Assessing independence when a customer is self-supporting through full-time paid employment 001-04060040

Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers, see Assessing payment rates and independence for Disability Support Pension customers under 21 years. Procedure ends here

A Youth Allowance (YA) or ABSTUDY customer is considered independent if they have supported themselves through full-time paid employment for at least 18 months within any 2 year period.

Full-time is deemed as having worked an average of 30 hours or more per week. This can be in one or more jobs and does not need to be consecutive or concurrent. A customer does not have to wait until they cease secondary school to commence their 30 hours per week.

For YA or ABSTUDY:

• online claim or Assisted Customer Claims (ACC), go to Step 2
• current customer, check for a CoC (Change of circumstance) transaction from the Check independence through work history online service, then go to Step 3
• any other assessment, go to Step 3

Where the customer has indicated in their YA or ABSTUDY online claim or ACC they are independent under the full-time self-supporting criterion, they will be asked to enter some of their employment details. This may include their employer name, hours worked and income earned.

Depending on the details entered, the customer will be presented with either Required or Supplementary evidence tasks at Next Steps to support the information provided in their claim.

Other tasks, including a MOD JY - Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details, may be requested based on the customers circumstances and the information provided in the claim.

Supplementary evidence may be used to support the full-time paid employment criterion or another self-supporting independence criterion.

Go to Step 4.

Customers claiming independence under this criterion must provide evidence supporting their periods of employment and hours worked.

For a current customer, check the CoC transaction from the Check independence through work history service and review any evidence supplied.

Note: where evidence requested through the Check independence through work history service is not supplied by the due date:

• the transaction automatically changes to ‘Cancelled’ in Process Direct, and
• the Task to upload evidence on the customer's online service is removed

Is evidence of employment available?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, and
  • have not been previously requested, see Requesting information (CLK). Procedure ends here until the information is supplied or the request falls due
  • were previously requested and have not been provided by the due date, see Table 2 > Step 2

Review the evidence provided to confirm the customer’s periods of employment and hours worked.

Evidence may include:

For employment as an employee:

• letter(s) from employers which outline periods of employment and hours worked
• payslips or payroll reports from their employer showing the hours worked and periods of employment

For self employment:

• profit and loss statements
• receipt books for work undertaken

Where the customer has both employment and self-employment, review the relevant evidence for all periods being used in the assessment.

A Tax Notice of Assessment, which show an amount of income for a financial year, cannot be used to verify hours worked. Statements of service from the Australian Defence Force excluding reserves, may be accepted without hours per week.

Evidence of employment may also be obtained through verbal contact with an employer or a written letter from a previous employer already held by the customer. When contacting an employer, only discuss periods of employment and remain diligent in protecting the customer's privacy.

If there is reasonable doubt about the authenticity of evidence, additional evidence may be requested. For example, additional evidence may be required when the customer provides a letter from the customer's family business stating the hours worked.

If help is needed to determine eligibility based on evidence, contact Local Peer Support (LPS).

Go to Step 5.

Check the customer's periods of employment and hours worked within any 2 year period. The customer can be considered to meet the criterion if the evidence supports they have been working an average of 30 hours or more per week for at least 18 months during any 2 year period. This equates to a minimum of 2,340 hours for 78 weeks out of 104 weeks.

Hours worked can include the periods of:

• paid leave - annual leave, sick leave, parental leave, Pandemic Leave Disaster Payments (PLDP)
• unpaid leave due to an employer shutdown, which is outside the control of the person. For example, mandatory Christmas leave
• engagement in a full-time apprenticeship or other full-time training agreement
• receiving workers' compensation and the customer can demonstrate they are still connected to their employment
• full-time employment overseas

Staff may use the Independence calculator in Process Direct to assist with the assessment.

Does the evidence fully support the customer worked an average of 30 hours or more per week (full-time) for periods of at least 18 months in a 2 year period?

• Yes, the customer meets the criterion. See Table 2 > Step 1
• No:
  • for YA, go to Step 6
  • for ABSTUDY, the customer is not eligible for independence based on being self-supporting through paid employment. See Table 2 > Step 2

The YA safety net criterion does not apply to ABSTUDY customers.

Check whether the customer:

• is at least 18 years of age
• has worked at least 30 hours per week for a period totalling at least 12 months
• is not living at the home of either or both parents
• is not receiving direct or indirect financial support from their parent(s)

Does the available information and evidence indicate the customer may meet these requirements?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, the customer does not meet the YA safety net criterion. See Table 2 > Step 2

To meet the YA safety net criterion, the customer must be specially disadvantaged with respect to education or employment.

Specially disadvantaged refers to:

• education:
  • a student who has not completed Year 12 or equivalent
  • a job seeker who has not completed Year 12 (or equivalent) or a Certificate III or higher
• employment: a person whose personal circumstances and labour market skills make it difficult for them to find a job. For example, a person who is classified as high risk on the Job Seeker Snapshot

Note: the decision a customer is specially disadvantaged is not dependent on the activity the customer is undertaking. For example, a customer qualified as an Australian Apprentice could meet the criterion of specially disadvantaged with respect to education if they have not completed Year 12 or equivalent.

For help making this decision, see the References page for a link to the Guide which has details about education or employment disadvantage for YA.

To be assessed under this criterion, the customer must provide evidence with their claim to prove they:

• were working for 30 hours per week in a 12 month period, or for periods totalling 12 months (for example, payslips), and
• are not being financially supported (indirectly or directly) by their parent(s). This could be a statutory declaration or bank statements

Is the customer specially disadvantaged in terms of education or employment?

• Yes, the customer is independent. Note: this criterion is reviewable if the customer's circumstances change. See Table 2 > Step 1
• No, see Table 2 > Step 2
• Further evidence is required, go to Step 8

If the information or documents needed to determine whether the customer meets the YA safety net criterion:

• have not been previously requested, see Requesting information (CLK). Procedure ends here until the information is supplied or the request falls due
• were previously requested and have not been provided by the due date, see Table 2 > Step 2