RapidConnect exemptions 001-17102300

RapidConnect is a referral process that gives job seekers early access to employment assistance through an Employment Services Provider. Registration with a suitable provider must be completed before the job seeker's claim for income support is finalised.

Job seekers who are not subject to RapidConnect, will be referred to a provider at the earliest possible contact once circumstances have changed or once a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) or Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) has been completed.

Job seekers claiming JSP or YA (job seeker) who are not subject to RapidConnect will have their exemption applied during the Participation Interview.

RapidConnect manual exemptions can be applied during the Participation Interview depending on the customers circumstances. See the Process page for information on manual RapidConnect exemptions.

Job seekers may provide information during the Participation Interview to qualify for a RapidConnect exemption. Depending on the job seeker's circumstances, Service Officers can select a valid reason to manually exempt the job seeker in the workflow. Evidence for the reason may be required. See the Process page for information on manual RapidConnect exemptions and evidence required.

If a job seeker's circumstances change after the Participation Interview has been completed and they now qualify for a RapidConnect exemption, manually record the exemption via the Job Seeker RapidConnect (JMRC) page.

Note: all staff can code a RapidConnect exemption from today's date (date of receipt). The backdating of a RapidConnect exemption can only be coded by an APS5 or above. Smart Centre staff should contact their local Service Support Officer or team leader where backdating is required.

A RapidConnect exemption for medical reasons applies to job seekers:

• with a temporary incapacity for all work, with their condition verified by medical evidence. See Item 2 in Table 2
• claiming JSP or YA (job seeker) provisional pending determination of a Disability Support Pension (DSP) claim
• who require a Job Seeker Snapshot initiated Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) except where it is a Personal Factors only JCA
• who are expectant customers within 13 weeks before their expected due date. See Item 3 in Table 2

A RapidConnect exemption applies where another program or activity is more suitable for:

• YA (job seeker) who indicates it is unreasonable to live at home, see Item 4 in Table 2. Job seekers aged 21 years or under and potentially eligible for a referral to one of the following Department of Employment and Workplace Relations or Department of Home Affairs programs:
• Skills for Education and Employment (SEE)
• Adult Migrants English Program (AMEP)
• undertaking a combination of Youth Activities as an approved mutual obligation requirement to satisfy requirements. See Item 5 in Table 2
• job seekers with a current and valid Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) that recommends Disability Employment Services (DES)

Note: job seekers who have been identified for a referral to a program and are RapidConnect exempt, must still be connected to the relevant Employment Services Provider.

Job seekers who are principal carers of a dependent child are registered as a Job Seeker Registration Only (JSRO)/No Remote Referral Required (NRRR) job seeker during the Participation Interview if they are:

• meeting their mutual obligation requirements by undertaking suitable paid work or self-employment of at least 30 hours per fortnight
• RapidConnect exempt and
• do not require referral to a provider

Job seekers transferring from Parenting Payment (PP) to JSP or YA (other) as principal carers who are already subject to compulsory mutual obligation requirements, are exempt from the RapidConnect process. They are still required to be linked to an employment services provider and attend appointments.

See Item 6 in Table 2 for keying procedures where a PP job seeker is continuing with a course of study:

• if they were receiving Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) immediately before transferring to JSP/YA as a principal carer, PES continues to be payable until the end of the course
• are still registered as FEP/RFE and may be linked to an Employment Services Provider
• can have an appointment made with a provider using the Online Diary if they volunteer for employment services

Note: these job seekers can choose to participate on a voluntary basis with an Employment Services Provider and will be registered as a Fully Eligible Participant (FEP)/Remote Fully Eligible (RFE) and linked to a provider.

A RapidConnect exemption automatically applies to job seekers:

• with a PCW who are meeting their mutual obligation requirements by undertaking suitable paid work of 15 hours per week. See Job seekers with a partial capacity to work or a temporary reduced work capacity
• JSP or YA (job seeker) transferring from transitional Disability Support Pension (DSP) with a PCW undertaking study at the time of transfer can continue that course of study until its completion, and:
• must be continuing to study in the same course they started while receiving DSP to be considered for this exemption
• if they were receiving Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) immediately before transferring to JSP or YA as a person assessed as having a partial capacity to work, PES continues to be payable until the end of the course
• with a PCW of 0-7 or 8-14 hours per week. They may request to volunteer for employment services for additional services

Job seekers with a Temporary reduced work capacity (TRWC) of 0-7 or 8-14 hours per week will be exempt from RapidConnect automatically for the duration of their reduced work capacity.

