Mutual obligation requirements for principal carers of dependent children over the Christmas/New year period 001-09020090

In the fortnight (entitlement period) that contains the Christmas Day public holiday, principal carers subject to compulsory mutual obligation requirements will not be required to undertake agreed activities as outlined in their Job Plan. This will apply to all principal carers regardless of their activity type, including job search, and regardless of their payment type.

If the customer does undertake some activity but not enough to fulfil their normal agreed requirements, there will be no additional activities required or potential failure investigated for that fortnight. The principal carer will be required to return to fully meeting their normal mutual obligation requirements the following fortnight.

Principal carers will still be required to report and declare any income earned, or changes in circumstances for this fortnight.

Due to the variations in Entitlement Period End Dates (EPED), not all principal carers will have this provision applied for the same fortnight.

As customers lodgement frequency varies, some customers may report up to 12 weeks after the Christmas Day public holiday period.

The special provisions for the break from undertaking activities only apply to the 1 fortnight containing the Christmas Day public holiday, and customers will need to meet their requirements during all other periods covered by their Your Reporting Statement.

In addition to provisions over the Christmas Day public holiday fortnight, principal carers who meet their mutual obligation requirements through suitable paid work, or a combination of paid work and study, will not be required to undertake alternative activities, such as job search, if their regular employment temporarily closes down at any time during the Christmas/New Year school holiday period. However, the customer must reasonably expect to resume their usual hours of employment in the New Year, as soon as their employment is once again available. These provisions may apply to customers in a variety of employment situations, including term-time employment such as schools, and any other temporary employment closure over this holiday period.

The allowable break provisions will apply if:

• The customer's employment temporarily ceases during the Christmas/New Year school holiday period (December - February, depending upon the child's school and state/territory rules)
• The closure may be foreseeable but is out of the customer's control (employer initiated)
• The customer can reasonably expect to resume their normal hours of employment in the new year (for example, at the beginning of the school term). Note: there is no minimum period of closure for which the allowable break provision applies, but a maximum of 8 weeks applies
• Verification can be provided by the customer, or past employment history used as evidence, that employment will resume

These provisions only apply for the duration of the Christmas/New Year school holiday period. Actual term dates will vary due to location and individual school rules, therefore each determination of allowable break duration must be undertaken on a case by case basis. Current provisions remain in place for principal carers taking paid leave breaks from employment, and other allowable break provisions outside the Christmas holiday period.

No compliance action will be taken due to failure for not meeting the 30 hours per fortnight of paid work or a combination of paid work and study requirement during the business closure fortnights.

The principal carer will be required to return to normal mutual obligation requirements at the end of the business closure period, or at the end of the maximum 8 week period, whichever occurs first.