Moving to an Area of Lower Employment Prospects (MALEP) employment related exclusion period 001-03040040

Item

Outcome

1

Sufficient reasons for moving

The job seeker moves to live with or near an immediate family member who has already established residence in the new area. (The family member has to have lived in the new area for a period of 26 weeks prior to the job seeker wanting to move there).

The job seeker moves to accompany a parent who changes their residence (Youth Allowance (YA) job seekers only).

The move is necessary for the purposes of treating or alleviating a physical disease or illness suffered by the job seeker or an immediate family member.

Job seekers who are undertaking a labour market program, an activity approved under the Community Support Programme or a rehabilitation program approved by the Employment Secretary.

Job seekers who may be moving because of an extreme circumstance for example, family and domestic violence, life threatening situations.

The job seeker will need to provide relevant and appropriate evidence which can include a statements from a third party, court reports such as Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs), medical evidence, etc.

2

Acceptable evidence - medical

Services Australia can approve the job seeker's move on health grounds, they must provide clear medical evidence of the nature of their condition or the family member's condition from their doctor which should include:

• a diagnosis
• the factors influencing the medical condition in the previous area
• the reasons why the new area is likely to improve the condition, and why a different area with higher employment prospects would not help improve the condition

These details need to be verified and recorded in a DOC on the job seeker's record.

3

Improved job prospects, even though area has lower employment prospects

In some circumstances, job seekers will be moving to a new location which statistically has 'lowered their employment prospects', however the job seeker has specific skills pertinent to that area. That is, they may be moving to a location with:

• seasonal work opportunities (for example, harvests, ski season, fruit picking)
• a destination location where particular skills are in demand (for example, engineering positions)
• specialised employment opportunities
• local industry needs (hospitality industry in major tourist destinations)
• self-employment opportunities, one-off local developments (for example, resort development, building national transport linkages). See Acceptable evidence - job prospects for acceptable evidence

4

Acceptable evidence - job prospects

If a job seeker claims that their job opportunities are not reduced, the job seeker must provide evidence to Services Australia to that effect.

They can do this by providing evidence via:

• advertised vacancies where the job seeker has strong claims, newspaper vacancies (national and local newspapers showing vacancies in that particular area)
• other advertised vacancies (internet, industry associations, sponsors, touch screens)
• specialist newspapers, journals and magazines
• letter from an employer
• an offer of a job interview
• self-employment prospects (evidence of local need)
• their previous work history matched with:
• local demand for their skills, industry base
• seasonal work history matches local seasonal demand for work
• community notice boards
• employment agencies
• by direct approach (statement from employer about employment opportunities)

Service Officers have to make a judgment of the employment prospects between the current and previous locations. Evidence such as that listed above are only indications. For example, numerous vacancies in the new area are of little relevance if the job seeker does not have the skills and experience to do the work. Another circumstance may be where the job seeker has skills in demand but these skills were also in demand in the previous location.

5

Business Rules applying to MALEP workflow

• Job seekers who are able to provide evidence that they will not be lowering their employment prospects by moving will not be subject to the exclusion period. They can do this by demonstrating that their skills are in demand in the new location and by providing evidence that there is a job available
• Job seekers can move to and between the 5 major metropolitan areas (labour force greater than 500,000). Major metropolitan areas are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide or within 90 minutes of these cities
• When a job seeker moves from a major metropolitan area to another area, the unemployment rate of the new area can be no more than 2% higher than the place they have moved from. This is referred to as the 2% rule
• For those areas within the regional metropolitan areas of Hobart, Canberra and Darwin use the unemployment average rate of that metropolitan area. For example, Belconnen @ 4.9% substitutes the ACT UE average of 6.6%, Malak @ 2.7% uses the Darwin UE average of 4.3%, Sorell (M) - Pt A uses the Hobart UE average of 11.0%
• Job seekers cannot move in to a new area with a small labour force just because the respective UE rates are within 2%. A smaller labour market may have a UE rate that is less than 2% higher than that of a large labour market but the smaller labour market may also have a considerably lower vacancy rate. Any decision made to disregard MALEP tool data on these grounds should only be made following consultation with the local employment services provider
• A move between other locations will mean that the 2% rule is applied
• The onus is placed on the job seeker to provide either evidence of an acceptable reason or evidence of 'better employment prospects' (for example, vacancy data, job offer, skills in need)

Service Officers should contact the receiving office for all job seekers who propose to move to non-metropolitan area. This is so that local labour market knowledge, employment opportunities, skills in demand, access to labour markets, transport difficulties, seasonal work and other factors can be also considered when making an assessment on the job seekers application.

For example, a job seeker who has specific skills (such as a fruit picker or ski instructor) may be given permission to move to areas, which are considered to have lower employment opportunities, as the job seeker's skills match the labour market and seasonal conditions.

On the other hand, a job seeker who has no skills and is proposing to move from a major urban area (for example, labour force size of 10,000) to a location in the outback of New South Wales where there is no industry or job opportunities and has a much smaller labour force size (but compared to the job seekers previous location falls under the 2 percentage point unemployment rate difference), will significantly lower their employment opportunities.

The receiving office will be able to provide this information and support the MALEP decision.

Scenario

Outcome

1

Moving to live with family member

Bill is moving from Ryde in Sydney to Coffs Harbour to live with a parent. The move will reduce Bill's employment prospects by more than 2 per cent. Bill will be required to serve a MALEP non-payment period unless proof is supplied showing the parent lives in Coffs Harbour. This needs to be clearly recorded on a DOC.

2

Consideration of job prospects

Sam is moving from Tweed Heads, NSW, to Maroochydore, QLD. Sam has no special skills particularly suited to that area and no family living there. Sam may serve a MALEP employment related exclusion period. If Sam moves, eligibility for payment for 26 weeks may be affected. However, if Sam provides evidence showing that job prospects will improve (vacancies, demand for skills, etc.) the decision would be reconsidered.

Anita is a qualified chef and has been unable to find work. Anita lives in Hobart, Tasmania, and is considering moving to Torquay, Victoria. Anita does not have a job to go to but thought moving there would be nice. Anita will not be reducing employment prospects by more than 2% and will be eligible for JobSeeker Payment (JSP) while looking for work. Anita can move and still be paid JSP as the move is to an area where the unemployment rate is not more than 2 percentage points higher than in the previous area and job opportunities are considered to be comparable. Anita will not have to serve a MALEP employment related exclusion period.

3

Moving back to previous address

Noel recently moved from Canberra, ACT to Wagga Wagga, NSW. The unemployment rate is more than 2% higher than in the previous area. As there were no special reasons for moving to Wagga Wagga, Noel is ineligible for payment for 26 weeks. Noel can no longer afford to live in Wagga Wagga and is considering moving back to Canberra. The move back to Canberra will make Noel eligible for JSP again. The non-payment period will be waived for the remainder of the 26 weeks employment related exclusion period.

4

Moving due to financial hardship

To avoid foreclosure on their mortgage a job seeker sells their home and moves to an area of lower employment prospects because it is more affordable. Given the individual circumstances of the job seeker the delegate may decide that a MALEP should not apply.