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

A Youth Allowance (YA) jobseeker customer has received a letter advising their payments to have been suspended. The customer contacts Services Australia to enquire about the suspension.

In Process Direct, select > Participation Summary. Check and confirm if notification were received about the customer commencing employment.

The Service Officer tells the customer that:

• when placed with an employer as part of the YBWS initiative, they became eligible for a 26-week suspension period
• this suspension period is in place so that if at any time during the 26-week period they cease employment through no fault of their own, their income support payment can be restored without the need to reclaim
• if they cease employment though their own fault, their income support cannot be restored. The customer will have to reclaim and may be subject to an unemployment preclusion period if an unemployment failure has been committed
• they do not have to report during the 26-week suspension period

A customer calls and advises they have quit their job. They say the reason for quitting was they were bullied and harassed by a colleague, however the employment separation certificate indicated they had an altercation with the supervisor.

The customer should be advised they will need to lodge a new claim and the conflicting information will be investigated when the claim is assessed. The investigation will determine whether an unemployment preclusion period will be applied to the new claim.

If it is decided the customer ceased work voluntarily, their payments would be cancelled from the date employment ceased and they would need to reclaim to go back on income support payments. They may be subject to an unemployment preclusion period.

A customer calls within the 26-week suspension period and states that:

• their employer's business has closed down
• they have been made redundant
• they received some recreational leave payments on termination of employment, and
• they provide an employment separation certificate which confirms this
• the job seeker or their employer has provided the agency with information/evidence on the cessation of their employment, within 14 days of notifying the change

As the customer has notified within the 26-week suspension period, the payment can be restored from the date Services Australia was notified that work ceased. The leave payments received will need to be assessed for Income Maintenance Period (IMP) purposes.

If the customer ceased work within the 26 weeks suspension period however did not contact us until 27 weeks, their payment would have auto-cancelled at the end of the 26 weeks. If they still require assistance and want to go back on income support, they will need to lodge a new claim.

YBS suspended customers will not be picked up by the auto-benefit transfer processing as the customer is not current. The customer's payment will be cancelled AGD in these circumstances and they will have to claim Jobseeker Payment (JSP). This means YAL (JSK) customers turning twenty-two during the time they are suspended YBS will not auto-transfer to JSP and will be cancelled AGD. Once cancelled, the customer will lose the remainder of their 26-week YBS suspension and will be subject to normal cancellation rules, that is, they cannot return to payment without lodging a new claim.

If a Youth Allowance (YA) customer who is turning 22 contacts to notify they have ceased employment under YBWS through no fault of their own prior to turning 22, and there is a CAN/AGD activity with a date in the future on the record the Verify Employment Separation workflow in Process Direct or the Verify Employment Separation guided procedure in Customer First cannot be used.

If the date of contact is prior to the date they turn twenty-two, the customers YA can be restored via the Benefit Action (BA) screen from the date of contact.

If the contact is after the date, they turned twenty-two, the customer is required to lodge a new claim.

A customer who is suspended YBWS contacts to advise their employer has shut down for holidays and they are on unpaid leave for 4 weeks. They ask about going back onto payment.

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

Once payment is restored:

• a transaction will be sent to their provider
• they become active on their provider's case load again and will be subject to whatever the provider decides
• they will cease to have a YBS indicator on record, and
• they will be subject to normal cancellation rules in the future unless the provider records another YBS indicator

The Participation Summary screen will display both the date the indicator was received from the provider, and end date of restoration of payment.

If the customer indicates they are not prepared to look for work while they are off work, their payment should be cancelled as they are no longer qualified as a job seeker. Section 3.2.2.20 of the Guide has more information.

A customer is identified as eligible for the YBWS employment placement by DEWR and is employed part-time undertaking 25 hours per week. The customers Income Support Payment (ISP) status is YBS/SUS. The customer advises their hours to have reduced to 20 hours per week.

• The customer's hourly rate x hours worked is still above the income threshold for ISP and would result in a zero ISP payment. The customer is still eligible to remain YBS/SUS for the remaining 26-week suspension period
• The customer's hourly rate x hours worked is below the income threshold for ISP and the customer would be eligible to $1 or more of ISP the customer's ISP can be restored and the remaining 26-week suspension would be cancelled.

If payment is restored:

• a transaction will be sent to their provider
• they become active on their provider's case load again and will be subject to whatever the provider decides
• they will cease to have a YBS indicator on record, and
• they will be subject to normal cancellation rules in the future unless the provider records another YBS indicator

• John has made a personal decision to start studying full-time
• John voluntarily ceases employment
• John is over the age of twenty-two
• John has provided evidence to support that they left work voluntarily
• John is not eligible to be restored and will need to lodge a new claim

• Sam has had their hours reduced by their employer and commences full-time study
• Sam is under the age of twenty-two
• Sam contacts Services Australia and provides Employment Separation Certificate (SU001) with evidence of reduced hours
• Sam commences full-time study, and their start date is today or in the past
• Sam can be restored as a job seeker and transferred to Youth Allowance student without needing to lodge a new claim