• What is the JSCI used for?
• More information about the JSCI

What is the JSCI used for?

A key feature of JSA is the provision of services in accordance with a job seeker’s assessed level of disadvantage. The services are provided in four Streams, with Stream 1 for the more work-ready job seekers up to Stream 4 for the most highly disadvantaged job seekers with severe non-vocational barriers. Each Stream also offers access to Work Experience Activities.

JSA provides job seekers with more personalised help, better targeted services and greater access to training opportunities and work experience in areas of skill need. JSA also provides more help for employers to find work-ready job seekers.

More information is available on the Department’s JSA site.

For JSA, the JSCI is specifically used to determine a job seeker’s eligibility for Streams 1 to 3 and to identify job seekers who have multiple or complex barriers to employment who may require an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt).

An Employment Services Assessment is conducted for disadvantaged job seekers identified as requiring further assessment of the impact of barriers on their capacity to participate in work or employment services.

There will be two types of ESAts from 1 July 2011. These are

• Medical condition ESAt – An assessment of the job seeker’s circumstances to determine work capacity and the most appropriate employment service, where one or more medical conditions are identified. ESAts are similar to the previous Job Capacity Assessments (JCAs) for potentially highly disadvantaged job seekers with disability, injury or illness. In a Medical condition ESAt the assessor must rely on the available medical evidence.
• Non-medical condition ESAt – An assessment of the job seeker’s circumstances that determines the most appropriate employment service, where no medical condition is identified — for example, a young person at serious risk of homelessness. A non–medical condition ESAt is normally less complex than an ESAt for a job seeker with disability, injury or illness, and will be streamlined to meet the individual’s needs.

There is flexibility in the new process. Depending on the circumstances, a non-medical condition ESAt can be extended to a medical condition ESAt by the assessor at the same appointment, where medical evidence is available.

An ESAt is conducted by a single Government provider under the Department of Human Services Portfolio by Assessors who are appropriately experienced and qualified Health and Allied Health Professionals . Eligibility for Stream 4 and Disability Employment Services (DES) is determined through an ESAt (for job seekers) or a JCA (for customers making claims for the Disability Support Pension).

More information is available on the Department’s ESAt website.

For JSA, the JSCI is also used to identify job seekers who may benefit from referral to any of the following

• the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program
• the Adult Migrant English Program
• the Early School Leavers measure, or
• a Centrelink Social Worker.

The JSCI may be conducted by Centrelink, JSA providers, DES providers or Assessors during an ESAt or a JCA on behalf of the Department.

Job seekers must have a JSCI which accurately reflects their current circumstances to determine the services most appropriate to their assessed needs. The JSCI is updated as part of a Change of Circumstances Reassessment and a Stream Services Review. It can also be updated as part of a Comprehensive Compliance Assessment.

More information about the JSCI…

• Conducting a JSCI
  
• Change of Circumstances Reassessment
  
• Key components of the JSCI 
• Factors (including sub-factors) 
• Questions 
• Score 
• ESAt Indicators 
• Description of JSCI factors and points ( PDF 728KB | RTF 3.4MB)
  
• Development of the JSCI ( PDF 146KB | RTF 60KB)
  
• Technical description of the JSCI ( PDF 79KB | RTF 10KB)

Conducting a JSCI

The JSCI may be conducted by Centrelink, JSA providers, DES providers or Assessors during an ESAt or a JCA on behalf of the Department.

The JSCI is conducted by Centrelink when one of the following occurs for a job seeker

• registers for employment assistance
  
• reports a change in their circumstances that may impact on their currently assessed Stream (Change of Circumstances Reassessment)
  
• is referred to Centrelink by a Job Services Australia provider for a review of their level of servicing (Stream Services Review), or
• undergoes a Comprehensive Compliance Assessment and a JSCI is required.
  

In Centrelink, the JSCI is conducted when an unemployed person first registers with Centrelink for employment assistance as part of the First Contact Service Offer or the Looking for Work process. It can be completed face to face or over the phone with the unemployed person. In the majority of cases, the JSCI is conducted by Centrelink—the gateway to JSA for most job seekers.

The JSCI can be conducted by JSA providers when one of the following occurs for a job seeker

• is Directly Registered as a volunteer and chooses to receive the full range of JSA services
• reports a change in their circumstances that may impact on their currently assessed Stream (Change of Circumstances Reassessment)
• that is not a Centrelink customer and requires a review of their level of servicing (Stream Services Review), or
• does not have a completed JSCI and needs to commence in JSA.

