Disability wage subsidies 008-04030040

In most cases, a job seeker with an illness, injury or disability has to be receiving an income support payment to be eligible for DES.

As a general rule, a referral cannot take place unless DES is recommended in the customer's most recent, valid Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) or Employment Services Assessment (ESAt). Following the ESAt, Assessors will generally refer customers directly to appropriate services such as DES and will note these details on their report.

If the job seeker is not in receipt of an income support payment, and wishes to access DES, they can only do so through a direct registration process if they are:

• an Eligible School Leaver (ESL)
• Special Class Client (SCC) or
• participating in Work Assist

See Eligibility criteria for participation with Disability Employment Services (DES) for details about ESL, SCC and Work Assist.

An ESAt is not generally required for these job seekers.

It is up to the individual DES provider to determine whether a wage subsidy is appropriate or not.

To be eligible for payment under the Wage Subsidy Scheme, a worker must:

• be assisted by a DES provider
• be of legal working age, and
• be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident

In addition, the job seeker must not:

• have an outstanding workers' compensation claims against the current employer
• be in receipt of other government funding or other wage support programmes
• have already worked for the employer
• be receiving Work Assist assistance, and
• be receiving wage subsidy funding from another service outlet for the same position

Note: a worker can be in receipt of assistance from some Department of Industry Australian Apprenticeship Incentive Payments, and be paid a wage subsidy.

A self-employed person may not be paid a wage subsidy as the person must be employed under a normal employer/employee relationship, under a legal industrial agreement that complies with minimum standards established under Commonwealth, state or territory law.

To be eligible for a wage subsidy, the job must be:

• reasonably expected to continue beyond the end of the subsidy period (special conditions apply for seasonal jobs)
• working for at least eight hours per week, or an average of eight hours per week over the subsidy period

The subsidy can be paid for up to 13 weeks. The amount of the wage subsidy is agreed between the employer and the DES. It cannot be more than what the job seeker actually earns. Payment of the wage subsidy will be made directly to the employer.

Customers who want more information on this subject should be advised to contact a JobAccess Adviser directly on 1800 464 800 or through the JobAccess website.