Principal Carer Social Worker Exemption Service Update for review of family and domestic violence or Relationship Breakdowns exemptions 102-01130030

When a principal carer of a dependent child in receipt of Parenting Payment, JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance or Special Benefit is granted an exemption from their mutual obligation requirements due to family and domestic violence or a relationship breakdown in the last 26 weeks, an appropriate period for the exemption to apply will be determined.

The Principal Carer Social Worker Exemption Service Update will occur prior to the exemption period ceasing and prompts the Service Officer to consider if a social worker appointment is required to reassess the customer's circumstances and if the customer is now able to participate, or if the exemption needs to be reapplied.

This Service Update facilitates contact with the customer via a manual letter, within 21 days of the exemption expiring. The Service Officer may then be required to contact the customer and organise a face to face or phone interview to discuss the customer's current circumstances.

The process and the actions involved are outlined in the relevant Service Profiling Update Workflow. By selecting the Workflow via the workspace page in Customer First, the Service Component on the customer's Service Strategy (PQSS) screen will be completed when the workflow is finalised.

Customers selected for a Principal Carer Social Worker Exemption Service Update may be identified by searching for started (STA) Service Components (ID No. 211) via the Component Search (PQCS) screen, or by Service Update activities showing on the Worklist in WorkOptimiser.

If a family and domestic violence or relationship breakdown exemption is not renewed as a part of the Service Update, the customer must be referred for an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) to determine their barriers to employment and identify interventions that may assist them.

The Service Officer should always check to see if there is a current and valid ESAt on the customer's record when considering whether to make a new referral.