Refugee Activities (RAC) as an approved activity 005-18101837

The Refugee Activities approved activity is only available to newly arrived refugees with mutual obligation requirements who are eligible for the BTSR measure and so remain Centrelink managed after the end of their Refugee exemption.

The Participation Summary screen will advise if the refugee is eligible for the BTSR measure.

See, Refugee entrant service offer for more information.

Newly arrived refugees who are in receipt of an income support payment with mutual obligations requirements (for example, JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (Other), Parenting Payment Single (PPS) (with mutual obligation requirements)) will receive the 'Refugee in first 13 weeks' (REF) mutual obligation requirement exemption for the first 13 weeks from their arrival in Australia. The exemption is an automatic exemption for eligible refugees recorded on the Activities and Exemptions Summary (AEX) screen.

The exemption period is adjusted to 11 weeks and 6 days at the new claim. For more information on the changing of the exemption date, see Refugee entrant service offer.

During the exemption period, refugees are not required to look for work, but must attend the following scheduled appointments:

• Multicultural Service Officer (MSO) seminar, and
• Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) if required, and
• 'week-12 post exemption' review

Refugees who are eligible for the Better Targeting of Support for Refugees (BTSR) measure remain Centrelink managed until they have been in Australia for 12 months. To cover the 12 month period, these refugees required an appropriate activity to be recorded on the Activities and Exemptions Summary (AEX) screen.

A Service Officer in the refugee's local service centre is responsible for recording the activity on the AEX screen at the refugees week 12 post exemption review contact.

Most refugees who are eligible for the BTSR measure will have the Refugee Activities (RAC) activity recorded on the AEX screen.

Note: as per normal processing, a Job Plan cannot be negotiated for a customer who has a current exemption from their mutual obligation requirements.

To be eligible for the Refugee Activities (RAC) activity the newly arrived refugee must be participating in one or more of the following:

• the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP)
• the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)
• Workforce Australia on a voluntary placement

Note: the refugee does not need to provide evidence they are participating in these activities when their Job Plan is being negotiated.

If the refugee is not participating in HSP, AMEP or Workforce Australia, discuss a possible referral to one of these. If the refugee requests a referral to a Workforce Australia Provider as a volunteer, they must only be referred if they have:

• chosen to be referred, and
• had an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) completed, and
• negotiated a Job Plan with Services Australia

The refugee cannot be referred to Workforce Australia if they do not have a current ESAt assessment. Instead, refer them for an ESAt to be completed before referring to Workforce Australia.

If the refugee declines a referral to HSP, AMEP or Workforce Australia then another appropriate compulsory requirement will need to be recorded on the AEX screen.

For further information on determining appropriate AEX activities for BTSR customers, see Negotiating Job Plans for newly arrived refugees following the 'Refugee in Frist 13 Weeks' (REF) exemption.

Once Refugee Activities (RAC) has been determined as the appropriate activity to add to the refugees Job Plan, a Service Officer in the refugee's local service centre is responsible for recording the Refugee Activities (RAC) activity at their week 12 post exemption review contact.

Ensure Refugee Activities (RAC) is manually recorded as the compulsory requirement on the refugee's record on the AEX screen.

Service Officers must ensure that the activity covers the full Centrelink managed period (for example, until the refugee has been in Australia for 12 months). This means setting the end date to be equal to 12 months from the refugee's date of arrival in Australia.

See Refugee entrant service offer for more information on how long the refugee will remain Centrelink managed.

See Negotiating Job Plans for newly arrived refugees following the ‘Refugee in First 13 Weeks’ (REF) exemption for further details.