Assessment of hardship for Seasonal Work Preclusion Period (SWPP) 106-05020090

Establish whether the customer is in severe financial hardship.

Note: the maximum payment rate for a member of a couple is doubled, that is, 4 weeks worth of allowance, in establishing severe financial hardship.

• If the customer has available funds that are less than a fortnightly payment, go to Step 2
• If the customer's available funds are greater than their maximum fortnightly payment, the SWPP cannot be waived. Offer customer other assistance if applicable, for example, social worker, Financial Information Service officer (FISO), community agencies. Record details of non-waiver of SWPP on a DOC. Procedure ends here

• Calculate the remaining SWPP weeks. To do this, count the number of days from the date the customer claims hardship to the SWPP end date. Divide this number of days by 7
• Multiply the remaining SWPP weeks by the relevant Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE). This amount of money is what the customer should have left over from their seasonal work earnings
• Add up any unavoidable or reasonable expenditure incurred by the customer (and partner) from the date the seasonal/intermittent work started to the date the customer claimed hardship
• Subtract the total unavoidable or reasonable expenditure from the amount calculated as what money the customer should have left over from their seasonal work earnings
• If the result is less than the equivalent of one fortnightly payment (or double that for a member of a couple), the SWPP can be waived from the date the customer claimed they were in hardship
• If receiving an Allowance payment, go to Step 3
• If receiving Parenting Payment or a Pension, go to Step 4
• If not, the SWPP cannot be waived

Can the SWPP be waived?

• Yes, Customer First must be used for Parenting Payment and Pensions. Waiver of SWPP for Allowances can be done in either system.
  If using:
• Process Direct, go to Table 2
• Customer First, go to Table 3
• No:
• record the details of non-waiver of SWPP on a Note/DOC
• procedure ends here

• Select Customer Summary from the Process Direct landing page
• Enter the customer's CRN, select Go
• Key 'SWP' in the Super Key, select Enter
• Seasonal Work Details (SWP/SWPS) will display. Ensure the seasonal work information has been recorded correctly
• Enter START into the Super Key, select Enter
• From the Task Selector select Ordinary waiting period/NSS start date calculator
• Receipt date and channel will display:
• Receipt Date: use the date the customer applied for hardship. The waiver will apply from this date
• Channel: the method of contact
• Select Next
• Date of Commencement (NDC) displays
• Select Edit to change the waiting periods
• Change Date of Commencement displays
• SWPP Waive: select Yes
• Comments: add notes if needed
• Select Save
• Select Next
• Ordinary waiting period (OWP) displays. For OWP exemptions see Ordinary Waiting Period
• When the details are correct, select Next

• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Select Assess again, then select Finish
• Record details of the update. See Recording reasons for decisions.
  Edit or Add any extra details needed, for example:
• reason for a discretionary decision, including references to Operational Blueprint
• waiting periods being served
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction

Procedure ends here

To code a waiver for:

• an Allowance payment, go to Step 2
• Parenting Payment or a Pension, go to Step 3

• Go to the Seasonal Work Period Summary (SWPS) screen and ensure the seasonal work information has been recorded correctly
• Go to the Newstart DOC Calculator (NDC) screen. The SWPP start date and end date that has been calculated by the system will display
• Enter a ‘Y’ in the Waive: field
• Enter the appropriate Source: code
• The date the customer applied for hardship is entered into the DOR: field
• Enter ‘I’ in the action: field
• Go to the Assessment Result (AR) screen to finalise the activity
• Record details of the waiver on a DOC
• Procedure ends here

• Go to the Seasonal Work Period Summary (SWPS) screen and ensure seasonal work information has been correctly recorded
• Go to the Waiting Period Calculation Results (WPCR) screen
• Code an ‘I’ beside the SWPP Hardship Waiver: field
• Code the date the customer applied for the waiver in the Date Waived From: field
• Enter the Source: and DOR: that the customer applied for hardship
• Go to the Assessment Result (AR) screen to finalise the activity
• Record details of the waiver on a DOC