Special Employment Advance (SEA) 103-05050030

To be entitled for a SEA a customer must:

• be currently in receipt of a SEA qualifying entitlement, and
• have received an income support payment for at least 3 months before claiming, and
• have requested an advance between $50-$500, and
• have no debts to the Commonwealth that are being recovered or are likely to be recovered by withholdings from their Social Security payments, and
• be able to repay the SEA without financial hardship (to determine if a customer will be in financial hardship, look at their income and expenses and make a decision on ability to repay the advance at the current rate), and either:
• In the case of income that has not been received: The customer is short of money because:
  - they (or their partner) have worked but have not received payment for this work, and
  - the employment income has substantially reduced their Centrelink payment, and
  - the customer does not expect to receive it within 2 days.
  The income that has not been received must have had the effect of reducing the applicant's Maximum Basic Rate by at least 50%.
  Note: any working credits must be taken into consideration as they reduce the amount of earnings that are counted under the income test. People using working credits are less likely to meet the 50% reduction rule, and the customer must be in severe financial hardship.
• In the case of returning to work: the customer has a firm offer of at least 6 weeks employment and the customer would not be able to take up the offer of employment without the SEA. The expected income from the employment will reduce the customer's Maximum Basic Rate by at least 50% over the relevant paydays (or, the employment will result in loss of qualification for payment)
  Note: any working credits must be taken into consideration as they reduce the amount of earnings that are counted under the income test. People using working credits are less likely to meet the 50% reduction rule.

Note: Income Management customers who apply for a SEA are exempt from having this payment 100% income managed. See payments not income managed.

When establishing whether the customer's maximum basic entitlement has been reduced by 50%, any working credits (or income bank for Youth Allowance (YA)) must be taken into consideration as they reduce the amount of earnings that are counted under the income test. People using working credits are less likely to meet the 50% reduction rule.

The total amount of SEA payable to a customer who is applying for SEA due to unreceived income is the smallest of the following amounts:

• $500
• the amount requested
• the amount by which the customer’s basic rate will reduce when the applicable income test is applied to the amount the customer has earned or expects to earn but has not yet received, this must be assessed in the fortnight it was earned – not the fortnight it is received
• if the customer has already been paid a SEA, the difference between the outstanding SEA amount and $500

The total amount of SEA payment for a customer applying for SEA due to a definite offer of employment is the smallest of the following amounts:

• $500
• The amount of financial help that is needed for the customer to be able to take up the employment (essential expense)
• If the customer has already been paid a SEA, the difference between the outstanding SEA amount and $500

Customers do not need to fully repay existing advances (either SEA or a normal advance) before another SEA can be granted. They are able to have a maximum outstanding SEA balance at any time of $500. Customers who already have an outstanding SEA or normal advance may apply for a further SEA, but will only be eligible for an additional SEA amount if the total of all SEAs outstanding does not exceed $500.

Note: YA customers who are dependent, under 18 years of age, and have their regular YA payments directed to their parents, may qualify for a SEA, but the payments must be directed to the parents or payment nominee, unless the parent directs otherwise.

Customers must lodge a claim for Special Employment Advance (SU514) and should provide proof of their employment details, including:

• the employer's details
• the expected earnings
• if the customer is claiming a SEA for a specific expense related to returning to work, they must prove that they cannot take up the employment without the item or service for which the SEA is claimed

The claim form and supporting documents can be lodged using the Document Lodgement Service (DLS).

Customers who apply for a SEA in a service centre may be issued with a receipt number and information about the decision that has been made at the time of contact.

Smart Centre Service Officers are able to issue a verbal receipt number to the customer along with issuing the letter claim form (SU514) by mail or online. The form is available to customers to self-print from the Services Australia website or there is a link the form on the Resources page, so the form can be printed and issued to customers.

If the customer remains on a payment, the advance is then repaid automatically out of the customer's regular entitlement at a rate of 14 % of the customer's Maximum Basic Rate of payment. The rate of repayment cannot be reduced unless the job seeker experiences special and unusual circumstances. When the customer's payment stops, the SEA becomes a debt, which must be repaid.

A request to reduce or stop repayments for a specified period of time, can only be approved if the customer has had a change in their situation due to special and unusual circumstances and they would suffer severe financial hardship if the repayment was not reduced.

A request to increase the rate of repayment can only be approved if the customer will not suffer severe financial hardship. For SEA repayments, the increased repayment amount cannot be greater than the amount of money declared by the customer as available at the end of each fortnight.

For more information, see Changes to the repayment rate of an advance payment.