DES Providers Webinar

DES Guideline Changes

3.00 PM Tuesday 14 January 2014

Presented by:

Matt GardinerDirector, DES Programme Management (Participants)

What we will be covering in this Webinar

• Changes to the following DES Guidelines: Eligible School Leaver Direct Registration (including the Direct

Registration Form) Transfer Job in Jeopardy DES Wage Subsidy

Guideline updates

• Overview Updated guidelines were published on the DES

Provider Portal on 9 January 2014.

Consultation with industry peaks and state/territory offices.

Overall feedback was supportive.

Eligible School Leaver and Direct Registration Guidelines

Why have we updated the ESL and Direct Registration Guidelines?

Results of the ESL Targeted Programme Assurance Project

• Project conducted in two phaseso22 providers with the largest number of ESL

commencements between 5 October 2012 and 31 January 2013.

o High recovery rate oGuidelines changes and provider education

requiredoFurther targeted program assurance later in

2014

Results of the ESL Targeted Programme Assurance Project (cont)

• Phase One results:oAround 70% were considered ineligible and

marked for recovery or identified as requiring additional information due to insufficient/unacceptable evidence

oAround 23% met the requirements oAround 7% were out of scope and excluded

Results of the ESL Targeted Programme Assurance Project

(cont)

• Phase Two o Requested further evidence for commencements

requiring additional information.o Providers given 28 days to respondo Evidence received for majority of

commencementso Commencements identified for recovery

ESL Guidelines - Main changes

• a definition of “Significant Disability” (p.1)

• Employments Outcomes for full time students (p.4)

• information about Direct Registration (Section 1, p.8)

ESL Guidelines - Main changes (cont.)

• Registering and Commencing former transition to work participants (Section 2, p.9)• Final year of school (Section 2, p.10)• Australian School Based Apprentice ships

and participants and Traineeships (ASBATS) (Section 2, p.10)• Transfers (Section 2, p.11)

ESL Guidelines – Documentary Evidence

• Section 3 “Documentary Evidence to Support ESL Eligibility” (p.11) has been expanded to clarify requirements.

• Guidelines clearly set out Documentary Evidence requirements for:• Directly registering ESLs• Demonstrating that a job seeker has a significant

disability• Demonstrating that a job seeker can work a minimum

of eight hours per week.

ESL Guidelines – Documentary Evidence (cont.)

• Key changesoGuidelines now clarify what form evidence should take:

Primary evidence – primary source document such as a signed and dated letter or official email.

Proformas with tick boxes are not acceptableoSpecific guidance on the Direct Registration Formo Information about disability funding for students in

non-government schools (Attachment B).

ESL Guidelines - Main Changes (cont)

To support clarification of the Documentary Evidence requirements:

• checklist which sets out specific requirements for each aspect of ESL eligibility (Attachment C).

• proforma paragraphs that providers can use to when requesting evidence from schools (Attachment D).

Other Guidelines

• Direct Registration Guidelines

• Direct Registration Form

• Transfer Guidelines

Job in Jeopardy (JiJ) Assistance

Guideline update January 2014

Guideline Amendments

• Clarification of eligibility criteria

• Documentary evidence

• Service expectations

Eligibility

Two key updates :• The employer must be of the view that their

employment is at risk of losing their employment due to the impact of their injury, disability or health condition.

• The person must be assessed by the DES provider as requiring the assistance available through DES to maintain their Employment and likely to require Ongoing Support.

Documentary Evidence

• The Employer Form• In the absence of the Employer - evidence of

employment , a signed statement of how their condition is impacting on their ability to do their job and why they consider their employment to be at risk.

• Recent evidence of the nature of the injury, disability or health condition

Service Expectations

• Appropriate assistance to address individual needs and ensure employment can be maintained.

• Employment Pathway Plan must accurately reflect assistance being provided.

DES Wage Subsidy Guidelines Updates

DES Wage Subsidy Guideline Updates

Why have we updated the Wage Subsidy Guidelines?• Wage Connect Subsidy index increase• Removal of reference to Connecting People

with Jobs• Clarification on Agreement creation and

Wage Connect operation

DES Wage Subsidy Guideline Updates

• Wage Connect subsidy Index increaseIncreased from $5912 to $6047 from 1 July 2013.

• Connecting People with Jobs subsidyRemoval of references to ceased programme

• Process Flow added– Outlines steps required to create, finalise and

claim a DES wage subsidy in the Departments IT system

DES Wage Subsidy Guideline Updates

• Policy Clarification– Outlining importance of entering and finalising

Wage Subsidy Agreement within 28 days of job commencing

– Information on requirements to support wage subsidy placements when DES participants transfer between providers

– Clarification on Wage Connect calculation when Unpaid Absences, reduction in hours or Workers Compensation occurs.

Red tape reduction

• New arrangement – only one update quarterly

• Other changes – Outcome Guidelines– Documentary evidence– Records Management