Quarterly Participation Interviews for Partial Capacity to Work and Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (0-7 or 8-14 hours per week) job seekers 001-09070190

The purpose of the QTI is to make sure job seekers remain engaged with Services Australia and are aware of their compulsory requirement to attend the quarterly participation interviews and other voluntary participation options. The QTI's are conducted every 12 weeks.

Job seekers with QTI requirements are still required to report and should be encouraged to use self service options (online accounts, Express Plus Mobile Apps and phone self service) to complete their report. They can also report in person at a service centre or submit their report in writing (SU19 form).

A job seeker has a PCW of less than 15 hours per week if both their current and future work capacity with intervention, as assessed in an ESAt or JCA, is less than 15 hours per week.

Job seekers with a PCW of 15-29 hours per week are not required to attend a QTI, unless they also have a TRWC of less than 15 hours per week.

For more information about requirements for all job seekers with a PCW, see Job seekers with a partial capacity to work or a temporary reduced work capacity.

Job seekers with mutual obligation requirements are required to attend a QTI every 12 weeks if they have an assessed work capacity of:

• PCW of 0-7 or 8-14 hours per week, or
• TRWC of 0-7 or 8-14 hours per week for 12 weeks or more

The criteria includes Centrelink managed job seekers living in a designated Community Development Program (CDP) area. If the job seeker fails to attend the appointment, suspend their payment to prompt them to make contact with the agency.

The QTI activity must be coded on the job seeker's Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen. The Job Plan also needs to be updated where appropriate.

QTI requirements apply to all job seekers with a PCW or TRWC of 0-14 hours per week who are not fully meeting their requirements through paid employment or self-employment. A job seeker cannot end their QTI requirement early because they wish to be connected to a Workforce Australia, CDP or Disability Employment Services (DES) provider. These job seekers can volunteer to participate in employment services. Note: job seekers assessed with a TRWC of 0-7 cannot volunteer with a DES provider.

Note: job seekers who are assessed as having TRWC of 0-7 or 8-14 hours per week for less than 12 weeks duration are only required to attend an Initial QTI appointment. The purpose of this appointment is for Services Australia to discuss the mutual obligation requirements during this period with the job seeker, code the QTI activity on the AEX screen and update the Job Plan where appropriate. However, as these job seekers do not have ongoing QTI requirements, they are also required to report and to attend compulsory Services Australia interviews when requested. If the TRWC is later extended beyond 12 weeks, then ongoing QTI appointments will be required.

If a PCW or TRWC job seeker is in paid employment or self-employment within their assessed bandwidth, they are fully satisfying their mutual obligation requirements, and will not be subject to QTI requirements. These job seekers must have the appropriate approved activity recorded on the AEX screen, for example 'PTW' for paid work or 'SEL' for self-employment. The Job Plan also needs to be updated where appropriate.

A job seeker can only be assessed as having a PCW or a TRWC by an ESAt report or a JCA report.

When the ESAt/JCA report is accepted by the agency and the job seeker has been assessed as PCW or TRWC of 0-14 hours per week:

• an Initial QTI Service Component will be 'STA'rted, and
• an appointment is automatically booked for 2 weeks after the ESAt/JCA acceptance date

The initial appointment is to make sure the:

• job seeker is advised of their compulsory QTI attendance requirement and their voluntary participation options, as soon as possible after the acceptance of the ESAt/JCA report, and
• AEX screen is updated, and Job Plan is negotiated (where appropriate)

The ESAt/JCA report will still display with a status of 'submitted' for 28 days until the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' (DEWR) system auto-updates this to 'finalised'. This does not affect the commencement of QTI requirements, as they are effective from the date the report was accepted by Services Australia.

When the ESAt/JCA report is accepted, the 12 week count for the ongoing QTI will automatically begin. The duration of the 12 week count will not change, until the PCW/TRWC of 0-14 hours per week status ends or changes.

The QTI will not be required if the job seeker:

• has an exemption from their mutual obligation requirements, such as being temporarily incapacitated for all work, or
• is in self-employment or paid employment that meets their mutual obligation requirements, or
• does not have a current and valid assessment of their work capacity

Job seekers do not require a QTI if they have a current exemption from their mutual obligation requirements. This includes job seekers granted a temporary incapacity exemption because they have lodged a medical certificate.

Note: if the job seeker is granted an exemption from mutual obligation requirements, after the QTI appointment booking occurs, the QTI appointment is not automatically cancelled. Service Officers should check if there is a future QTI appointment booked at the time of coding the exemption. If a QTI has already been booked and falls during the exemption period, manually cancel the QTI appointment and advise the job seeker as appropriate.

A job seeker will be required to attend a QTI if they have a TRWC of 0-7 hours per week and cannot be granted a temporary incapacity exemption.

The QTI requirements start after the ESAt/JCA report acceptance date.

Service Component 707 (QTI Initial Phone) or 708 (QTI Initial Face to Face) will automatically start when the ESAt/JCA report is accepted. The Initial QTI appointment type is automatically booked for 2 weeks after the ESAt/JCA acceptance date. This appointment is to make sure the QTI activity is coded on the AEX screen and the Job Plan is updated (where appropriate).

Service Component 710 (QTI Ongoing Phone) or 711 (QTI Ongoing Face to Face) requirements will be determined once the Initial QTI interview is completed, the QTI activity is coded on the AEX screen and the Job Plan is updated. The first ongoing QTI service component will be generated at approximately 10 weeks from the date the ESAt/JCA is accepted if it is still required. This Service Component is for the purposes of conducting the ongoing quarterly (12 weekly) interviews, to discuss the job seeker's circumstances, options available to them and to make sure they understand their obligations.

The 12 week count continues uninterrupted regardless of any delays, rescheduling, or exemptions. Therefore, QTI appointments will be completed at 12, 24, 36 weeks etc. This start date also applies to TRWC job seekers who were originally assessed as having a reduced work capacity for less than 12 weeks but have had their period of reduced work capacity extended past 12 weeks.

The Service Profiling Update workflow is used to conduct the QTI interview with the job seeker. The workflow provides a checklist of appropriate actions and discussion topics. For information about conducting the QTI, see Step 8 on the Process page.

The agency must negotiate a Job Plan with job seekers who have been assessed as having a PCW or TRWC of 0-14 hours per week, after the QTI activity is coded on the AEX screen as part of the QTI Initial appointment. This includes job seekers with a TRWC of 0-14 hours per week for less than 12 weeks.

When the Job Plan workflow is launched, the Job Plan will auto-populate the 'Reduced Work Capacity' Job Plan item and the following sentence text:

'I agree to attend all compulsory appointments made for me by Centrelink. If I am unable to attend an appointment, I will advise Centrelink of my situation as soon as possible after being notified of my appointment date and time.'

Note: the Job Plan item must not be removed from the Job Plan even if the job seeker volunteers for employment services.

If a job seeker continues to participate in DES (that is, they are a participant in Post Placement Support), the Job Plan should not be updated by Services Australia, as the DES provider will update the Job Plan with the QTI activity. The Process page contains instructions to determine whether a job seeker is in a Post Placement Support program.