Eligibility for Employment Services as a volunteer 001-02020030

Job seekers who are eligible to receive services as a volunteer include those listed in the categories below. Once a job seeker meets one of the below criteria they are deemed eligible and other criteria's are not applicable.

This includes customers receiving:

• Age Pension
• Assistance for Isolated Children
• Carer Allowance
• Carer Payment
• Child care assistance
• Disability Support Pension without compulsory requirements
• Double Orphan Pension
• Farm Household Allowance
• Family assistance
• Low Income Health Care Card
• Mobility Allowance
• Parenting Payment (Partnered) or Parenting Payment (Single) with a youngest child under 6 years of age

• subject to the person working fewer than 15 hours a week, and
• not studying full-time

Full-time students seeking an apprenticeship or traineeship are eligible for servicing as a volunteer.

Young people not receiving income support payments who are under school-leaving age, including those under 17 years but aged 15 years or over can be registered only if they have permission to leave school. Young people under 15 years are not able to register until they turn 15 years of age.

Young people not receiving income support payments who are aged 15 to 21, not working 15 hours or more per week, not in full-time study and who have at least one serious Non-vocational Barrier are eligible for Workforce Australia services as a Vulnerable Youth.

Migrants on a waiting period and visa holders with working rights, including temporary and permanent residents, may be eligible for Workforce Australia Online as a volunteer.

Services Australia may register visa holders with work rights, who are not in receipt of income support as volunteer job seekers.

Newly Arrived Refugees

Newly arrived refugees who are not in receipt of a payment with mutual obligation requirements, are eligible for the Streamlining Services for Refugees measures to access Workforce Australia Online as a volunteer. See Refugee entrant service offer for more information.

Retrenched workers (and their partners) who are not eligible for income support can directly register as Fully Eligible Participants for the Early Access initiative. To register in Early Access, customers must have either:

• been retrenched in the last 6 months
• been told, by the business they are employed with, 3 months before the retrenchment date

Tell the customer to:

• register directly with a local Workforce Australia provider
• contact the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations National Customer Service Line for more information

To be eligible for the Early Access initiative, customers need to provide their Workforce Australia provider with:

• evidence of retrenchment, this includes a letter or certificate of separation, with the retrenchment date and company name identified
• evidence of their relationship (where applicable)

Job seekers are not eligible to access services as a volunteer in the following circumstances:

• Customers undertaking full-time study or training, including those receiving ABSTUDY, Austudy and Youth Allowance (Student). The exceptions are:
• Students aged 15 to 21, in full-time study, who present in crisis and have at least one serious Non-vocational Barrier, are eligible for provider services as a Vulnerable Youth (Student)
• Full-time students seeking an apprenticeship or traineeship are eligible for servicing as a Volunteer
• Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment customers
• People receiving workers compensation
• Overseas visitors on working holiday visas (these people can access Harvest Labour Services only)
• Visa holders without working rights including temporary residents

Volunteer job seekers do not include the following (who should be registered as Fully Eligible Participants (FEP)):

• Vulnerable Youth and Vulnerable Youth (Student)
• Pre-release prisoners
• Labour Adjustment Package and Structural Adjustment Package Participants
• Special Benefit (Nominated Visa Holder) customers
• JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (other) and Parenting Payment customers with participation requirements who are fully meeting their part-time mutual obligation requirements, or who are subject to a Services Australia exemption and have elected to voluntarily participate in services
• New Disability Support Pension (DSP) claimants and DSP customers without compulsory requirements who are participating in Employment Provider Services to satisfy their Program of Support requirement
• DSP customers with compulsory requirements aged under 35 years with a work capacity of 8 or more hours per week (without a youngest child under 6 years)
• New Zealand non-protected Special Category Visa holders eligible for JobSeeker Payment or Youth Allowance

Volunteer job seekers not eligible to register as a Fully Eligible Participant should register for Workforce Australia Online as a Volunteer. This can be done via myGov or the Workforce Australia website. However, if the job seeker approaches Services Australia to register and they are eligible, registration can be activated (with the exception of job seekers living in a CDP region). See Registering Volunteer job seekers.

Job seekers accessing Workforce Australia Online for Volunteers are not referred to an Employment Services Provider. Instead, these job seekers access online digital employment services managed by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).

Job seekers accessing Workforce Australia Online as a Volunteer services self-manage their own career profile, job search and job applications through the Workforce Australia Online services (the online service website). Job seekers wishing to discuss:

• their voluntary participation
• issues accessing or using the website or
• exiting from Workforce Australia Online

should be encouraged to contact DEWRs Digital Services Contact Centre.

For more information about registering job seekers for Workforce Australia Online as a volunteer, see Registering Volunteer job seekers.

Access to Workforce Australia Online as a volunteer job seeker is not time limited.

Volunteers may cease Employment Services, at any time by contacting the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations National Customer Service Line.

Inactivity in Workforce Australia Online for greater than 12 months will also inactive volunteer job seeker registration. Registration can be reactivated at any time via myGov or Services Australia.