Mutual obligation requirements 001-09000000

Job seekers will satisfy their mutual obligation requirements if they:

• actively seek and are willing to undertake suitable paid work. The definition of 'suitable work' for PP job seekers is the same as for JSP/YA principal carers, or
• undertake suitable paid work, or
• participate in some other approved training, program or course which is likely to improve their employment prospects, and
• enter into a Job Plan, if required, with Services Australia or an Employment Services Provider without unreasonable delay, and
• fully comply with the terms of the Job Plan

When determining a person's mutual obligation requirements in relation to paid work, there are 2 tests that are considered:

• Is the work suitable for the person and could they be expected to undertake it?
• Do the hours and income in the fortnight meet sufficient work test requirements, so that the job seeker has no further obligations?

Note: a job seeker who is in a current employment income nil rate period, whether due to their own or their partner's income, does not have mutual obligation requirements during those periods. In other words, if the customer's income support payment reduces to nil, all their mutual obligation requirements are deemed to be satisfied.

A job seeker's participation category will be automatically determined based upon their circumstance. There are 10 participation categories available. They reflect the different types of mutual obligation requirements job seekers have.

The participation category is displayed to the Service Officer on the Participation Summary screen and in the Job Plan workflow.

If the job seeker is not eligible for a particular activity because of their participation category, the activity will be greyed out and the Service Officer will not be able to select it. The job seeker's participation category will be automatically reassessed where necessary, for example:

• the job seeker turns 55
• a child enters or leaves their care, or
• a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) is undertaken

Some job seekers with mutual obligation requirements may display attributes for more than one participation category. The job seeker can only be placed in one participation category at a time. Staff are not required to manually determine a job seeker's participation category. The job seeker's participation category will be automatically determined, based upon a hierarchy applied by the system.

Example: a 57 year old job seeker has full-time care of a 14 year old child and is receiving JSP. The job seeker fits the criteria for both 'JSP/SPL Mature Age 55 +' and 'Principal Carer on JSP/YA/SPL 15 hrs/wk' categories. The system will place the job seeker into the Participation Category of 'Principal Carer on JSP/YA/SPL 15 hrs/wk' as this is the first matching result in the hierarchy.

Participation categories are listed here according to the automatically applied system hierarchy:

• Voluntary
• JSP/PP/YA/SPL TRWC 0-7 hrs/wk
• JSP/PP/YA/SPL TRWC 8-14 hrs/wk
• Principal Carer on YA <18 No Yr 12 or equiv 15 hrs/wk
• YA <18 No Yr 12 or equiv WKCAP15-22 hrs/wk
• YA <18 No Yr 12 or equiv WKCAP 23-29 hrs/wk
• YA <18 No Yr 12 or equiv 25+ hrs/wk
• Principal Carer on YA 18-20 No Yr 12 or equiv 15 hrs/wk
• YA 18-20 No Yr 12 or equiv WKCAP 15-22 hrs/wk
• YA 18-20 No Yr 12 or equiv WKCAP 23-29 hrs/wk
• YA 18-20 No Yr 12 or equiv 25+ hrs/wk
• JSP/PP/YA/SPL WK CAP 0-14 hrs/wk
• Parents on PP 15hrs/wk
• Principal Carer on JSP/YA/SPL 15hrs/wk
• JSP/YA/SPL WKCAP 15-22 hrs/wk
• JSP/YA/SPL WKCAP 23-29 hrs/wk
• JSP/SPL 55-59 within 12 months
• JSP/SPL Mature Age 55+
• JSP/YA/SPL 30+ hrs/wk

Participation categories do not apply to CDP job seekers and do not determine their mutual obligation requirements.

In setting mutual obligation requirements for CDP job seekers and negotiating Job Plans, CDP providers consider the job seeker's assessed capacity and individual circumstances.

For information on mutual obligation requirements for job seekers in CDP, see Community Development Program (CDP).

Under specific, verifiable circumstances, a job seeker may be exempt from their mutual obligation requirements for a specified period.