Participation requirements continue to apply when a customer has a pending compensation claim. Where a job seeker with mutual obligation requirements:

• has a pending compensation claim, and
• the IEA provider advises that they may seek to recover the costs of the IEA program from the job seeker's compensation payment if one is made

The job seeker is subject to the same requirement to participate in IEA as other job seekers. Compliance action may occur if the job seeker fails to comply with this requirement.

The provider will tell the job seeker:

• about the possibility that costs will be recovered at the time they are due to start IEA, and
• that they will be asked to sign a statement acknowledging this

If a job seeker with mutual obligation requirements declines to sign this statement:

• their refusal to sign on its own will not constitute grounds for compliance action, and
• they will still be expected to participate in IEA

For DSP customers with participation requirements, participation in IEA may be selected as a compulsory activity in their DSP Participation Plan. As such, failure to participate in IEA could result in DSP being suspended or cancelled. See Disability Support Pension (DSP) participation requirements compliance model.

Once an IEA participant commences employment, income must be advised and coded. See Recording and correcting employment income details.

Disability Support Pension (DSP)

For DSP customers in the IEA program receiving Ongoing Support, any income must be coded on the Earned Income Details (EAN) screen as 'SWS/IEA Ongoing Support':

• to prevent any incorrect DSP suspensions, and
• to make sure Mobility Allowance (MOB) is paid correctly

When a DSP customer commences or exits from IEA the customer's earnings must be checked and updated if necessary. See Commencing or returning to work or self-employment Disability Support Pension (DSP) for details.

Job seekers without mutual obligation requirements, such as people not on an income support payment, can choose to exit from IEA at any time. The volunteer participant should tell their IEA provider that they no longer wish to participate. The IEA provider will record the Exit and the Exit reason.

Customers with mutual obligation requirements cannot choose to exit from IEA. However, they may change IEA providers as often as they like, upon request.

Customers with mutual obligation requirements can participate in IEA on a voluntary basis, if:

• they have a Partial Capacity to Work, or
• Temporary Reduced Work Capacity of less than 15 hours per week (including those with an assessed future work capacity of less than 8 hours)

IEA providers cannot exit job seekers without having achieved an employment outcome, unless the customer is a voluntary participant.

If IEA is no longer suitable, IEA providers:

• should refer the job seeker for an ESAt, and
• continue the job seeker in IEA pending assessment outcome

The Assessor may then recommend the job seeker:

• be referred to another service, or
• confirm that IEA remains the most suitable service

Services Australia will reconnect the job seeker with IEA, if the jobseeker was exited from IEA:

• without achieving an employment/education outcome, and
• where there is still a current and valid assessment recommending referral to IEA

Job seekers will not need a new Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) before recommencing in an IEA if the participant is seeking re-entry:

• within 13 weeks of exit, and there has been no significant changes to their medical condition(s)
• more than 13 weeks after exiting, regardless of the reason for exit and provided there is a current (if required) and valid ESAt or JCA recommending IEA (or the former Disability Employment Services (DES))

See Referring a customer to Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA).