3.1.13.70 Comprehensive Compliance Assessments

Introduction

Centrelink will assess a job seeker who is having difficulty meeting their activity test or participation requirements to determine the reasons for this. This assessment is a CCA.

Initiating a CCA

A CCA will be automatically triggered after a job seeker has had 3 failures applied for not attending appointments (i.e. 3 connection or reconnection failures) OR 3 NSNP failures in a 6-month period. If, during the previous 6 months, the job seeker has already had a CCA or has had a serious failure period applied for persistent non-compliance, any failures that occurred before either of those things do not count.

Employment services providers or Centrelink may also initiate a CCA at any other time if they believe a job seeker's circumstances warrant it.

Once a CCA is triggered, no more NSNP, connection or reconnection failures should be applied, except for a connection or reconnection failure for not attending the CCA. Failure to attend a CCA also may also result in immediate suspension of payment pending contact with Centrelink and agreement to attend a rescheduled CCA.

Another CCA can be automatically triggered whilst the job seeker is undertaking a compliance activity following a serious failure for persistent non-compliance.

In addition, if a provider or Centrelink believe that another CCA is required during a compliance activity, they can also request one.

A job seeker undertaking a compliance activity following a failure for refusing a job offer will not generally have had a CCA prior to the application of the failure. These job seekers can therefore have a CCA automatically triggered during a compliance activity if they meet the normal criteria.

Conducting a CCA

During the CCA, a Centrelink specialist officer considers the job seeker's compliance history and looks at why the job seeker has been failing to meet their requirements.

Centrelink cannot apply a serious failure period for persistent non-compliance unless they have conducted and considered the findings of a CCA. However, the CCA is not just to determine whether a job seeker has been persistently non-compliant, it is also to identify whether the job seeker:

• has any barriers to participation or employment,
• has been given appropriate activity test or participation requirements, and/or
• would benefit from additional or alternative assistance.

Possible outcomes of a CCA include:

• a referral by Centrelink for an ESAt, where the job seeker does not have the capacity to comply with their requirements or the job seeker's capacity to comply with their requirements is in doubt,
• a referral by Centrelink to an alternative employment service, such as DES,
• a referral by Centrelink to another JSA service stream,
• a recommendation that the activities or requirements in the job seeker's EPP be amended if the CCA indicates that the job seeker is having difficulty meeting those requirements,
• a recommendation by Centrelink that the job seeker be referred to another program or service to assist the job seeker with their personal circumstance, such as a referral to a social worker or a recommendation that the job seeker be referred to another program such as a drug or alcohol dependency program,
• no further action, where no barriers to participation have been identified but there is a reasonable explanation for the job seeker's past failures and/or the job seeker's recent compliance record is good, and
• the application of a serious failure period for persistent non-compliance.

The findings of the CCA will be used to inform future decisions about the job seeker's requirements.

Act reference: SS(Admin)Act section 42NA Comprehensive compliance assessment

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Last reviewed: 1 July 2011