Inconsistencies in a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) report 008-06070110

The agency requires a single professional view of a customer's functional impairment and work capacity. This may include between Assessment Services Assessors, Health Professionals Advisory Unit (HPAU) Advisors, staff such as Disability processing team Service Officers, Authorised Review Officers (ARO), International Services processing, and legal representatives of Litigation Branch (LB).

Staff are required to make sound decisions about DSP medical eligibility informed by expert opinion. There are escalation procedures in place if differing or unclear expert opinion relevant to a JCA report is identified. This ensures one agency professional view is available to support good decision-making.

The JCA report contains the Assessor's recommendations about a customer's impairment rating, work capacity, appropriate interventions, recommended referrals to employment assistance programs, risk of non-compliance ratings and vulnerability indicator categories.

At the new claim stage, the escalation protocols:

• aim to ensure a complete assessment of medical information
• support one agency view with regards to input into a JCA, meaning assessment services and HPAU advisors determine a shared view before submitting a JCA report

There are escalation protocols for:

• Disability Support Pension (DSP) new claims process
• Explanation of decision process
• Authorised Review Officers (ARO)
• International Services (CIS) Subject Matter Expert (SME) officers
• Litigation Branch (LB) advocates
• Assessment Services Assessors and HPAU advisors

The Assessment Services internal escalation process:

• provides a mechanism to capture and manage issues as required within the agency's quality framework including reporting to support process improvement
• provides a mechanism for Assessors to reconsider and adjust work capacity, in line with requirements within the Social Security Guide
• helps in clarifying alignment of medical evidence to assessed impairment and work capacity
• supports collaboration between Assessors, HPAU advisors and agency staff to achieve timely advice and consideration of a customer's functional impairment and work capacity when additional or new information becomes available during the review and appeal process
• provides staff with avenues to discuss additional information provided during the review and appeal process where reassessment is not warranted (for example, evidence of mental health diagnosis by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist)
• helps International Services staff in determining complex matters regarding impairment and work capacity for foreign pension and Agreement claim matters