Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL) program 125-25092405

Eligibility is determined by DEWR. Eligible customers must have participated in the REAL program before release to continue in the program following release.

A job seeker is eligible to participate in the REAL program when they meet all the following criteria:

• are a First Nations Australian
• are incarcerated in a facility with a known release date within 6 months, or held on remand
• aged 15 years or over

Staff can confirm the job seeker's participation in REAL on the customer record in Process Direct.

Participation Interview

When running the pre-release claim or the Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) upon release, the following message will display in Process Direct for eligible REAL participants:

'Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL)

This job seeker participated in the REAL program while in prison. The job seeker can choose to continue in the REAL program post-release or be referred to an employment services provider. Job seekers who continue in the REAL program:

• are exempt from RapidConnect
• do not need to complete the Job Seeker Snapshot

Job seekers who participate in REAL are Centrelink managed and require a Centrelink Job Plan. Refer to Operational Blueprint for additional information.'

Participation Summary

The following indicator will display on the Key information tab:

• Reconnection, Employment and Learning program participant is indicated as 'Yes' or 'No'

A message will display on the Job seeker registration & provider referral information tab:

'This job seeker is eligible for Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL) program from xx/xx/xxxx for up to 12 months. The job seeker can choose to participate in the REAL program or be referred to an employment services provider. REAL participants are Centrelink Managed and require a Centrelink Job Plan. Refer to Operational Blueprint for more information.'

Is the job seeker a REAL participant?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, procedure ends here

Reason for action or customer contact:

• Customer is currently incarcerated, see Centrelink service standards and procedures for pre-release customers. Procedure ends here until customer is released from prison
• To manually book a REAL appointment, go to Step 4
• Payment is suspended for not attending a previous booked REAL appointment (SUS FAI - failed to attend interview), see Table 2 > Step 1
• To complete a REAL Initial Appointment or REAL Exit Appointment, see Table 2 > Step 2
• Job seeker contacts to reschedule an appointment, see Table 2 > Step 5
• Job seeker requests to be voluntarily referred to employment services, see Table 2 > Step 12
• Job seeker requests to be exited from REAL program, see Table 2 > Step 13

Only staff who received an email to their office/site positional mailbox will manually action the booking of the REAL appointment. A member of the leadership team will allocate the email, which includes the job seeker details, for action.

The system generated email with Subject line Error: Auto Booking Failure for REAL Appointment - Manual Booking required is sent once advice is received from DEWR to confirm the job seeker's entry or exit participation in REAL.

Staff must make updates to the job seeker record as required.

Conduct the following checks on the job seeker's record prior to creating the REAL appointment, to confirm:

• Which REAL appointment is required Initial or Exit
• Does the Office Code (OC) screen require updating to align with the customer's local area/region
• Does the Appointment Profile need to be created for REAL Initial or Exit appointment to allow manual booking, ask Team Leader for assistance

Staff are not required to contact the job seeker prior to booking the manual appointment.

Manually create and action all REAL appointments in Process Direct. REAL appointments cannot be booked or actioned in Customer First (view only).

In Process Direct:

• Select Customer Summary
• Key the customer's CRN
• Select the Appointments icon or go to the Appointments (APPT) screen

Select and complete the following fields:

• Appointment Details:
• Appointment Type: REAL Initial Appointment or REAL Exit Appointment
• Appointment Channel: Face to Face or Phone (determine the most appropriate channel based on the job seeker's current location)
• Service Reason: select relevant payment type
• Appointment Booking:
• On this day: select required date. Appointment can only be booked between 14-28 week days from:
  Initial - Pending REAL appointment (PRA) activity start date +1
  Exit - Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REL) activity end date +1. Note: the following message will display if attempt made to book outside the date range 'REAL appointment must be booked between [day 14] to [day 28]'
• Location: select relevant service centre/local site
• Planned Time: select the appointment time
• Select Save

See Process Direct tab in Booking appointments in the Centrelink Appointment System for assistance with manually booking an appointment.

Service Officer must review the SUS/CAN/RES - Suspend Cancel Reason DOC on the job seeker's record to preview action required prior to restoration.

ISP is suspended for SUS-FAI (failed to attend interview)

Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen to code the restoration:

• Select Add
• Create Benefit Action will display, enter:
• Benefit Type Code: select benefit type
• Benefit Action: select RES - RESTORE
• Notes: leave blank
• Reason: leave blank
• Date of Effect: the effect date will default, or enter the date of the restoration
• Select Save
• Receipt Date and Channel will display, enter:
• Receipt Date: today
• Channel: select relevant source
• Service Reason: select relevant reason
• Select Save
• Select Assess

Record details of the restoration on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > SUS/CAN/RES > Restore (payment type) DOV.

ISP is suspended for any other reason

See Restoration of payments (CLK) to determine if payment can be restored.