If they are already linked to a provider, the job seeker will be suspended from employment services for the duration of their reduced work capacity. They can request to volunteer for employment services to receive additional support during their TRWC period.

Note: TRWC 0-7 hours per week job seekers are not able to volunteer in Disability Employment Services (DES) for the duration of their reduced capacity.

Job seekers claiming YA (job seeker) aged 22 or under with no Year 12 or equivalent qualification are identified as early school leavers (ESL).

If the job seeker is identified as potentially eligible for referral to 1 of the following programs, they are exempt from RapidConnect:

• Skills for Education and Employment (SEE)
• Adult Migrants English Program (AMEP)
• Youth Activities as an approved mutual obligation requirement to satisfy requirements

These job seekers require connection to a provider as soon as possible.

If the job seeker is already undertaking one of the above programs that fully meets their mutual obligation requirements, register the job seeker as Job Seeker Registration Only (JSRO)/No Remote Referral Required (NRRR) jobseeker. See Item 5 in Table 2.

Students transferring from Austudy or YA (student/trainee) to JSP/YA (job seeker) and who are within 4 weeks of their Student End Date will be automatically exempt from RapidConnect.

In some cases, students are offered a 'Course End date task' in their Centrelink Online Account or Express Plus Centrelink mobile app up to 28 days before losing qualification for Austudy or YA (student/trainee). The task allows the student to book an appointment to transfer from Student to Jobseeker and if required claim JSP via a streamlined process. See Student to job seeker transfers.

A RapidConnect exemption for a crisis (CRI) reason is applied during the Participation Interview when the customer has submitted their JSP/YA (job seeker) new claim due to crisis. See Item 7 in Table 2 for examples.

A manual CRI exemption can be applied to the Job Seeker RapidConnect (JMRC) screen during a subsequent contact.

A RapidConnect exemption of 'already connected to provider' (ACP) reason is applied during the Participation Interview when:

• the job seeker is connected to Workforce Australia Provider Services or Transition to Work
• are currently a volunteer, and
• whose most recent Provider Referral Information status is Commenced or Suspended

This rule also applies to job seekers in Community Development Regions who are currently connected to a Community Development Program provider (CDP) whose most recent Provider Referral Information status is Commenced or Suspended.

The RapidConnect exemption will not apply for one of the following reasons:

• a 3rd mutual obligation failure, work refusal or unemployment failure has been imposed (CAN/TCP, CAN/TCU)
• not entering a Job Plan (CAN/FSA)
• not contacting their provider within 29 days (JSCM NAR related cancellation) (CAN/DCP), or
• not re-engaging with their provider within 29 days of being asked to do so (CAN/CDR)

Note: due to current system limitations, the 'Already connected to provider' ACP exemption is not always applying correctly to job seekers in Workforce Australia Online services. A manual RapidConnect exemption can be granted if they meet the criteria in Item 4 in Table 3.

A RapidConnect exemption of allowable break (AWB) will be given to a job seeker who reclaims a JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) jobseeker within 13 weeks of cancellation. This exemption will apply if the job seeker had commenced with a Workforce Australia Services provider, Workforce Australia Transition to Work provider or Community Development Program provider.

The RapidConnect exemption will not apply for one of the following reasons:

• a 3rd mutual obligation failure, work refusal or unemployment failure has been imposed (CAN/TCP, CAN/TCU)
• not entering a Job Plan (CAN/FSA)
• not contacting their provider within 29 days (JSCM NAR related cancellation) (CAN/DCP), or
• not re-engaging with their provider within 29 days of being asked to do so (CAN/CDR)

Note: due to current system limitations, the allowable break is not always applying correctly to job seekers in Workforce Australia Online services. A manual RapidConnect exemption can be granted if they meet the criteria in Item 4 in Table 3.

The following list includes job seekers who are RapidConnect exempt but still required to be connected to a provider and have the initial appointment booked at the earliest possible contact:

• job seeker who may be subject to a liquid assets waiting period
• job seekers with income and assets over the allowable limit
• in crisis if Vulnerable Youth (VY)/Vulnerable Youth (student) (VY(s)) flagged
• unreasonable to Live at Home if VY/VY(s) flagged for job seeker
• job seekers in residential treatment facilities (drug/alcohol rehabilitation)

Some job seekers, including job seekers who were previously cancelled for reasons 'Customer failed to re-engage' (CDR) and 'Did not contact provider to re-engage' (DCP), may require a manual exemption from the RapidConnect process due to circumstances outside their control. See Table 3.