Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) reports 008-06070000

Assessors are required to complete an electronic Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) report which is created and maintained in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' Employment Services System (ESS). The report is accessible on a customer's electronic Medical Information File Envelope (eMIFE) once it has been accepted by Services Australia.

The JCA report may contain some of the following information depending on the customer's circumstances and referral reason:

• Information about a customer's work capacity, taking into account any permanent and temporary medical conditions
• Information about currently addressed barriers to work and how these are being addressed
• Information about other barriers to work and the impact of these on employment
• A 'risk of non-compliance' rating, assessing a customer's barriers and vulnerabilities in relation to meeting participation requirements
• Employment support requirements, including the level of support needed and the period for which support is required
• Recommended impairment rating (where appropriate)
• Appropriate interventions and recommended referrals to employment assistance services
• Details of referrals completed by the Assessor and those needing follow up by the department after the report is submitted
• For Disability Support Pension (DSP) new claims and DSP U35 reviews, details active participation in a Program of Support (POS)
• The Assessor's and, if necessary, any Contributing Assessor's qualifications
• If consultation with the Health Professional Advisory Unit (HPAU) occurred
• If a Specialist Assessment IQ test is conducted by the Assessor, the name of the test applied should be included in the report
• Referenced medical information used to inform the assessment
• Details of any contact with treating health professionals

Where a JCA report for a DSP new claim indicates medical eligibility for DSP (excluding where the customer is assessed as manifestly eligible), the system prevents the JCA report from being accepted until a Disability Medical Assessment (DMA) report has been completed.

Where a JCA report for a DSP new claim indicates medical eligibility for DSP has not been met or the customer meets manifest medical eligibility, the report is accepted and the claim can be processed.

Once the report is accepted, the key recommendations from the report (including impairment ratings and work capacities) are automatically populated on the customer's record.

Relevant sections of the JCA report are also available electronically to the Employment Services Provider to whom a referral has been made. Details of impairment ratings are not included in the report viewable by a Provider.

Staff may access the entire contents of the completed JCA report electronically and may view and print the report as required.

After it is submitted by the Assessor the JCA report will require manual checking and actioning. Regardless of which organisation initially referred the customer for an assessment, Services Australia is responsible for accepting/returning (rejecting) the reports as appropriate.

The completed report may be used to:

• determine work capacity and develop an individually tailored Job Plan for customers with mutual obligation requirements
• determine eligibility for, and ongoing entitlement to, Disability Support Pension
• assist with determining eligibility for Supported Wage System and Special Disability Trust

Staff are the delegates for income support decisions. Where a Service Officer does not agree with recommended impairment ratings or work capacity bandwidths in the JCA report, they complete the SSO Direct Referral webform. The enquiry is then picked up from the database by an SSO who will escalate to Assessment Services if they agree with the Service Officer.

Note: it is not necessary to contact Assessment Services when implementing a decision made by the ART or other external review body. ASO5 staff or above are able to override auto-populated data from a JCA report, including:

• Medical condition
• Type of condition
• Impairment Table
• Impairment Rating, and
• Work capacity including baseline (formerly current) with intervention (formerly future) and temporary reduced

Any changes or additions must include a reason and the overridden information is maintained on the customer's record for future reference. An automatic notification is also sent to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations system advising of any changes.