Once payment is restored, for:

• REAL Initial Appointment, go to Step 6
• REAL Exit Appointment, go to Step 7

Phone appointments only

Make one genuine attempt to contact by phone. If the job seeker has a mobile number and is registered for SMS messaging, create a pre-call notification (SMS only) using Desktop Electronic Messaging Capability (DEMC). After creating the SMS, wait 5 minutes before making the outbound call attempt.

REAL Initial Appointment

All customers who participated in REAL during incarceration (including those on remand) will have a REAL Initial Appointment manually booked after:

• payment is granted, or
• an exemption ends (if applicable)

REAL Exit Appointment

DEWR will notify Services Australia when a job seeker has chosen to exit the REAL program or at the end of their period of participation.

The system will generate an email requesting an Exit Appointment for these job seekers, where applicable.

Did the job seeker attend the appointment?

• Yes, for:
• REAL Initial Appointment, go to Step 6
• REAL Exit Appointment, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 4

As the job seeker failed to attend their compulsory REAL appointment, manually suspend their payment to prompt contact with Services Australia. If the appointment was a face to face appointment, make one attempt to contact the customer.

Face to face and phone appointments

If contact is:

• successful, for:
• REAL Initial Appointment, go to Step 6
• REAL Exit Appointment, go to Step 7
• unsuccessful:
• DOC the attempt to contact the customer
• On the Appointments (APPT) screen, select the REAL appointment
• Select , Change Appointment will display
• Enter New Status: select Did Not Attend
• Select Save
• Go to Step 8

To support end-to-end resolution at first contact and reduce escalations, the Service Officer must action the relevant REAL appointment upon contact.

Where the job seeker does not have the capacity to conduct the appointment now, see Process Direct tab in View, reschedule or cancel an appointment in the Centrelink Appointment System for instructions to reschedule the REAL appointment.

Note: REAL appointments can only be rescheduled within 4 days of the original appointment date. An error message will display if staff attempt to book outside of this date range 'The date selected is beyond the threshold date xx/xx/xxxx'. If no appointment time slots are available within the 4 day period, seek support from a Team Leader to confirm the appointment profiles.

To action the:

• REAL Initial Appointment, go to Step 6
• REAL Exit Appointment, go to Step 7

The Pending REAL appointment (PRA) activity is an auto populated activity that will display on the Activities and Exemptions (AEX) screen once advise is received that the job seeker is eligible to participate in REAL post release.

The PRA activity code will not:

• display the job seeker as fully meeting mutual obligation requirements
• require a Centrelink Job Plan to be negotiated

The PRA activity will remain on the AEX screen for up to 90 days until the REAL Initial Appointment has occurred.

If the job seeker:

• chooses to continue to participate in the REAL program, they can continue doing the activity for up to 12 months to fully meet mutual obligation requirements (post release max period). The job seeker will:
• become Centrelink managed
• have a Job Plan negotiated with Services Australia
• remain connected with their REAL provider during participation
• does not wish to continue in REAL, they must be referred to a suitable employment services provider

Does the job seeker agree to continue participating in REAL?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 11

The system has determined the job seeker is required to have a REAL Exit Appointment.

The purpose of the appointment is to refer the job seeker to mainstream employment services (i.e. Workforce Australia) as they are no longer fully meeting their mutual obligation requirements by participating in REAL.

The Service Officer can assess and determine whether the job seeker falls into one of the participation categories below to fully meet mutual obligation requirements for at least 30 hours per fortnight:

• Principal carer parent
• Job seekers with a Partial Capacity to Work (PCW) or Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC) of 15-29 hours per week
• Job seekers aged 55 years and over
• Job seekers in receipt of Carer Allowance (CA)

See Applying mutual obligation requirements.

Note: to make sure the job seeker is referred to the most appropriate provider, the Service Officer must run the Job Seeker Snapshot before making an employment services provider referral.

In Process Direct:

• Select > Participation Summary to view the Key Information tab
• Select the Job seeker registration & provider referral information tab
• Update the Job Seeker Registration, if required
• Run Job Seeker Snapshot
• Make the suitable referral to employment services from the Online Diary tab

Go to Step 14.

Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen:

• Select Add New
• Create Benefit Action will display, enter:
• Benefit Type Code: select benefit type
• Benefit Action: select SUS - SUSPEND
• Notes: leave blank
• Reason: select FAI - FAIL TO ATTEND INTERVIEW
• Date of Effect: enter the date of effect of the suspension. For further details, see Suspension of payments (CLK)
• Select Save
• Receipt Date and Channel will display, enter:
• Receipt Date: today
• Channel: select relevant source
• Service Reason: select relevant reason
• Select Save
• Select Assess

Record details of the suspension on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > SUS/CAN/RES > Suspend Cancel Reason:

• Include the following:
• Reason for Suspension: Failed to attend appointment on < date >
• Attempts to contact the customer were made at < time >
• Requirements for job seeker to have their payment restored: Upon first contact, the Service Officer must action the relevant REAL appointment. See OB file 125-25092405

Procedure ends here until successful contact is made.

