Youth Bonus Wage Subsidy (YBWS) 26 Week Suspension Period 001-17030800

Check if the job seeker is employed under the YBWS initiative:

• in Process Direct select > Participation Summary
• select the Subsidy tab to display the job seeker's start date in the initiative
• YBWS information may be displayed on the Participation Summary screen even though the customer may not be suspended (SUS) or cancelled (CAN), that is, they could be reporting income within a 12-fortnight zero rate period or reporting income that is below the income test limit
• the YBWS information will display as 'no current information' where the job seeker is not a current YBWS participant. This could be because they have had payment restored within the 26-week suspension period or where their income support payment is cancelled at the end of the 26-week suspension period
• previous periods in YBWS will be included under History

Note: job seekers may be employed as casual or part-time under YBWS. These job seekers may not be paid enough employment income to reduce their income support payment to zero. For further information, see Step 6 in Table 2.

Has the job seeker contacted Services Australia within the 26-week suspension period?

• Yes, and the job seeker:
• advises they have not commenced employment under the YBWS incentive and is incorrectly coded as YBS suspend, see Table 3
• advises they have started full-time study, go to Step 2
• advises they will start studying in the future, go to Step 5
• is participating in the YBWS incentive, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 4

Did the customer voluntarily reduce hours or cease work to commence study?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, and the customer is in receipt of:
• Jobseeker Payment (JSP), go to Step 3
• Youth Allowance (YA), go to Step 5

If the customer was in receipt of:

• JSP and they have ceased work (regardless of if they left work voluntarily or not) to return to full-time study:
• Cancel the payment - YBE
• This will allow the customer to claim a student payment online if they choose to
• YA and they have ceased work or reduced hours voluntarily, to return to study:
• Cancel the payment as customer has lost qualification as a job seeker
• The customer must lodge a new claim for student payment online

To cancel the payment:

• Use the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure and cancel the payment from the date the job seeker:
• ceased employment or
• reduced hours voluntarily
• Finish the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure and include comments within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity advising the reason for cancellation

The job seeker's payment will auto-change from suspended to cancelled with the reason YBE. A cancellation advice will be issued to the job seeker.

Once this has occurred their income support payment cannot be restored, and the job seeker will have to lodge a new claim.

Note: the customer will no longer be entitled to their concession card.

Procedure ends here.

If there has been no contact from the job seeker and the YBWS 26-week suspension period has ended, the job seeker's payment will auto-change from suspended to cancelled with the reason 'YBE'. A cancellation advice letter will be issued to the job seeker.

Once this has happened, their income support payment cannot be restored and the job seeker will have to lodge a new claim, if they wish to claim an income support payment.

The customer can apply for a review of the cancellation decision. For more details about reviews and appeals, see Request for an explanation, quality check or review (CLK).

Procedure ends here.

If at any time during the suspension period, a job seeker wants to return to their existing income support payment, they will be able to contact Services Australia.

Note: if the customer does not start study until a future date, they will be assessed as a job seeker until their study commences.

Customers may need to supply Employment Separation Certificate (SU001) to support evidence of employment ceased.

Is contact via:

• online, go to Step 6
• phone or face to face, go to Step 7

The Advice End of Employment service is only available for customers who are suspended YBS.

If the job seeker notifies of ceasing employment via the online account option, the information will be populated in a Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance transaction which can only be completed via the Verify Employment Separation workflow.

If the customer:

• has not provided the Employment Separation Certificate (SU001), or verification from their employer, after completing the Advice End of Employment service, will display as a Re-index Claim (ZCoC) transaction and will be set to For Customer Action
• has uploaded the SU001 or verification document through the 'Upload Documents Online Service' the status of the ZCoC is set to For Manual Action

Select the Verify Employment Separation workflow from the Task Selector or from the Staff Tasks tab within the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance transaction.

All the mandatory fields will need to be completed before the work item can be completed.

See Table 2.

Service Officers must use the Verify Employment Separation workflow to record that the job seeker has ceased YBWS employment.

The commencement of the Verify Employment Separation workflow generates a Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance work item in Workload manager.

Has the customer:

• ceased employment or advised they have ceased employment due to becoming temporarily incapacitated, and evidence provided, see Table 2
• advised their employment hours have reduced, or changed to casual or part time hours, or they are on leave without pay (LWOP), see Step 6 in Table 2

Note: make sure all evidence is attached to the customer's record.

Does the customer have evidence to verify ceasing employment?

• Yes, see Table 2
• No, go to Step 8

If the customer does not have evidence to verify ceasing employment, the preferred option is to tell the customer to complete the online Advice End of Employment service.

If the customer chooses not to use the online Advice End of Employment service, key the following on the Verify Employment Separation workflow, pending evidence being provided:

• Key START into the Super Key
• Select the Verify Employment Separation workflow
• Select Employment separation, select Start
• The Income maintenance period (IMP) screen will display
• Select Add on the Employer details table
• Create employer details will display
• Complete the following fields:
• Date employment ceased: record details provided by customer
• Employer name: record details provided by customer
• Source: select S: Employment Separation Certificate
• Select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields, select Save
• Select Next
• The Warning and Errors (SWE) screen will display
• To request evidence SU001- Employment Separation Certificate, select More Options and select Request Documents
• Request For Information - RFI will display
• Complete the following fields:
• Benefit: JSP/YAL
• Authority to request: select appropriate legislation
• Request: first
• Mailing address to be included in the letter: Yes or No
• Customer to contact: Call centre
• Information to be supplied within 14 Days + Delivery
• Select Next
• Select Documents will display
• In the Search available documents: enter 'SU001' and select Search
• The SU001 - Employment Separation Certificate will display under Available documents table. Use Select to add the correct document
• Select Next
• The Final Details screen will display
• Before finalising the letter select Generate Print Preview to view the letter before it is sent to the customer
• Output options: Print Central or Print Local
• Select local printer is disabled for print central, however if you print local, it will allow a specific printer to be selected
• Staff notes: enter appropriate notes. These notes will display in a Note/DOC on the customer's record
• Select Finalise

The Change of Circumstances (CoC) transaction will be set as For Customer Action.

