Using a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) report to determine payment type 008-06070050

Information in a JCA report may be used to determine:

• a customer’s eligibility for certain income support payments
• their work capacity, and
• their mutual obligation requirements

In very clear-cut cases, manifest grants may be determined without the need for a JCA.

JCA referrals are generally only required for:

• customers claiming or receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP), or
• assessment of an impairment rating

The JCA reports includes an assessment of the customer’s capacity to work, and ability to meet their mutual obligation requirements if applicable.

From 1 April 2023, a new version of Impairment Tables was introduced. The new Tables are used to assess a customer's medical eligibility for all DSP claims lodged on or after this date. See The Impairment Tables.

Assessors will record a condition as persist for less than 2 years if it is verified by medical evidence and is unlikely to last longer than 2 years.

For a condition to be assessed as likely to persist for more than 2 years for partial capacity to work status or Employment Service Provider assistance, medical evidence must confirm the expected duration of the condition.

There is no requirement for the condition to be Diagnosed, Treated and Stabilised (DTS) for this assessment, although DTS conditions are also taken into account.

If a customer has a medical condition likely to persist for more than 2 years and DTS, a JCA report can be used to help determine medical eligibility for Disability Support Pension (DSP) by assessing that condition under the Impairment Tables.

Any impairment rating recommended by the JCA needs to be confirmed by a Disability Medical Assessment (DMA) conducted by a Government-contracted doctor (GCD) before the claim can be granted.

The Assessor/GCD will use medical evidence to determine if a customer's medical condition/s are DTS.

To be medically eligible for DSP, a customer who does not meet the manifest eligibility criteria also needs to meet Program of Support requirements and have a Continuing Inability to Work if their condition is not assessed as severe.

DTS conditions with a rating of 20 points or more using a single impairment table are considered to be severe and may qualify the customer medically eligible for DSP.

If the assessor assigns 20 points or more, but it is a total across more than one impairment table, their medical condition(s) is not assessed as severe. The customer may also need to have/be engaged in a Program of Support (POS) to be eligible for DSP.

POS is part of an overall assessment of continuing inability to work (CITW).

A person has a CITW if:

• their impairment alone prevents them from working for 15 or more hours per week at or above the relevant minimum wage, for at least 2 years, and
• their impairment means educational, pre-vocational, vocational, or work related training (including on-the job training) is unlikely to enable the person to do any work for 15 or more hours per week where wages are at or above the relevant minimum wage, within 2 years, independently of a Program of Support (POS)

An impairment rating, recorded in the impairment section of the report, can be assigned by the Assessor for all JCA referral reasons.

The customers should be invited to claim DSP if the report indicates the following and they are not claiming or getting DSP:

• manifest medical eligibility
• an impairment rating of 20 or more
• they have actively participated in a Program of Support (POS) or are not required to meet program of support requirements, and
• they have baseline and with intervention work capacity of less than 15 hours per week

Note: following a JCA, a Disability Medical Assessment (DMA) conducted by a Government-contracted doctor (GCD) is required to verify their medical eligibility for DSP. If required, a DMA referral will be made after a customer lodges a claim. If the customer is eligible on manifest grounds, a DMA is not required. Invite the customer to claim DSP.

The DSP invite to claim guided procedure can be used to invite suitable JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Parenting Payment Single (PPS), or Youth Allowance (YA) customers to claim DSP.

If a customer declines an invitation to claim DSP and the Service Officer believes the customer may lack insight into their condition, they should consult with senior staff to explore alternative approaches.

Customers are considered to have a partial capacity to work if they are not eligible for Disability Support Pension (DSP) but are assessed as:

• having an impairment that prevents them from working, and
• unable to be trained for work for at least 30 hours a week for at least the relevant minimum wage independently of the Program of Support (POS) within the next 2 years

If a customer with a partial capacity to work is receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Parenting Payment (PP) or Youth Allowance (YA) they may have reduced mutual obligation requirements, and be entitled to Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA) and a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC).