Employment Services Assessments (ESAt) 008-06120000

An ESAt assesses the impact of barriers and medical conditions on a customer's ability to comply with mutual obligations and participate in work or Employment Services Provider programs of support. At the ESAt interview, Assessors collect information from the customer to make an appropriate onward referral to Employment Service Provider and to determine the level of participation required for customers with mutual obligations.

There are 2 types of ESAt:

• Medical ESAt determines work capacity and the correct Employment Service Provider when a customer has medical conditions
• Non-medical ESAt/s:
• are only conducted for customers in receipt of payment under the
  Refugee entrant service officer, and
  Time to work Employment Service (TWES) participants
• determines the correct Employment Service Provider when the customer has no medical conditions

An ESAt is used to:

• decide the participation required for customers with mutual obligation requirements in accordance with the Social Security Act 1991
• decide current work capacity of customers receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP) who are under 35 years of age or wish to be linked to an Employment Services Provider
• inform the agency's decisions on payments and allowances, such as Mobility Allowance, or Youth Disability Supplement
• determine eligibility for Disability Employment Services (DES) and Workforce Australia services
• assisting Employment Services Providers to provide services to individual job seekers

Medical Conditions

This includes details of whether the condition is temporary or permanent.

Work capacity in bandwidth hours

Work capacity in bandwidth hours determines what current and potential work hours the customer is able to perform. It decides how the functional impacts of a customer's medical condition(s) affect their ability to work. Service Officers use the work capacity information in the ESAt report to determine if the customer has:

• any Temporary Reduced Work Capacity (TRWC),
• Partial Capacity to Work (PCW), or
• Continuing Inability to Work (CITW)

Support Requirements

Identifies the type and duration of support the customer requires to work as a result of their medical condition(s).

Vocational and non-vocational barriers and corresponding interventions

Barriers to employment can be any factor affecting a customer's ability to:

• find employment
• retain or maintain employment
• undertake certain types of work
• undertake certain hours of work (medical barriers only)
• undertake job search activities, or
• undertake other activities that may improve their ability to work

Interventions that help customers to overcome their barriers to workforce participation are identified. It is reasonable to expect that customers referred for an assessment have at least 1 barrier to employment. Customers looking for work with no (or limited) barriers to employment are either:

• referred by Services Australia to an Employment Services Provider for immediate assistance, or
• approach a Workforce Australia Provider independently and may not require an ESAt

Risk of non-compliance ratings and suggested Vulnerability Indicator categories

Where the referral reason is participation failure, Assessors must record the specific information in the Risk of Non-Compliance section.

Onward referral

Employment Services Assessment may recommend referrals to:

• Workforce Australia Online
• Workforce Australia Services
• Workforce Australia - Transition to Work
• Disability Employment Services (DES)
• customers assessed as 'Unable to benefit' (where upgraded to a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA)

See Managing suspected fraudulent medical evidence for the action an Assessor must take when they suspect medical evidence is fraudulent.

ESSWeb 1.0 and ESSWeb 2.0 are:

• web-based applications which provide access for Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) programs administered through Services Australia and DEWR funded Employment Services Providers
• used to create and update service requirements for:
• Job Plans
• Job Capacity Assessments (JCA)
• Employment Services Assessments (ESAt)
• Disability Support Services (DES)
• Workforce Australia/Community Development Program (CDP)
• Information sharing to and from Services Australia for payment determinations