Advise the customer they must supply their evidence within 14 days.

The customer's payment will not restore and will remain suspended (SUS-YBS), until customer can supply suitable evidence.

Procedure ends here.

The job seeker or their employer must provide the agency with information/evidence on the cessation of their employment within 14 days of contact. See Employment Separation Certificate or Letter from employer, to determine if restoration of the payment will occur or if they must lodge a new claim.

Staff may be allocated a CoC activity via workload manager after initial notification of employment separation has been recorded. Staff must action SU001 or cancel payments FSD - Failed to supply documents by following process below.

The evidence must include information on any leave or redundancy payments received by the customer on termination from the employer.

Note: evidence may be attached as a document in the Customer Tasks tab in the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance transaction. There may be instances where documents do not attach.

If documents are not attached, ensure a search for the document is undertaken in both the Upload documents service and via Customer First Third Party Information Summary (TPIS) screen on the customer's record.

The job seeker must provide a Centrelink medical certificate if they ceased employment due to becoming temporarily incapacitated. If a medical certificate has been supplied, go to Step 7.

Has the job seeker provided information/evidence within 14 days of initial contact?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 5

Where the job seeker's employment has ceased due to no fault of their own, their income support payment can be restored.

If the reason for ceasing employment was the job seeker's fault, their income support payment will be cancelled. An unemployment failure should be generated if payment is reclaimed within 6 weeks of voluntarily leaving work or being dismissed due to misconduct.

Service Officers will need to decide to restore or cancel a jobseekers payment based on the following reasons:

• Shortage of work
• Unsuitability for the type of work
• Unsatisfactory work performance
• Misconduct as an employee
• Voluntarily ceased work
• Redundancy
• End of season or contract
• Other

Reasons that would be considered the job seeker's fault include:

• Unsatisfactory work performance
• Misconduct as an employee
• Voluntarily ceased work (this includes voluntarily leaving work to commence study)
• Other (further investigation needed)

For more information, see Unemployment due to a voluntary act or misconduct.

Was the job seeker at fault for ceasing employment?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, and:
• there is a temporary incapacity, go to Step 7
• no temporary incapacity exists, go to Step 4

Where the reason for ceasing employment is the fault of the job seeker and, the reason for ceasing employment has been confirmed by evidence on the Employment Separation Certificate (SU001), or from other evidence provided, the payment is not to be restored.

An unemployment failure should be generated if payment is reclaimed within 6 weeks of voluntarily leaving work or being dismissed due to misconduct.

Cancelling the income support payment

Cancel the payment from the date the job seeker ceased employment using the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure to correctly cancel the job seeker's payment.

The evidence provided by the job seeker, or their employer must include information on any leave or redundancy payments received by the job seeker on termination from the employer. These payments are to be assessed and recorded on the Maintain screen in the guided procedure and applied under the existing Income Maintenance Period (IMP) rules.

Note: The Verify Employment Separation guided procedure may display the IMP leave types in a different order on the Review screen compared to the Income Maintenance Period Summary (IMPS) screen. The overall IMP calculated start and end period in the guided procedure will be calculated correctly and display as per the IMPS screen calculation for the start and end date of the applied IMP.

Finish the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure and include comments within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity advising the reason for cancellation.

The job seeker's payment will auto-change from suspended to cancelled with the reason YBE. A cancellation advice will be issued to the job seeker.

Once this has occurred their income support payment cannot be restored, and the job seeker will have to lodge a new claim if they wish to claim an income support payment.

Advising the job seeker

Advise the job seeker their income support payment has been cancelled if the job seeker is not present make one genuine contact attempt. If the job seeker still requires an income support payment they must lodge a new claim.

The job seeker must be advised that an unemployment preclusion period may apply if an unemployment failure has been committed due to voluntary unemployment or dismissal due to misconduct.

If the contact attempt is:

• successful or the job seeker is present, record discussion information within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity
• unsuccessful, record this information within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity

The customer can apply for a review of the cancellation decision. For more details about reviews and appeals, see Request for an explanation, or application for a formal review.

For more information on new claims, see:

• Processing Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker) claims
• Processing Jobseeker Payment (JSP) claims

Procedures ends here.

Only restore the job seeker's payment:

• where the employment has ceased through no fault of the job seeker and
• evidence has been provided to confirm

See examples on the Resources page for further information.

Restore the job seeker's payment using the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure. The Verify Employment Separation guided procedure will default the restoration date to the earliest of the following:

• the date the job seeker provided evidence or
• the date they advised of employment ceasing

Due to a system limitation, if the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure was not run when the job seeker first advised they ceased employment, the date will default to today's date. This cannot be changed using the guided procedure. To restore the payment to an earlier date of event, see Table 5 on the Customer First tab.

