Assessing a serious failure for refusing to accept or failing to commence a suitable job 001-10100010

A serious failure may require investigation when a RAES participant refuses to accept or fails to commence a suitable job.

These may be triggered when:

• a Participation Report is received from a RAES provider, or
• information received directly from the RAES participant indicates their refusal to accept or failure to commence a suitable job. In these cases Services Australia staff will generate the serious failure for investigation

A serious failure has only occurred because of a RAES participant refusing to accept or failing to commence a suitable job if:

• the RAES participant was receiving a payment subjected to mutual obligation requirements on the failure incident date, and
• the position offered was suitable work based on the RAES participant's individual circumstances, and
• the RAES participant did not have a reasonable excuse for refusing to accept the offer or commence work as planned

PST-skilled staff with WNPPD security resource are responsible for:

• reviewing existing information on the RAES participant's record which may be relevant to the failure. This includes reviewing the Participation Report and provider comments
• determining the validity of the failure
• establishing contact with the RAES participant to:
• discuss the failure, and
• record the RAES participant's explanation for the failure
• contacting third parties such as Employment Services Providers or employers, to gather further information about:
• the position offered
• how the offer was made, and/or
• the refusal to accept or commence suitable employment
• determining whether personal factors or barriers impacted on the suitability of the employment or the RAES participant's capacity to accept the job offer. This may include consultation with a Centrelink specialist or Indigenous Cultural Consultant
• recording all elements of the investigation in the Compliance Investigation workflow
• determining whether a serious failure has occurred and notifying the RAES participant of this determination
  Note: when PST-skilled staff (WNPPD) are not at the APS5 level, consultation with a Service Officer (SO5) must occur before a decision is made to apply a serious failure for refusing or failing to commence a suitable job
• explaining the serious failure penalty and offering the RAES participant the opportunity to waive the serious failure penalty by attending a waiver re-engagement appointment
• re-engaging RAES participants who agree to attend a waiver re-engagement appointment with their provider
• determining if hardship provisions apply when the RAES participant does not have capacity to attend a waiver re-engagement appointment