Provider responsibilities under the Job Seeker Compliance Framework and the Targeted Compliance Framework 001-10010010

Employment Services providers include:

• Workforce Australia
• Workforce Australia Online
• Disability Employment Services
• Community Development Program

These providers work with job seekers to help address barriers to employment (both vocational and non-vocational) to help them into work.

Providers have responsibility for negotiating Job/Participation Plans (Job Plans) that set out the job seeker's compulsory requirements in return for receiving a participation payment, and to assist their return to work.

Provider's responsibilities to support ongoing job seeker participation and compliance include:

• explaining compulsory requirements, ensuring job seekers understand what they need to do in return for receiving a participation payment and what can happen to their payment if they don't meet compulsory requirements
• negotiating compulsory requirements in Job/Participation Plans that comply with legislation and applicable policy
• ensuring a job seekers compulsory requirements are reasonable, based on their individual circumstances and assessed capacity
• rescheduling appointments or removing requirements if a job seeker makes prior contact and provides an acceptable reason why they are unable to attend or meet a requirement

Providers have responsibility for monitoring compliance with compulsory requirements and have delegation for some decisions under Social Security Law. Their responsibility includes:

• identifying and recording that an incident has occurred that constitutes a mutual obligation failure, work refusal failure or unemployment failure
• identifying and recording whether a valid reason does or does not exist for a mutual obligation failure for the purpose of confirming or removing a demerit
• setting and notifying re-engagement requirements for mutual obligation failures and work refusal failures, notifying Services Australia the deemed date of notification and when conditions have been met
• undertaking a Capability Interview
• notifying a re-engagement requirement when a Capability Assessment is triggered
• using the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' Employment Services System (ESS) to notify Services Australia that a mutual obligation failure, work refusal failure or unemployment failure requires assessment of whether a reasonable excuse exists for the purpose of determining whether a penalty should be applied

Providers are responsible for notifying the job seeker of:

• the decision to record a demerit (through ESS, or the job seeker Dashboard in the Workforce Australia website/app)
• the action required to have a suspension lifted (re-engagement requirement), including the requirement to contact Services Australia for a Capability Assessment

Community Development Program (CDP) provider's responsibilities to support ongoing participation and compliance include:

• explaining compulsory requirements, ensuring CDP participant’s understand what they need to do in return for receiving a participation payment and what can happen to their payment if they do not meet compulsory requirements
• negotiating compulsory requirements in Job Plans that comply with legislation and applicable policy
• ensuring a CDP participant’s compulsory requirements are reasonable, based on their individual circumstances and assessed capacity
• recording attendance at appointments and with other requirements
• rescheduling appointments/requirements if a CDP participant makes prior contact and provides an acceptable reason why they are unable to attend

CDP providers have responsibility for monitoring compliance with compulsory requirements and have delegation for some decisions under Social Security Law. CDP providers:

• electronically advise Services Australia through the Employment Services System (ESS) that a participation payment is not payable as a result of non-attendance at a compulsory appointment
• initiate and action Non-Attendance Reports (NAR), including booking re-engagement appointments, notifying CDP participants of the reconnection requirement and sending an electronic transmission to lift payment suspensions resulting from a NAR
• discuss non-attendance with CDP participants prior to submitting a Provider Appointment Report (PAR)
• will provide Services Australia with all necessary information in relation to a non-compliance event where a decision is made to pursue compliance action via a PAR or Participation Report (PR)
• are required to ensure that they have availability to deliver any:
• re-engagement appointments, and
• waiver re-engagement appointments for the purpose of waiving all or part of a serious failure penalty
• may also manually request a Comprehensive Compliance Assessment (CCA) where they suspect a CDP participant may have barriers to compliance but has not yet disclosed these to their provider
• use the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' Employment Services System (ESS) to notify Services Australia that a Unemployment Non-Payment Period (UNPP) or connection, non-attendance, reconnection, No Show, No Pay, or serious failure requires investigation

CDP providers are responsible for notifying the CDP participant:

• that their participation payment has stopped due to a missed appointment
• of the action required to restart their payment (reconnection requirement)

CDP providers are responsible for notifying Services Australia:

• if they wish to withdraw compliance action
• if a participant fails to attend a waiver re-engagement appointment