Run the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure:

• Employment Separation/Verification Details section:
• Employer name: record details provided by customer
• Date employment ceased: record the details provided by the customer
• Source - select SU1 from the dropdown list
• Advise End of Employment section:
• Reason for separation: select, appropriate reason as advised by customer
• Further Details of Separation
• Action code: this will auto-populate based on reason recorded unless 'OTHER' is recorded for reason for separation. In these cases, the action code will have to be manually recorded. Note: valid values are RES for Restoration
• Date of Effect: will default to date restored (RES)
• Once coding is complete, select FINISH to finalise the guided procedure, and include comments within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstances activity advising:
• the reason for restoration, and
• the date the job seeker first contacted to advise of their employment separation

Any leave or redundancy payments received by the customer on termination from the employer are to be assessed, and recorded on the Maintain screen in the guided procedure and applied under the existing Income Maintenance Period (IMP) rules.

If the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity has not been completed upon finalisation of the guided procedure, manually change the status on the Change of Circumstances activity to 'Completed'.

Any Centrepay deductions the job seeker had in place prior to commencing the 26-week suspension period and concession card entitlements will recommence.

Continuity dates - Existing continuous period on payment rules will apply to restorations. For example, if a customer is restored after being suspended for more than 13 weeks, continuity dates will be auto reset as the date payment recommenced.

Note: if the payment does not restore when expected after completing the guided procedure, the record will need to be checked to determine what is preventing the restoration from completing. Any incorrect information will need to be updated before the payment can be restored.

Some possible (but not limited to) reasons could include:

• End date the job seeker's full-time work on the Customer Employment Status Update (EAES) screen, or
• Key '0' income against the last employer that the job seeker had, or
• Ensure that there are no outstanding previous reporting periods that have not been completed, or
• End date the 'other income' on the Other Income Summary (OINS) screen, see Recording and correcting employment income details

Note: customers who turn twenty-two during the YBS suspension period may not be able to be restored using the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure. Refer to scenarios in Resources for more information.

Once a customer is restored from a YBWS suspension period, the 26-week YBWS period ends. If they then return to work, they must advise, and normal Return to Work (RTW) provisions are applied. The customer's payment will not re-suspend YBS unless their employment services provider sends through a new second notification. See Scenario 5 on the Resources page.

Has the customer commenced full-time study today or in the past or will commence study in the future?

• Yes:
• For student trained staff, assess customer's eligibility as a student. See Commencing or returning to study
• For non-student trained staff, transfer customer to Youth and Students line to assess customer's eligibility as a student
• No, procedure ends here

Payment will be auto cancelled using reason FSD (Failed to supply documents) from the date the job seeker contacted Services Australia.

There should be no further action needed.

If for any reason the record is not auto-cancelled FSD, the Change of Circumstance activity will be changed to For Manual action. If this occurs the following process will need to be followed:

Select the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity, and:

• include notes within the Notes tab advising:
• the reason for cancellation, and
• date the customer first contacted
• manually change the status on the Change of Circumstances activity to 'Completed'

Manually cancel the job seeker from the Benefit Action (BA) screen using cancellation reason 'FSD'. The customer is to be cancelled from the date they advised the agency they 'ceased employment'. Include the reason for cancelling on the BA screen as 'Failed to supply documents to support end of employment for YBWS job seeker' in the Notes: field and finalise the activity.

A manual DOC will need to be recorded confirming the reason the YBWS job seeker was cancelled from the date they advised they 'ceased employment' or became incapacitated, and that if the customer contacts at a later date with the required documentation, their income support payment cannot be restored and they will need to lodge a new claim.

Procedure ends here.

If a customer advises their work hours to have changed from full-time to part-time or casual, or they are on leave without pay (LWOP), use the Advice End of Employment service. The reason for ceasing work should be recorded as 'shortage of work' and proof must be provided.

Hours reduced to casual or part-time

Check the customer's hourly rate of pay and hours per week to decide if customers earnings are under the earnings threshold and they will be entitled to Youth Allowance or Jobseeker Payment, see Rates and Thresholds. If:

Yes, jobseeker will be entitled to Income Support Payments (ISP) and can only be restored from date of notification:

• Key START into the Super Key
• Select the Verify Employment Separation workflow
• Select Employment Separation and Benefit Action, then select Start
• The Income maintenance period (IMP) screen will display
• On the Employer details table, select Add
• Complete the following:
  Date employment ceased: record details provided by customer
  Employer name: record details given by the customer. If the customer's hours reduced to casual or part-time, enter the date the hours changed in this field
  Source: select S: Employment Separation Certificate from the dropdown list
• Select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields as the date notified or date evidence provided (whichever is the earlier), select Save
• Select Next
• The Earnings (EAN/EANS) screen will display
• To change the employment income, select Edit against the employer and make the relevant updates, see Recording and correcting employment income details
• Select Next
• The Other Income (OINS) screen will display
• To update other income, see Verifying and recording other income on the Other Income (OIN) screen
• Select Next
• The Benefit Action (BA) screen will display
• Select Add New and complete the following fields:
• Benefit Type Code: field will pre-populate with the customer's Benefit type
• Reason: OTH - Other
• Benefit Action: RES - RESTORE
• Date of Effect: will default to date of notification
• Notes: add 'shortage of work'
• Select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings
• Finalise the transaction by selecting Assess again, then select Finish. Record details of the update
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction
• A transaction will be sent to their provider and customer will recommence mutual obligation requirements
• Procedure ends here

No, the earnings will continue to preclude the job seeker from ISP

• leave customer as YBWS suspended. Advise the customer that should their hours reduce further they may be entitled to a payment

Leave without Pay (LWOP)

The payment can be restored if the customer is prepared to meet their mutual obligation requirements while on leave.

