Job Seeker Snapshot and short term illness/incapacity 001-02050040

The Job Seeker Snapshot is usually applied as part of the Participation Interview and the standalone workflow from the Participation Summary screen when the Job Seeker Snapshot needs modification.

Job seekers with mutual obligation requirements who are eligible to be granted a temporary incapacity exemption because they have lodged a medical certificate are exempt from their mutual obligation requirements, and also exempt from the RapidConnect process.

An accurate Job Seeker Snapshot can be conducted while a person is temporarily incapacitated. This should be done if the job seeker is able to attend an interview. If the job seeker is too ill to participate in the interview, the application of the Job Seeker Snapshot may be delayed until they can participate. However, it should be applied as soon as possible after that time.

Where the Job Seeker Snapshot is applied when a job seeker has a short term illness/incapacity for work, care should be taken when recording whether the customer has an ongoing disability.

The expected duration of the incapacity and the impact it may have on long term employment should also be considered when applying the Job Seeker Snapshot. Some types of incapacity are of a short duration and generally lead to a full recovery (for example, bone fractures). Other types have ongoing effects on the job seeker’s ability to work even after their exemption from their mutual obligation requirements ceases.

The Job Seeker Snapshot asks if the job seeker has any disabilities, medical conditions or addictions that affect their ability to work. If job seekers present with temporary incapacities or other short term conditions, this does not mean that it is appropriate to be recorded as a disability, even though the job seeker may be exempt from their mutual obligation requirements because of their incapacity.

If the incapacity is of a very short term nature (for example, cold or flu), the illness or injury should not be recorded as an ongoing disability in the Job Seeker Snapshot responses. In this case, the response should be 'No' to the job seeker having a disability or medical condition.

The questions in the Job Seeker Snapshot make sure that only those conditions that are ongoing and will affect a job seeker's ability to work or look for work will be recorded as a disability for the purposes of the Job Seeker Snapshot. An ongoing condition is one that is expected to last for more than 13 weeks. This includes episodic or intermittent conditions but does not include pregnancy.

When considering the appropriate process to follow for job seeker's with disabilities, illnesses or injuries, the Service Officer will need to assess the job seeker's capacity to work, based on medical information available and discussions with the job seeker.

An incapacity is only included in the Job Seeker Snapshot if it represents an ongoing barrier to employment. If a temporary incapacity is included in the Job Seeker Snapshot, it may produce a Job Seeker Snapshot score which does not accurately reflect the job seeker's true barriers to employment and may also set up an inappropriate Job Seeker Snapshot Disability 'flag' for an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt).