Online Diary 001-02060020

The Online Diary:

• is used to initiate referrals and check:
• current appointments
• the job seeker's full appointment history, and
• appointment outcomes
• is available as a standalone function as well as forming part of the:
• Participation Interview, and
• Participation Summary in Process Direct
• can be accessed from the Participation Interview or Participation Summary for job seekers who need to be connected with a provider and have their initial appointment booked, where appropriate. This includes job seekers who are exempt under certain RapidConnect exemption reasons

When an appointment is made in the Online Diary:

• it updates the job seeker's record with details of the referral
• Services Australia receives notification of the Diary appointment electronically, through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' Employment Services System (ESS). This includes RapidConnect results

Assessment Services use the Online Diary to book Employment Services Assessments (ESAt) and Job Capacity Assessments (JCA) appointments. These appointments must not be booked by any staff outside of Assessment Services.

The interface with the ESS automatically checks a job seeker's eligibility for referral. This includes checking that the job seeker:

• has an active Job Seeker Identification Number
• does not have an existing interview/workflow started
• is/is not eligible for the referral attempt to be made

If a job seeker is not eligible, this information displays on the referral screen and the system will not allow the referral to be made.

Some job seekers are:

• automatically referred to the online service, and
• the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) completes selection and referral during the job seeker's Participation Interview

Service Officers cannot use the Online Diary to refer these job seekers to a Workforce Australia provider as they manage their obligations through Workforce Australia Online (the online service website).

The Online Diary is not available in registration and referral workflows for job seekers selected for Workforce Australia Online. These job seekers will be automatically connected to the online service and DEWR will give them instructions on how to participate and meet their mutual obligation requirements.

Providers are listed in the Online Diary according to their earliest available sessions. The list can be searched by postcode, provider name and, for some providers, service centre or area of expertise.

When making the referral to Workforce Australia, Service Officers:

• must tell the job seeker of available providers in their local area
• should tell the job seeker that provider performance ratings are available to view, if needed, to help them choose a provider. See the Resources page for Workforce Australia - Services Provider Performance Ratings
• must not provide advice to job seekers about which provider to choose

For some providers, preferences and exclusions can be keyed to sort the list of providers. If providers are 'full', 'closed' or 'not available' they cannot be selected.

Services Australia does not have the functionality to change a provider for a job seeker once the initial appointment has been booked. Service Officers can contact the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations:

• Employment Services Helpdesk, to correct a referral made to the wrong provider, or
• National Customer Service Line, for requests to change a provider

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations rate all Workforce Australia providers every 3 months.

Providers are rated based on a number of criteria determined by DEWR. The rating received depends on how the provider is meeting government expectations. See the Resources page for a link to the Workforce Australia website containing further information on employment services and individual provider ratings.

Job seekers are referred to a Workforce Australia provider to access the help they are eligible for. The job seeker will remain with that provider:

• for the duration of their unemployment, or
• until they reach the maximum time they are allowed with one Workforce Australia provider, or
• until the Workforce Australia organisation no longer has a contract

Job seekers referred to Workforce Australia Online will remain with the online service until DEWR deem it suitable to refer them to a Workforce Australia Employment Services Provider.

Maximum time transfers ensure job seekers who have been with the same provider for an extended period without achieving an employment outcome are transferred to a new provider. This gives job seekers different servicing which may improve their prospects of getting a job.

Services Australia has no role in the maximum time transfer process as this is calculated by the DEWR system. Job seekers with questions about the transfer process should contact the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

DES providers help people whose disability, injury or health condition is their primary barrier to finding and maintaining employment.

Eligible job seekers can be referred to DES using the Online Diary. See Eligibility criteria for participation with Disability Employment Services (DES).

Community Development Program (CDP) regions are only serviced by one CDP provider. The job seeker does not have the option of selecting their provider. CDP providers do not have a star rating or specialist information.

Workforce Australia - Transition to Work (TtW) is available across Australia, except in remote areas serviced by Community Development Program providers.

If the job seeker is TtW eligible and there are no TtW providers in the job seeker's region, they must be referred to a Workforce Australia Employment Services Provider. If a local TtW provider shows in the Online Diary, but no appointments are available, Service Officers must contact the TtW provider and request them to open an appointment timeslot to enable the referral. However, job seekers can insist on a referral to a Workforce Australia Employment Services Provider.

The Online Diary allows appointments to be made up to 6 weeks ahead for Workforce Australia and CDP providers. However, job seekers must have appointments as soon as possible, preferably within 2 working days of the Participation Interview being conducted.

Job seekers who are subject to RapidConnect provisions and are not referred to Workforce Australia Online, must have an appointment with a provider within 2 working days of:

• the Participation Interview being conducted, and
• being advised of their obligation to attend a RapidConnect appointment

If an appointment is not available within 2 days, an appointment within the next 14 calendar days may be selected. Contact with the provider should be made to seek an appropriate appointment. However, if additional provider sessions cannot be arranged with any providers in the job seeker's local area within 14 calendar days, the job seeker will be exempt from RapidConnect requirements. The job seeker will still need to have the next available initial appointment booked with the provider.

Where a job seeker re-registers within the allowable break (13 weeks) and was previously connected to a Workforce Australia, TtW or CDP provider, they will be reconnected to the same provider. There is no requirement for the Service Officer to book the initial appointment for the job seeker in this instance and they are exempt from RapidConnect.

Job seekers in CDP regions will be re-registered with the CDP provider for that region. If the job seeker has moved to a non CDP region, they can select a Workforce Australia provider of their choice.

Services Australia, Workforce Australia, TtW and CDP providers can reschedule the RapidConnect or initial appointment with the job seeker if the appointment is still in the future and no result has previously been recorded for that appointment. 'Created in Error' can be input for DES Referrals, which will cancel the whole referral.

When the appointment is rescheduled, Service Officers must ensure that the job seeker is told about their appointment details verbally or in writing.

Special considerations for RapidConnect appointments

If a job seeker is subject to the RapidConnect provisions, rescheduling their RapidConnect appointment may affect their income support payment. Service Officers must:

• determine whether a request to reschedule a RapidConnect appointment is for an acceptable reason, and
• book the new appointment within 14 days from the date the Online Participation Workflow was run

When the RapidConnect appointment date has passed, or an appointment result has already been keyed:

• the RapidConnect appointment can no longer be rescheduled, and
• the appointment must be rebooked

See Processes for RapidConnect appointments to reschedule and rebook RapidConnect appointments.

A Service Officer can rebook the initial RapidConnect appointment using the Online Participation Workflow if:

• the provider has not re-booked it
• the original claim was completed online, and
• the job seeker attends or contacts Services Australia

If there are no appointments available, Services Officers must contact the provider and request an initial appointment for the job seeker. This appointment should be within 14 days of the Participation Interview being conducted, to ensure the job seeker is paid from the correct start date under RapidConnect rules.

After an appointment is selected, Service Officers need to record on the Appointment Detail page in the Online Diary, how the job seeker was notified of the provider appointment. by:

• face-to-face notification, or
• phone notification

In addition, Service Officers must record a DOC stating:

• contact was made with the job seeker, and
• verbal notification of the appointment was given

Services Australia can view the appointment outcomes entered by providers. These results are 'Attended', 'Cancelled', 'Created in Error', 'Did not Attend Valid' or 'Did not Attend Invalid'.