Restore the customer's payment via the Verify Employment Separation workflow with a reason of 'other'. The reason for the restoration must be documented (for example, customer is on leave without pay and is willing to meet mutual obligation requirements).

The payment can only be restored from the date the job seeker provided evidence or date they advised of employment ceasing (whichever is earlier). There are no backdating provisions.

A transaction will be sent to their provider and customer will recommence mutual obligation requirements.

If the customer indicates they are not prepared to look for work while they are on leave without pay, their payment should be cancelled as they are no longer qualified as a job seeker. See the References page for a link to Social Security (Administration) Act.

Cancel the payment from the date the job seeker started their LWOP period/ceased employment using the Verify Employment Separation workflow to correctly cancel the job seeker's payment with a reason of 'other'. The reason for the cancelation must be documented (for example, customer has commenced leave without pay and is not willing to meet mutual obligations requirements).

In all instances, DOC the reason for the decision. For example, 'Customer reduced to casual/part time hours', or 'On LWOP'.

Procedure ends here.

Customers who have provided a valid medical certificate to support a temporary incapacity from work can be restored from SUS YBS. When restoring due to a temporary incapacity the Event Date is the same as the Unfit to work/study/participate from date unless it is a future date. If it is a future date, record the Event Date as today's date (the date the medical certificate is being recorded).

• Key START into the Super Key
• Select the Verify Employment Separation workflow
• Select Employment separation, Earnings (if required), Other Income (if required) and Benefit Action, then select Start
• Income maintenance period (IMP) screen will display
• On the Employer details table, select Add icon
• Create employer details will display
• Complete the following:
• Date employment ceased: record date employment changed
• Employer name: record details provided by customer
• Source: select S: Employment Separation Certificate from the dropdown list
• Select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields the same as the Unfit to work/study/participate from date unless it is a future date. If it is a future date, record the Receipt Date as today's date, select Save
• Select Next
• The Earnings (EAN/EANS) screen will display
• If end dating an employer, select Edit against the last employer and key in 'zero' from date last worked plus one day
• Select Next
• The Other Income (OINS) screen will display
• When updating other income, see Verifying and recording other income on the Other Income (OIN) screen
• Select Next
• The Benefit Action (BA) screen will display
• Benefit Type Code: field will pre-populate with the customer's Benefit type
• Reason: appropriate reason as advised by customer
• Benefit Action: RES - RESTORE
• Date of Effect: - this should default to the same as the Unfit to work/study/participate from date unless it is a future date. If it is a future date, the Event Date will default to today's date
  Note: if date is not defaulting to the correct date and a manual date of event is required, see Table 5 on the Customer First tab
• Select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings
• Finalise the transaction by selecting Assess again, then select Finish. Record details of the update
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction

Once the payment has been restored the medical certificate will need to be coded, see Assessing and coding medical evidence for temporary incapacity exemptions.

Procedure ends here.

• Where it is determined the job seeker did not commence employment, and it has been confirmed by contact with both the provider and job seeker the YBS Suspension has been created in error, or
• Advice is received from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) that the YBS Suspension has been sent in error

Do not use the Verify Employment Separation workflow.

If DEWR advise the current YBWS placement was 'Created in Error', a Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity is created on the (AL) screen in Customer First.

Has DEWR advised the current YBWS placement was 'Created in Error'?

• Yes, see Table 4 on the Customer First tab
• No, go to Step 2

Follow the restoration process in Workforce Australia/Community Development Program (CDP) registration inactivated and cancellation of income support in error to restore jobseekers payment.

Do not use the Verify Employment Separation workflow in Process Direct to restore payment. Restoration will be completed within Customer First.

Ensure all the outstanding reporting statements are completed at the same time as the restoration to stop the record from auto-suspending for failure to report.

See:

• Recording and correcting employment income details
• Reporting requirements for customers receiving a payment with mutual obligation requirements

Procedure ends here.

Check the job seeker is employed under the YBWS initiative:

• Information will display on the Participation Summary screen in Process Direct, under the Subsidy heading and will include the job seeker's start date with the initiative
• YBWS information may be displayed on the Participation Summary screen even though the customer may not be suspended (SUS) or cancelled (CAN), that is, they could be reporting income within a 12-fortnight nil rate period or reporting income that is below the income test limit
• The YBWS information will display as 'no current information' where the job seeker is not a current YBWS participant. This could be because they have had payment restored within the 26-week suspension period or where their income support payment is cancelled at the end of the 26-week suspension period
• Previous periods in YBWS will be included under the History heading

Note: job seekers may be employed as casual or part-time under YBWS. These job seekers may not be paid enough employment income to reduce their income support payment to zero. For further information, see Step 6 in Table 2.

Has the job seeker contacted Services Australia within the 26-week suspension period?

