Identifying a package of services for self employed customers 043-02010010
Expand allThis document outlines information to assist in matching a suitable income support payment to a customer who is self employed.
On this page:
Identifying income support payments for self-employed customers
Assistance available from external providers
Identifying income support payments for self-employed customers
Table 1
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Step |
Action |
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1 |
Self-employed customer contact Read more ... A self-employed customer contacts about assistance available from Services Australia and other providers. If the customer is:
For other assistance and resources available through external providers, see Step 1 in Table 2. |
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2 |
Looking for work Read more ... Depending on their age, customers can claim either:
When a self employed customer claims either of these payments, assess whether the customer is unemployed and whether they can satisfy their mutual obligation requirements. An unemployed person can be broadly described as someone who is without paid work and looking for all types of suitable paid work. For a further explanation of unemployed, see References. A person is not unemployed if they are substantially involved in the day to day running of the business with little or no income coming in and are not willing to look for suitable paid work or fulfil mutual obligation requirements. For further information, see:
See Step 4 in Table 2. |
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3 |
Temporarily incapacitated for work Read more ... A temporary incapacity is an incapacity which will last for less than 2 years. If a self employed customer is aged:
See Step 4 in Table 2. |
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4 |
Permanently incapacitated Read more ... If a customer was self employed and is now permanently incapacitated for work then Disability Support Pension (DSP) may be appropriate. However, if the customer has a partial capacity to work, they may claim JSP or YA (job seeker). Where the customer does not have a current and valid assessment of the customer's work capacity an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) will be required to determine their work capacity. An incapacity is considered permanent if it will last more than two years. If granted DSP, the business details would need to be looked at. If the business had fully ceased, the income would not be assessable. The assets would be assessable if they were not sold or the customer decided to absorb the assets into their possession (for example, they decided to keep the tools of the trade for their own personal use). While waiting for their DSP claim to be assessed, customers can claim:
For more information, see:
See Step 4 in Table 2. |
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5 |
Customer is Age Pension age Read more ... Tell the self employed customer to test their eligibility for Age Pension. If the customer was granted Age Pension, the business details would need to be looked at. If the business had fully ceased, the income would not be assessable. The assets would be if they were not sold or the customer decided to absorb the assets into their possession (for example, they decided to keep the tools of the trade for their own personal use). For more information, see: See Step 4 in Table 2. |
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6 |
A parent or guardian Read more ... A self employed customer who is a parent or guardian should test their eligibility for Parenting Payment (PP) where a child in care is less than 6 years for partnered customers or 8 years for single customers. They would need to provide profit and loss statements and balance sheets on a regular basis so their income can be assessed. Note: a profit and loss statement for the last 3 months should be lodged with the claim, then one every 3 months until their income tax return is done. If the customer is not already receiving Family Tax Benefit, they should test their eligibility. The customer will need to provide an estimate of their current income. For more information, see:
See Step 4 in Table 2. |
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7 |
Claiming a health care card only Read more ... Self employed customers may only wish to apply for a health care card to cover themselves and their family with any medication they need to purchase. If the customer is under Age Pension age they are able to apply for the Low Income Health Care Card (LIC). Their income from self employment would be taken into account for an eight week period. The customer must also satisfy other eligibility criteria. If the customer is over Age Pension age they should apply for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC). The customer's income from self employment would be taken into account on an annual basis. The customer must also satisfy all other eligibility criteria. For more information, see:
See Step 4 in Table 2. |
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8 |
Caring for someone Read more ... If the customer is caring for someone and had to cease their self employment, consider their eligibility for Carer Allowance (CA) or Carer Payment (CP). For further information, see:
See Step 4 in Table 2. |
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9 |
Services provided by the department for self employed customers Read more ... Tell the customer about:
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Assistance available from external providers
Table 2
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Step |
Action |
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1 |
External providers + Read more ... Additional assistance and resources are available through external providers. For contact information on these providers and programs, see the Resources page:
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2 |
Further external providers + Read more ... Further contact information for external providers is available in the Resources page of Self-Employment Assistance:
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3 |
External providers continued + Read more ... Further contact information for external providers:
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4 |
Record details + Read more ... Record any discussions with the customer about self employment on a DOC. |