Actioning a pending Job Seeker Snapshot initiated Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) activity 001-02330050

An ESAt flag activity is generated when a job seeker's responses to questions in the Job Seeker Snapshot indicate that further assessment may be required. As a general principle, the ESAt flag should only remain when there is a strong need to assess a customer's capacity to work or connections to support. If there has not been a significant change in a customer's circumstances, an ESAt is likely not required. The Job Seeker Snapshot status will be pending until a decision is made regarding an ESAt referral.

The ESAt activity should be finalised within 14 days of the completion of the Job Seeker Snapshot using one of the following options:

• Copy an existing ESAt or Job Capacity Assessment (JCA)
• Withdraw the ESAt flag
• Defer the booking of an ESAt appointment
• Booking of an ESAt appointment by Assessment Services

Copying an existing ESAt or Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) will allow a pending Job Seeker Snapshot to be completed.

An existing ESAt or JCA may be copied and re-applied when the person is in Community Development Program (CDP), Workforce Australia Services or Disability Employment Service (DES) and medical conditions disclosed in the latest Job Seeker Snapshot were assessed in the previous ESAt/JCA.

A person may still be referred for an ESAt if there is evidence that a previously assessed medical condition is deteriorating, improving or requires significant reconsideration.

An ESAt flag should be withdrawn when:

• the ESAt was flagged for medical reasons only and required medical evidence cannot or has not been supplied within 14 days of completing the Job Seeker Snapshot
• the ESAt was flagged for medical reasons and medical evidence supplied indicates that all medical conditions are temporary and expected to resolve within 13 weeks
• the job seeker is exempt from mutual obligation requirements for more than 13 weeks, for example, exempt due to serious illness
• the identified barriers will not have a significant impact on their ability to work or participate in other activities

The Resources page contains scenarios when a service officer may determine that an ESAt flag can be withdrawn. Service Officers should consult with a Senior Service Officer (SSO) if they are not sure about whether to use this function.

A Job Seeker Snapshot initiated ESAt flag should not be withdrawn simply because the customer does not want to attend an ESAt. If the customer is in receipt of a payment with mutual obligation requirements and their Job Seeker Snapshot responses indicate that an ESAt referral is required, then the customer cannot choose to decline a referral.

Following withdrawal of the ESAt flag the Job Seeker Snapshot status should become active, and the job seeker must be immediately referred (if not already connected) to the recommended service, in accordance with their Job Seeker Snapshot outcomes.

An ESAt referral may be deferred for a maximum of 13 weeks when the job seeker:

• is a refugee within their first 12 weeks in Australia
• is exempt from mutual obligation requirements. A deferment should not exceed the end date of the exemption
• has a payment that is suspended (not yet cancelled) because they are imprisoned or overseas
• has an income support start date in the future because of an Income Maintenance Period (IMP) or Liquid Assets Waiting Period (LAWP) and the job seeker does not wish to volunteer for referral to an ESAt during the waiting period
• is subject to a non-payment period, unemployment preclusion period or has entered in to a post cancellation non-payment period
• does not have mutual obligation requirements and deferring the ESAt referral is appropriate
• is waiting for the outcome of a claim for Disability Support Pension (DSP)

See Deferring an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) referral

The ESAREFRQ activity will be finalised if the referral to the Assessor is deferred. The Job Seeker Snapshot status will remain pending during the period of deferment. Once the deferment period has expired, the ESAREFRQ activity will reappear on the job seeker record to indicate the need for further action.

ESAt appointments are booked by the Assessment Services and Smart Centres Co-ordination Branch. An ESAt request should only be made after considering whether it is more appropriate to:

• copy and reapply the existing ESAt or JCA
• withdraw the flag, or
• defer the ESAt request

If an ESAt is still needed, an ESAt request should be made when an assessment is likely to result in a change to the job seeker's:

• work capacity, for example, the person has a long term (2 years or more) medical condition not previously assessed by an ESAt or JCA (medical evidence must be available prior to booking). Please note that if a customer already has a 'with intervention' work capacity of 15-22 hours per week, a new medical condition may not change this outcome, or
• recommended referral, for example, the job seeker has non-medical barriers and may move from Workforce Australia Online to Workforce Australia Employment Services Provider. If there is a significant change in the diagnosed medical conditions, they may require a higher level of support, for example moving from DES - Disability Management Service (DMS) to DES - Employment Support Service (ESS)

The JSR/UPD ESAREFRQ activity will be completed when Assessment Services book an appointment through the Online Diary. When the report is submitted by the Assessor the current ESAt flag will be finalised, and the job seeker's Job Seeker Snapshot will change from pending to active.