• Yes, and the job seeker:
• advises they have not commenced employment under the YBWS incentive and is incorrectly coded as YBS suspend, see Table 3
• advises they have started full-time study, go to Step 2
• advises they will start studying in the future, go to Step 5
• is participating in the YBWS incentive, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 4

Did the customer voluntarily reduce hours or cease work to commence study?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, and the customer is in receipt of:
• Jobseeker Payment (JSP), go to Step 3
• Youth Allowance (YA), go to Step 5

If the customer was in receipt of:

• JSP and they have ceased work (regardless of if they left work voluntarily or not) to return to full-time study:
• Cancel the payment - YBE
• This will allow the customer to claim a student payment online if they choose to
• YA and they have ceased work or reduced hours voluntarily, to return to study:
• Cancel the payment as customer has lost qualification as a job seeker
• The customer must lodge a new claim for student payment online

To cancel the payment:

• Use the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure and cancel the payment from the date the job seeker:
• ceased employment or
• reduced hours voluntarily
• Finish the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure and include comments within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity advising the reason for cancellation

The job seeker's payment will auto-change from suspended to cancelled with the reason YBE. A cancellation advice will be issued to the job seeker.

Once this has occurred their income support payment cannot be restored, and the job seeker will have to lodge a new claim.

Note: the customer will no longer be entitled to their concession card.

Procedure ends here.

If there has been no contact from the job seeker and the YBWS 26-week suspension period has ended, the job seeker's payment will auto-change from suspended to cancelled with the reason 'YBE'. A cancellation advice letter will be issued to the job seeker.

Once this has happened, their income support payment cannot be restored and the job seeker will have to lodge a new claim, if they wish to claim an income support payment.

The customer can apply for a review of the cancellation decision. For more details about reviews and appeals, see Request for an explanation, quality check or review (CLK).

Procedure ends here.

If at any time during the suspension period, a job seeker wants to return to their existing income support payment, they will be able to contact Services Australia.

Note: if the customer does not start study until a future date, they will be assessed as a job seeker until their study commences.

Customers may need to supply Employment Separation Certificate (SU001) to support evidence of employment ceased.

Is contact via:

• online, go to Step 6
• phone or face to face, go to Step 7

The 'Advise End of Employment service' is only available for customers who are suspended YBS.

If the job seeker notifies of ceasing employment via the online account option, the information will be populated in a Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity which can only be completed via the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure.

If the customer:

• has not provided the Employment Separation Certificate (SU001), or verification from their employer, after completing the 'Advise End of Employment service', will display as a Re-index Claim (ZCoC) activity and will be set to For Customer Action
• has uploaded the SU001 or verification document through the 'Upload Documents Online Service' the status of the ZCoC is set to For Manual Action

The Verify Employment Separation guided procedure can be accessed via the workspace or from the Staff Tasks tab within the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity.

All the mandatory fields will need to be completed before the work item can be completed.

See Table 2.

Service Officers must use the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure to record that the job seeker has ceased YBWS employment.

The commencement of the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure generates a Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity in Workload manager.

Has the customer:

• ceased employment or advised they have ceased employment due to becoming temporarily incapacitated, and evidence provided, see Table 2
• advised their employment hours have reduced, or changed to casual or part time hours, or they are on leave without pay (LWOP), see Step 6 in Table 2

Note: make sure all evidence is attached to the customer's record.

Does the customer have evidence to verify ceasing employment?

• Yes, see Table 2
• No, go to Step 8

If the customer does not have evidence to verify ceasing employment, the preferred option is to tell the customer to complete the online 'Advise End of Employment service'.

If the customer chooses not to use the online 'Advise End of Employment service', key the following on the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure, pending evidence being provided:

• Employment Separation/Verification Details section:
• Employer name: record details provided by customer
• Date employment ceased: record the details provided by the customer
• Source: select SU1
• Advise End of Employment section:
• Reason for separation - select appropriate reason as advised by customer
• Further Details of Separation - record 'Evidence to be provided'
• Action code - this will auto-populate based on reason recorded unless 'OTHER' is recorded for reason for separation. In these cases, the action code will have to be manually recorded. Note: valid values are RES for Restoration or CAN for Cancellation
• Date of Effect - will default to date depending on whether restored (RES) or cancelled (CAN)

When coding is complete, select Save and Exit. Do not select Finish. The Change of Circumstances (CoC) transaction will be set as For Customer Action.

Advise the customer they must supply their evidence within 14 days.

The customer's payment will not restore and will remain suspended (SUS-YBS), until customer can supply suitable evidence.

Procedure ends here.

The job seeker or their employer must provide the agency with information/evidence on the cessation of their employment within 14 days of contact. See Employment Separation Certificate or Letter from employer, to determine if restoration of the payment will occur or if they must lodge a new claim.

Staff may be allocated a CoC activity via workload manager after initial notification of employment separation has been recorded. Staff must action SU001 or cancel payments FSD - Failed to supply documents by following the process below.

The evidence must include information on any leave or redundancy payments received by the customer on termination from the employer.

Note: evidence may be attached as a document in the Customer Tasks tab in the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity. There may be instances where documents do not attach.

If documents are not attached, ensure a search for the document is undertaken in both the Upload documents service and via Customer First Third Party Information Summary (TPIS) screen on the customer's record.

The job seeker must provide a Centrelink medical certificate if they ceased employment due to becoming temporarily incapacitated. If a medical certificate has been supplied, go to Step 7.

Has the job seeker provided information/evidence within 14 days of contact?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 5

Where the job seeker's employment has ceased due to no fault of their own, their income support payment can be restored.

If the reason for ceasing employment was the job seeker's fault, their income support payment will be cancelled. An unemployment failure should be generated if payment is reclaimed within 6 weeks of voluntarily leaving work or being dismissed due to misconduct.

