Youth Disability Supplement (YDS) 008-03070030

YDS is a supplementary payment, so no separate claim is required.

Is the customer aged under 21 years for Disability Support Pension (DSP) or under 22 years for ABSTUDY or Youth Allowance (YA)?

• Yes:
• Receiving DSP, YDS is automatically added to the basic payment rate. Check the Payment Summary (PS) screen for the rate that is payable. The rate of DSP plus YDS cannot be more than the DSP rate for a customer aged 21 or older. The basic rate component is adjusted rather than the rate of YDS (YA and ABSTUDY the YDS is adjusted). Procedure ends here
• Receiving ABSTUDY or YA, go to Step 2
• No, the customer is not eligible for Youth Disability Supplement (YDS). Procedure ends here

To check the status of any completed JCA or ESAt reports in Process Direct:

• key 'RRSUM' in the Super Key field, select Enter, or
• select > Participation Summary > Activity type/Non-applied exemptions > Referral summary

An assessment is current and valid if it was conducted within the previous 2 years and there have been no significant change to the customer's medical condition or work capacity.

Is there a current and valid assessment of the customer's work capacity indicating partial capacity to work?

• Yes, eligibility for YDS has already been determined based on the ESAt. Check the Work Capacity (WC) screen for the assessment results:
• If 'baseline work capacity' and 'work capacity with intervention' are less than 30 hours per week, the customer has a partial capacity to work (PCW) and is eligible for YDS. PCW status is also displayed on the Customer Target Category History (CTCH) screen in Customer First. See Table 2
• No, go to Step 3

Is the customer receiving YA or ABSTUDY at the same rate or higher as that of a JobSeeker Payment (JSP) customer aged 22 years and older?

Note: there are various JSP rates that may apply based on the customer's circumstances, see Rates and Threshold index.

• Yes, YDS is not payable as payment rate cannot be more than the rate of a JSP customer aged 22 and older. Advise the customer if their rate decreases due to a change of circumstances (for example, customer is no longer partnered), they can test their eligibility for YDS. Record details on a DOC
• YA job seekers with a medical condition which may result in a partial capacity to work (PCW) should still be assessed for this as they may still be able to access concessional and supplementary benefits. See Identifying people with a partial capacity to work
• YA students with an incapacity may be qualified for YA (job seeker) with study as an approved activity if assessed as having a partial capacity to work (PCW). Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Does the customer have a disability or medical condition that may cause a partial capacity to work?

• Yes, an ESAt is required to determine if they have a partial capacity to work (PCW) and eligibility for YDS
• Advise the customer to provide medical evidence (for example, Verification of Medical Conditions (SU684) for the ESAt
• When medical evidence is provided, request an ESAt. Note: full-time students and Australian Apprentices must be registered as Job Seeker Registration Only (JSRO) job seekers to allow the ESAt request. Go to Step 5
• No, the customer is not eligible for YDS. Go to Step 6

Has the ESAt report been submitted?

• Yes, and:
• If the ESAt indicates 'baseline and with intervention work capacity' are less than 30 hours per week (that is, recorded as 0-7, 8-14, 15-22 or 22-29), once the ESAt report is accepted, the customer is eligible for YDS. See Step 1 in Table 2
• If the ESAt indicates either 'baseline work capacity' or ' work capacity with intervention' is 30 hours or more per week, YDS is not payable. Go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 7

A rejection/cessation advice is to be issued including the following text:

'We cannot pay you Youth Disability Supplement because you have not been assessed as having a partial capacity to work.'

Procedure ends here.

If YA or ABSTUDY is granted when the ESAt assessment is still outstanding, the customer is to be advised Services Australia is still awaiting results of the ESAt to determine eligibility for YDS.

A manual letter is to be issued with the following text:

'We are awaiting the results of your assessment with an Employment Services Assessor before we can let you know if you will be paid Youth Disability Supplement.'

YDS is paid automatically as part of the YA or ABSTUDY rate if a customer has a partial capacity to work (PCW).

If the PCW was assessed based on an ESAt, YDS is paid from the date the ESAt report is accepted.

The YA and ABSTUDY plus YDS rate cannot be more than the rate of a JobSeeker Payment (JSP) customer aged 22 and older. This means YDS may not be payable or may be payable at a reduced rate, that is, the rates payable to the following customers are limited to the equivalent JSP rates:

• single customers living away from home
• single customers with children
• single customers with a PCW of 0-14 hours
• partnered customers

Go to Step 2.

Issue a manual grant advice with the following text:

• 'You will be paid a Youth Disability Supplement of $..... a fortnight from (date) because you have been assessed as having a partial capacity to work.
• 'While you are receiving Youth Disability Supplement you must tell Services Australia about any employment income you are paid. You must also tell us if you are working 30 hours or more a week.'

The customer's partial capacity to work (PCW) may be reviewed if they are working consistently above their assessed work capacity.

Procedure ends here.

If a customer receiving Youth Disability Supplement (YDS) advises a change in their circumstances which means they may no longer be eligible for payment (for example, impacts of their condition have significantly resolved following successful treatment), advise the customer:

'A new assessment will be required if your circumstances have changed since the last Employment Services Assessment (ESAt)/Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) was completed, or if that assessment does not reflect your current circumstances.'

Request an ESAt. Note: full-time students and Australian Apprentices must be registered as Job Seeker Registration Only (JSRO) job seekers to allow the ESAt request. Procedure ends here.

When a new ESAt report is submitted, go to Step 2.

If the ESAt indicates:

• 'baseline and with intervention work capacity' are less than 30 hours per week the customer remains eligible for YDS. Procedure ends here
• either 'baseline work capacity' or 'work capacity with intervention' is 30 hours or more per week, YDS is no longer payable. Go to Step 3

An advice is to be issued including the following text:

'We cannot pay you Youth Disability Supplement because you have not been assessed as having a partial capacity to work'.'

Procedure ends here.