Serious failure penalties 001-10120030

The Job Seeker Compliance Framework focuses on encouraging Community Development Program (CDP) job seekers to remain engaged with their provider and to comply with their mutual obligation requirements. Financial penalties are only imposed for failures within a CDP job seeker's control, for example, as a result of deliberate or persistent non-compliance.

A serious failure occurs where a CDP job seeker:

• refuses, or fails to accept or commence suitable work without reasonable excuse, or
• a Comprehensive Compliance Assessment (CCA) has been completed and the CDP job seeker is assessed as persistently non-compliant

Where a serious failure has been applied, the CDP job seeker is required to serve an 8 week serious failure period during which a participation payment is not payable unless:

• the CDP job seeker agrees to attend a waiver re-engagement appointment in lieu of serving the serious failure period, or
• the CDP job seeker does not have the capacity to attend a waiver re-engagement appointment and serving the serious failure period would cause the CDP job seeker to be in severe financial hardship

The serious failure period starts from the first day of the instalment period immediately following the one in which the decision has been made to apply or reapply a serious failure.

If the serious failure period has been reinstated following a conditional waiver, the serious failure period will recommence from a different date.

During the serious failure period, the CDP job seeker's participation payment remains 'current' at a zero rate (CZR) provided that all reporting for entitlement periods prior to the start date of the serious failure period has been finalised.

Service Officers should encourage the CDP job seeker to finalise all reporting for entitlement periods prior to the serious failure period, and ensure that these are processed. This prevents the record from cancelling 'Failed to Report' (FRP) or 'Did Not Lodge' (DNL) during the serious failure period. Once the serious failure period commences, the system will automatically 'turn off' reporting requirements for the duration of the serious failure period.

Most add on payments paid with the income support payment are not payable when a CDP job seeker is serving a serious failure period. This includes:

• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Energy Supplement
• Work for the Dole (WFD) Supplement
• Language Literacy & Numeracy Supplement
• Approved Program of Work Supplement (APWS)
• Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA)
• Telephone Allowance (TAL)
• Remote Area Allowance (RAA) and Rent Assistance (RA)

Family assistance payments and the Remote Engagement Program Payment are not affected.

CDP job seekers retain their access to a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) or Health Care Card (HCC) during a serious failure period.

• CDP job seekers may test their eligibility for other income support payments during a period of non-payment. However, the remaining serious failure period will transfer to the new payment if they are granted another participation payment.
• Partners of CDP job seekers are not able to apply to be paid at a higher rate during the serious failure period.
• CDP job seekers serving a serious failure period will not qualify for payment of Crisis Payment during the period of non-payment unless they claim after the end of their non-payment period and within allowable timeframes for an incident that occurred during the serious failure period.

CDP job seekers serving a serious failure period are not required to meet mutual obligation requirements during the serious failure period. Any compulsory appointments or requirements scheduled within the serious failure period need to be rescheduled to a period after the non-payment period is completed.

Connection failures, non-attendance failures, reconnection failures, No Show, No Pay failures and serious failures cannot be applied where a CDP job seeker is in a serious failure period at the time the incident occurred. However, if a customer:

• voluntarily leaves employment without reasonable excuse, or
• is dismissed due to misconduct

during a serious failure period, an Unemployment Non-Payment Period (UNPP) will need to be investigated and may affect the payment recommencement date.

CDP job seekers will be considered fully eligible job seekers for the purpose of access to employment services from a CDP provider during the serious failure period (or from a Workforce Australia provider should they relocate from the designated remote area).

CDP job seekers cannot be compelled to comply with mutual obligation requirements during this period.

Payment remains current but at zero rate throughout the serious failure period, and no action is required to restart payment. CDP job seekers will be reminded by letter two weeks before the end of the serious failure period that it is about to end, and they need to tell us about any changes in circumstances, and resume requirements included in their Job Plan as soon as the serious failure period has ended.

CDP job seekers will be able to report as usual after the serious failure period has ended. Payment will become current immediately after the end date of the serious failure, but payment will not be made until the CDP job seeker reports. Payment will not be made where the CDP job seeker fails to report.