Service Officers will need to decide to restore or cancel a jobseekers payment based on the following reasons:

• Shortage of work
• Unsuitability for the type of work
• Unsatisfactory work performance
• Misconduct as an employee
• Voluntarily ceased work
• Redundancy
• End of season or contract
• Other

Reasons that would be considered the job seeker's fault include:

• Unsatisfactory work performance
• Misconduct as an employee
• Voluntarily ceased work (this includes voluntarily leaving work to commencing study)
• Other (further investigation needed)

For more information, see Unemployment due to a voluntary act or misconduct.

Was the job seeker at fault for ceasing employment?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, and:
• there is a temporary incapacity, go to Step 7
• no temporary incapacity exists, go to Step 4

Where the reason for ceasing employment is the fault of the job seeker and, the reason for ceasing employment has been confirmed by evidence on the Employment Separation Certificate (SU001), or from other evidence provided, the payment is not to be restored.

An unemployment failure should be generated if payment is reclaimed within 6 weeks of voluntarily leaving work or being dismissed due to misconduct.

Cancelling the income support payment

Cancel the payment from the date the job seeker ceased employment using the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure to correctly cancel the job seeker's payment.

The evidence provided by the job seeker, or their employer must include information on any leave or redundancy payments received by the job seeker on termination from the employer. These payments are to be assessed and recorded on the Maintain screen in the guided procedure and applied under the existing Income Maintenance Period (IMP) rules.

Note: The Verify Employment Separation guided procedure may display the IMP leave types in a different order on the Review screen compared to the Income Maintenance Period Summary (IMPS) screen. The overall IMP calculated start and end period in the guided procedure will be calculated correctly and display as per the IMPS screen calculation for the start and end date of the applied IMP.

Finish the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure and include comments within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity advising the reason for cancellation.

The job seeker's payment will auto-change from suspended to cancelled with the reason YBE. A cancellation advice will be issued to the job seeker.

Once this has occurred their income support payment cannot be restored, and the job seeker will have to lodge a new claim if they wish to claim an income support payment.

Advising the job seeker

Advise the job seeker their income support payment has been cancelled if the job seeker is not present make one genuine contact attempt. If the job seeker still requires an income support payment they must lodge a new claim.

The job seeker must be advised that an unemployment preclusion period may apply if an unemployment failure has been committed due to voluntary unemployment or dismissal due to misconduct.

If the contact attempt is:

• successful or the job seeker is present, record discussion information within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity
• unsuccessful, record this information within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity

The customer can apply for a review of the cancellation decision. For more details about reviews and appeals, see Request for an explanation, or application for a formal review.

For more information on new claims, see:

• Processing Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker) claims
• Processing Jobseeker Payment (JSP) claims

Procedures ends here.

Only restore the job seeker's payment:

• where the employment has ceased through no fault of the job seeker and
• evidence has been provided to confirm

See examples on the Resources page for further information.

Restore the job seeker's payment using the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure. The Verify Employment Separation guided procedure will default the restoration date to the earliest of the following:

• the date the job seeker provided evidence or
• the date they advised of employment ceasing

Due to a system limitation, if the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure was not run when the job seeker first advised they ceased employment, the date will default to today's date. This cannot be changed using the guided procedure. To restore the payment to an earlier date of event, see Table 5.

Run the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure:

• Employment Separation/Verification Details section:
• Employer name: record details provided by customer
• Date employment ceased: record the details provided by the customer
• Source - select SU1 from the dropdown list
• Advise End of Employment section:
• Reason for separation: select, appropriate reason as advised by customer
• Further Details of Separation
• Action code: this will auto-populate based on reason recorded unless 'OTHER' is recorded for reason for separation. In these cases, the action code will have to be manually recorded. Note: valid values are RES for Restoration
• Date of Effect: will default to date of notification
• Once coding is complete, select FINISH to finalise the guided procedure, and include comments within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstances activity advising:
• the reason for restoration, and
• the date the customer first contacted

Any leave or redundancy payments received by the customer on termination from the employer are to be assessed, and recorded on the Maintain screen in the guided procedure and applied under the existing Income Maintenance Period (IMP) rules.

If the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity has not been completed upon finalisation of the guided procedure, manually change the status on the Change of Circumstances activity to 'Completed'.

Any Centrepay deductions the job seeker had in place prior to commencing the 26-week suspension period and concession card entitlements will recommence.

Continuity dates - Existing continuous period on payment rules will apply to restorations. For example, if a customer is restored after being suspended for more than 13 weeks, continuity dates will be auto reset as the date payment recommenced.

Note: if the payment does not restore when expected after completing the guided procedure, the record will need to be checked to determine what is preventing the restoration from completing. Any incorrect information will need to be updated before the payment can be restored.

Some possible (but not limited to) reasons could include:

• End date the job seeker's full-time work on the Customer Employment Status Update (EAES) screen, or
• Key '0' income against the last employer that the job seeker had, or
• Ensure that there are no outstanding previous reporting periods that have not been completed, or
• End date the 'other income' on the Other Income Summary (OINS) screen, see Recording and correcting employment income details

Note: customers who turn twenty-two during the YBS suspension period may not be able to be restored using the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure. Refer to scenarios in Resources for more information.

Once a customer is restored from a YBWS suspension period, the 26-week YBWS period ends. If they then return to work, they must advise, and normal Return to Work (RTW) provisions are applied. The customer's payment will not re-suspend YBS unless their employment services provider sends through a new second notification. See Scenario 5 on the Resources page.

Has the customer commenced full-time study today or in the past or will commence study in the future?