In Process Direct, record the approved activity:

• Go to the AEX screen
• On the Manual activities and exemptions table, select Add
• Create manual activity/exemption displays, enter:
• Activity: REL - Reconnection Employment and Learning
• Start Date: today's date (date of appointment)
• End Date: the PRA activity start date plus 365 days
• Select Save
• Receipt Date and Channel will display, enter:
• Receipt Date: today
• Channel: select relevant source
• Service Reason: select relevant reason
• Select Save
• Select Assess

After the AEX screen is updated and confirmed:

• the system identifies the job seeker as Centrelink managed
• a message displays:
  'Refer to Operational Blueprint before updating the REL - Reconnection, Employment and Learning approved activity. Direct the job seeker to their REAL provider to discuss an exit from the program'
• a Centrelink managed Job Plan needs to be negotiated

Do not attempt to negotiate a new Job Plan until the job seeker's record changes to Centrelink managed.

If the AEX activity coding is subject to a Quality Management Application (QMA) check, the system will not auto-populate the Job Plan until the Quality Management Officers (QMO) check is completed:

• Service centre staff, see Team Leader for local escalation process to request an urgent QMA
• Smart centre staff, see Urgent QMA process for Smart Centres, Face to Face Services and Service Delivery Partners

Once AEX screen coding and QMA is completed, go to Step 10.

Select > Participation Summary to view the Key Information tab:

• Select Messages > Action Item > This customer is fully meeting mutual obligation requirements via Approved Activity REL. An appropriate Job Plan must be negotiated with the job seeker
• To view the Job Plan tab, select Negotiate Plan and negotiate a Job Plan:
• Select Yes to the question 'Do you wish to create/update job plan?'
• Select Yes to the question 'Do you wish to clean slate the customer's job plan?'
• Sentence Text will display:
• 'I agree to take part in the Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL) program from xx.xx.xxxx to xx.xx.xxxx. I will talk with my mentor as agreed'
  Note: the dates for program participation will pre-populate from the AEX screen
• Once the Job Plan is successfully negotiated, the Action Item message is removed

Go to Step 14.

The Service Officer must complete the following.

End the Pending REAL Appointment (PRA activity code)

In Process Direct:

• Go to the AEX screen
• On the PRA - Pending REAL Appointment activity line, select Edit
• Change manual activity/exemption displays, enter:
• End date: change to today's date (date of appointment)
• Select Save
• Receipt Date and Channel will display, enter:
• Receipt Date: today
• Channel: select relevant source
• Service Reason: select relevant reason
• Select Save
• Select Assess

Assess mutual obligation requirements

The Service Officer can assess and determine whether the job seeker falls into one of the participation categories below to fully meet mutual obligation requirements for at least 30 hours per fortnight:

• Principal carers
• Job seekers with a Partial Capacity to Work (PCW) or Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC) of 15-29 hours per week
• Job seekers aged 55 years and over
• Job seekers in receipt of Carer Allowance (CA)

See Applying mutual obligation requirements.

Refer the job seeker to employment services

Select > Participation Summary to view the Key Information tab:

• Select the Job seeker registration & provider referral information tab
• Update the Job Seeker Registration, if required
• Run Job Seeker Snapshot
• Make the suitable referral to employment services
• Create a closed Note/DOC on the job seeker's record to document the decision

Go to Step 14

A job seeker is fully meeting their mutual obligation requirements by participating in REAL. However, at any point in their participation, they can choose to voluntarily connect with an employment services provider, for example, Workforce Australia.

If the job seeker elects to voluntarily participate, in Process Direct:

• Select > Participation Summary to view the Key Information tab
• Select the Job seeker registration & provider referral information tab to:
• update the job seeker registration, if required
• run the Job Seeker Snapshot
• Note: REAL participants can only concurrently participate in Workforce Australia. Where an outcome recommends a referral to Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) and Transition to Work (TtW), the deferred referral process will apply. The relevant work items to refer the job seeker, will only display once the period of participation in REAL ceases
• Select the Online Diary tab to make the relevant referral
• Create a closed Note/DOC to record the job seeker's voluntary request

Procedure ends here.

The Service Officer must not update the REL coding on the AEX screen. The job seeker must be directed to their REAL provider to further discuss their request to be exited from the program.

Once the provider codes the exit, DEWR will send the exit details to the Services Australia system. This will automatically end date the REL activity code on the AEX screen. Services Australia staff will book a manual REAL Exit Appointment, if required.

Job seeker will no longer be fully meeting their mutual obligation requirements through REAL.

Procedure ends here.

Service Officer to action once:

• successful contact is obtained with the job seeker
• the required action is taken on their record

In Process Direct:

• Select the Appointments icon or go to the Appointments (APPT) screen
• Select the relevant REAL appointment
• Select , Change Appointment will display, enter:
• New Status: select Completed
• select Save