Checking and actioning Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) reports 001-02320020

Before starting this process, staff must read the Operational Message.

This document outlines what staff need to do when an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) report is submitted by the Assessor.

Submitted reports

ESAt reports are created in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) system and are submitted to Services Australia through an electronic link for validation and acceptance. Information in the ESAt report (depending on the referral reason) is used to determine eligibility for income support and appropriate mutual obligation requirements for job seekers receiving a payment.

Depending on the referral reason, the ESAt report will contain if required:

the Assessor's recommendations about a job seeker's work capacity
appropriate interventions
recommended referrals to employment assistance programs
risks of non-compliance ratings, and
circumstances impacting compliance

Where the report:

does pass validation, the Services Australia system identifies if ESAt follow up actions are required. If not, the report will automatically complete and populate the relevant information on the customer's record
does not pass validation, the report is flagged for manual checking. The report is checked and any issues or disagreements with the recommendations made by the Assessor are resolved

An automatic activity is generated if the report is not submitted by the assessor within 14 days of the ESAt appointment. This acts as a prompt to follow up with the Assessor to discuss any possible delay, if the reasons for the delay are not already evident from available information on the job seeker's record.

Accepted reports (status remains submitted)

Once an ESAt report has been accepted by Services Australia, it will be automatically attached to the customer's Electronic Medical Information File Envelope (e-MIFE).

A Display on Access (DOA) DOC titled ESAt Outcome will display on the Document List (DL) screen. ESAt assessments are valid for 2 years and the DOA DOC should remain open for this period.

The Medical Condition (MC) and Work Capacity (WC) screens will be coded as part of the acceptance, and the information from the ESAt report scanned to Document Tools.

The status of the ESAt in the Employment Services or Job Capacity Assessment referral information workflow will remain as submitted until the finalisation process runs. The status of the report will not display as accepted in this workflow.

Manually checking the report

The manual check requires staff to read the report to make sure it is complete, consistent and correct. Staff must check:

there is sufficient information:

for participation in mutual obligation requirements, or
to determine appropriate assistance

the verified medical conditions are all listed as detailed on the medical evidence and the assessment of a condition as likely to persist for:

less than 2 years, or
more than 2 years

the report includes:

recommended referral to employment assistance services, or
a valid reason why no referrals are recommended

the Assessor has:

actioned recommended referrals where appropriate, or
stated a valid reason why the referral is not actioned

inappropriate or prejudicial information is not included in the report
there are no references to payment type recommendations

ESAt reports for customers aged under 22 need to be manually accepted:

to assess eligibility for independence due to Partial Capacity to Work
to assess eligibility for Youth Disability Supplement (YDS)
for the work capacity to be applied to the job seeker's record
for medical conditions to be recorded on the claimant's record
to pay Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA)
before another ESAt can be booked

Note: if the ESAt report is for a customer who meets medical and other eligibility requirements for Disability Support Pension (DSP) (upgraded ESAt) and currently does not have a claim for DSP, the report will also need to be manually accepted and the customer invited to claim DSP.

Impairment Table changes from 1 April 2023

From 1 April 2023, a new version of Impairment Tables was introduced. The new Tables are used to assess a customer's medical eligibility for all DSP claims lodged on or after this date. See The Impairment Tables.

Submitted ESAt reports that have not been actioned (accepted)

If an ESAt report has not been accepted within 14 days (remains as submitted), and an NSS/JCA activity is outstanding on the Activity List (AL) screen, the report should be accepted by a staff member with the necessary capability and capacity as soon as possible.

Returning the report after it has been accepted

If the staff member initially accepts an ESAt report but later decides that it should not have been accepted due to an error, and the report status is:

still 'submitted', return the report to the Assessor for amendment. This should only be done if the change to Impairment Ratings or work capacity is likely to have an impact on the customer's:

mutual obligation, or
Participation requirements, or
payment eligibility

'finalised', re-refer the job seeker for an ESAt (possibly a file assessment) if there could be an effect on the determination of:

hours of work capacity, and
referral to a Program of Support

The Resources page contains an example of when an Employment Service Assessment (ESAt) is upgraded, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and contact details for Assessment Services. It also contains a link to a new Level 2 Helpdesk enquiry form.

Operational Information