• Yes:
• For student trained staff, assess customers eligibility as a student. See Commencing or returning to study
• For non-student trained staff, transfer customer to Youth and Students line to assess customers eligibility as a student
• No, procedure ends here

Payment will be auto cancelled using reason FSD (Failed to supply documents) from the date the job seeker contacted Services Australia.

There should be no further action needed.

If for any reason the record is not auto-cancelled FSD, the Change of Circumstance activity will be changed to For Manual action. If this occurs the following process will need to be followed:

Select the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstance activity and:

• include notes within the Notes tab advising:
• the reason for cancellation, and
• date the customer first contacted

Manually cancel the job seeker from the Benefit Action (BA) screen using cancellation reason 'FSD'. The customer is to be cancelled from the date they advised the agency they 'ceased employment'. Include the reason for cancelling on the BA screen as 'Failed to supply documents to support end of employment for YBWS job seeker' in the Notes: field and finalise the activity.

A manual DOC will need to be recorded confirming the reason the YBWS job seeker was cancelled from the date they advised they 'ceased employment' or became incapacitated, and that if the customer contacts at a later date with the required documentation, their income support payment cannot be restored and they will need to lodge a new claim.

Procedure ends here.

If a customer advises their work hours to have changed from full-time to part-time or casual, or they are on leave without pay (LWOP), they should still use the 'Advise End of Employment service' option where possible. The reason for ceasing work should be recorded as 'shortage of work' and proof must be provided.

Hours reduced to casual or part-time

Check the customer's hourly rate of pay and hours per week to decide if customers earnings are under the earnings threshold and they will be entitled to Youth Allowance or Jobseeker Payment, see Rates and Thresholds. If:

• Yes, the earnings are under the threshold and the jobseeker will be entitled to Income Support Payments (ISP)
• Restore the customer's payment via the 'Verify Employment Separation' guided procedure with a reason of 'other'. The reason for the restoration must be documented (for example, customer has reduced work hours)
• In the Date employment ceased field, enter the date the customer's hours reduced to part-time or casual
• The payment can only be restored from the date of notification. There are no backdating provisions if the job seeker advised their hours reduced to casual or part time
• Once coding is complete, select FINISH to finalise the guided procedure, and include comments within the Notes tab of the Cease Employment - Change of Circumstances activity advising:
  - the reason for restoration and
  - the date the customer first contacted
• Once payment is restored a transaction will be sent to their provider
• Procedure ends here
• No, the earnings will continue to preclude the job seeker from ISP
• leave customer as YBWS suspended. Advise the customer that should their hours reduced further they may be entitled to a payment

Leave without Pay (LWOP)

The payment can be restored if the customer is prepared to meet their mutual obligation requirements while on leave.

Restore the customer's payment via the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure with a reason of 'other'. The reason for the restoration must be documented (for example, customer is on leave without pay and is willing to meet mutual obligation requirements).

The payment can only be restored from the date of notification. There are no backdating provisions.

A transaction will be sent to their provider and customer will recommence mutual obligation requirements.

If the customer

Indicates they are not prepared to look for work while they are on LWOP, their payment should be cancelled as they are no longer qualified as a job seeker. See the References page for a link to Social Security (Administration) Act.

Cancel the payment from the date the job seeker started their LWOP period/ceased employment using the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure to correctly cancel the job seeker's payment with a reason of 'other'. The reason for the cancelation must be documented (for example, customer has commenced leave without pay and is not willing to meet mutual obligations requirements).

In all instances, DOC the reason for the decision. For example, 'Customer reduced to casual/part time hours', or 'On LWOP'.

Procedure ends here.

Customers who have provided a valid medical certificate to support a temporary incapacity from work can be restored from SUS YBS. When restoring due to a temporary incapacity the Event Date is the same as the Unfit to work/study/participate from date unless it is a future date. If it is a future date, record the Event Date as today's date (the date the medical certificate is being recorded).

In Customer First:

• Enter customers CRN in CRN field, select Enter
• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen:
• Key the payment type as the type of benefit in the Svc Rsn field
• Key the restoration (RES) in the Action field using restoration reason code 'YBS'
• Press [Enter]
• Date of Effect: the same as the Unfit to work/study/participate from date unless it is a future date. If it is a future date, record the Event Date as today's date
• Complete the Source field and the date of receipt in the DOR field. The date of restoration and Date of Receipt (DOR) need to be the same
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity
• DOC the record with reasons for restoration

Once the payment has been restored the medical certificate will need to be recorded, see Assessing and coding medical evidence for temporary incapacity exemptions.

Procedure ends here.

• Where it is determined the job seeker did not commence employment, and it has been confirmed by contact with both the provider and job seeker the YBS Suspension has been created in error, or
• Advice is received from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) that the YBS Suspension has been sent in error

Do not use the Verify Employment Separation workflow.

If DEWR advise the current YBWS placement was 'Created in Error', a Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity is created on the (AL) screen.

Has DEWR advised the current YBWS placement was 'Created in Error'?

• Yes, see Table 4
• No, go to Step 2

Follow the restoration process in Workforce Australia/Community Development Program (CDP) registration inactivated and cancellation of income support in error to restore jobseekers payment.

Do not use the Verify Employment Separation Guided Procedure in Customer First to restore payment.

Ensure all the outstanding reporting statements are completed at the same time as the restoration to stop the record from auto-suspending for failure to report.

See:

• Recording and correcting employment income details
• Reporting requirements for customers receiving a payment with mutual obligation requirements

Procedure ends here

If the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) advise the current YBWS placement was 'Created in Error', a Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity is created.

The MFU:

• has the keyword YBWSUPD on the customer's Activity List (AL) screen
• is created from the advice received from DEWR that the current YBWS placement was 'Created in Error'
• includes the text 'DEWR advised current YBWS placement was created in error. Manual follow-up required. See OpB 001-17030800 for details'

Customer contact is required if the MFU activity is present. This is to ensure all outstanding reporting statements are completed at the same time as the restoration.

Make 2 reasonable and genuine attempts to contact the customer.

• If a YBWS SUS 1st contact attempt Fast Note has already been recorded, go to Step 3
• If the telephone details are not recorded, incorrect or outdated, go to Step 4
• If the contact number recorded on the job seeker's record is a mobile number:
• create a pre-call notification (SMS only) using Desktop Electronic Messaging Capability (DEMC) if the customer is registered for electronic messaging
• after creating the SMS, wait 5 minutes before making the outbound attempt

Was the contact successful?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No:
• Hold the work item to the next business day
• Record a closed DOC on the record. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Jobseekers > SUS/CAN/RES > YBWS SUS 1st contact attempt
• Procedure ends here

Make a second genuine attempt to contact the customer.

If the contact number on the job seeker's record is a mobile number:

• create a pre-call notification (SMS only) using Desktop Electronic Messaging Capability (DEMC) if the customer is registered for electronic messaging
• after creating the SMS, wait 5 minutes before making the outbound attempt

Was the contact successful?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No:
• Record a closed DOC on the record. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Jobseekers > SUS/CAN/RES > YBWS SUS 2nd contact attempt
• Go to Step 4

Issue a Q164 letter asking the customer to contact Services Australia by phone within 14 days:

• after a second unsuccessful outbound contact attempt, or
• where there are no contact details or incorrect details are recorded (for example, the job seeker's phone number is not registered), see Updating telephone details and/or paying Telephone Allowance (TAL)

The customer has 14 days to respond after they receive the letter. Add days to allow extra time for mail delivery. Hold the work item until the day after the allowable time has expired.

If the job seeker:

• fails to contact, go to Step 5
• contacts, go to Step 7

If the job seeker fails to contact by the notification provision date +1 after the Q164 is issued:

• restore the YBS suspension, and
• determine if suspension action can be taken for Failing to Reply to Correspondence

Restoration of payment is required to notify the DEWR system that the incorrect YBS suspension has been actioned:

• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen:
• Key the payment type as the type of benefit in the Svc Rsn field
• Key the restoration (RES) in the Action field using restoration reason code 'YBS'
• Press [Enter] and the date of effect will default, or key the date of effect of the suspension in the Effect Date field
• Complete the Source field and the date of receipt in the DOR field. The date of restoration and Date of Receipt (DOR) need to be the same as the date of suspension
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity
• Finalise the MFU activity on the customer's record from the AL screen
• Clearly document the reason for restoration in a DOC

Before suspending a customer's payment, see Suspension of payments (CLK) for information about factors to consider.

If it is appropriate to manually suspend the customer for Failing to Reply to Correspondence (SUS-FRC):

• Go to the BA screen:
• Key the payment type as the type of benefit in the Svc Rsn field
• Key the action to be taken in the Action field
• Key the suspension reason 'FRC' in the Reason field
• Press [Enter] and the date of effect will default or key the date of effect of the suspension in the Effect Date field
• Complete the Source field and the date of receipt in the DOR field
• Go to the AR screen and finalise the activity
• Clearly document the reason for suspension in a DOC

Procedure ends here.

Do not use the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure.

Restore payment ensuring the restoration occurs from the date of the original YBS suspension:

• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen:
• Key the payment type as the type of benefit in the Svc Rsn field
• Key the restoration (RES) in the Action field using restoration reason code 'YBS'
• Press [Enter] and the date of effect will default or key the date of effect of the suspension in the Effect Date field
• Complete the Source field and the date of receipt in the DOR field. The date of restoration and Date of Receipt (DOR) need to be the same as the date of suspension
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity
• Finalise the MFU activity on the customer's record from the AL screen
• Ensure all the outstanding reporting statements are completed at the same time as the restoration. See:
• Recording and correcting employment income details
• Reporting requirements for customers receiving a payment with mutual obligation requirements
• Clearly document the reason for restoration in a DOC

Staff must only use this workaround if:

• customer's first contact was not recorded using the Verifying Employment Separation workflow, or
• restoration from an earlier date is required due to a medical certificate.

If the customer needs to be restored to an earlier date for any other reason, record must be escalated to Local Peer Support (LPS) or my Support, see Tier 0 technical support - self-sufficiency.

In Customer First

• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen:
• Key the payment type in the Svc Rsn field
• Key RESTORE (RES) in the Action field using restoration reason code YBS
• Notes: enter this text 'manual restoration date required'
• Date of Effect: enter manual DOV
• Complete the Source field and Date of Receipt (DOR) field. The date of restoration and DOR need to be the same
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity
• DOC the record with reasons for restoration

If the payment does not restore, some possible (but not limited to) fixes could include:

• End date the job seeker's full-time work status on the Customer Employment Status Update (EAES) screen
• Key a 'zero' income for the last employer that the job seeker had when they stopped work
• Make sure they complete all outstanding reporting periods
• End date the 'other income' on the Other Income Summary (OINS) screen