JSA providers conduct the JSCI at a face-to-face meeting with the job seeker unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The JSCI can be conducted by Assessors when one of the following occurs for a job seeker

• discloses or reveals new information during the ESAt that may impact on their employment services eligibility, or
• is assessed with a recommended referral to Streams 1 to 3 but does not have a JSCI record.

Assessors can complete the JSCI with the job seeker either face-to-face or over the phone when conducting an ESAt or a JCA.

A JSCI cannot be conducted for job seekers who are not currently registered or are receiving Stream 4 services—except for young people who are classified as Vulnerable Youth and Vulnerable Youth (Students). These young people in crisis under 21 years of age and unable to access local youth services. These young people provisionally commence in Stream 4 and are referred to Centrelink within 4 weeks of their commencement date to confirm their eligibility for JSA—through conducting a JSCI and referring the young person for an ESAt if necessary.

DES providers can complete the JSCI face-to-face with the job seeker.

Change of Circumstances Reassessment

• A job seeker’s JSCI record must accurately reflect their current circumstances to ensure they are receiving the services most appropriate to their assessed level of relative disadvantage.
• When job seekers disclose or reveal new information about their circumstances that may impact on their currently assessed Stream, a Change of Circumstances Reassessment should be conducted.
• For job seekers in Streams 1 to 3, the Change of Circumstances Reassessment is conducted by Centrelink or the JSA provider by reviewing and updating the JSCI. Assessors may also update the JSCI if the job seeker discloses new information during an ESAt.
• Job seekers in Stream 4 or in Disability Employment Services are referred for an ESAt for the Change of Circumstances Reassessment.
• DES providers can conduct the Change of Circumstances Reassessment for job seekers in DES.

Where the Change of Circumstances Reassessment indicates that the job seeker’s level of disadvantage in the labour market has increased, job seekers may become eligible for different services.

Key components of the JSCI

The key components of the JSCI are the factors (including sub-factors), questions, score and identification of the possible need for Employment Services Assessment (ESAt).

The JSCI process involves collecting information about the factors using questions and other information derived from existing administrative data on the job seeker, to calculate a score used to determine a job seeker’s eligibility for Streams 1, 2 or 3.

Through specific responses to JSCI questionss, the JSCI process may also identify the need for further assessment through an ESAt. The job seeker’s eligibility for Stream 4 or DES is determined by the outcome of the ESAt.

Where the ESAt recommendation is for Stream 1 to 3, the outcome of the ESAt finalises the JSCI score and determines eligibility for the appropriate Stream.

Factors

The JSCI consists of 18 factors (including sub-factors) which have been identified through ongoing formal research, expert advice and consultations, as being important in measuring the likelihood of a registrant remaining a job seeker for at least a year.

These factors are

As part of the JSCI process, some factors are expressed as questions asked directly of a job seeker, such as Educational Attainment. Other factors are derived from routine information provided by the job seeker or sourced from the job seeker’s record, such as Proximity to a Labour Market which uses the job seeker’s postcode. Other factors, such as Disability/Medical Conditions, may be confirmed or derived from the outcomes of an ESAt or a JCA.

A description of each factor is contained in the JSCI Factors document

• JSCI Factors ( PDF 168KB | RTF 269KB).

Questions

The JSCI questionnaire includes 49 questions. Like the factors, the questions have been developed based on formal research, expert advice and consultations. This has included cognitive testing with job seekers, employment service providers and Centrelink Customer Service Advisers.

The number of questions a job seeker is required to answer depends upon their individual circumstances. For example, a job seeker who has a high level of disadvantage will generally have to answer more questions. The minimum number of questions a job seeker will answer when completing the JSCI is 18.

The JSCI contains a number of voluntary questions. For these questions, the job seeker can choose the response option of ‘do not wish to answer’. The voluntary questions cover the following

• Indigenous status (i.e. Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander)
• refugee status
• disability and medical conditions
• ex-offender status, and
• any other factors or personal characteristics, including intergenerational disadvantage, which may affect a job seeker’s ability to work, obtain work or to look for work.

Score

A job seeker’s answers to each of the questions or derived information are assigned weights or points depending on the relative contribution of that JSCI factor in determining whether a job seeker is likely to continue seeking a job for at least another year.

The weights or points assigned to each of the JSCI factors are added together to calculate the JSCI score. The JSCI score reflects a job seeker’s level of disadvantage in the labour market. The higher the JSCI score, the higher the probability of the job seeker remaining in this state for another year or longer.

As noted above, the JSCI score is used to determine a job seeker’s eligibility for Streams 1 to 3.

The points for each component of the JSCI are contained in the JSCI Factors document

• JSCI Factors ( PDF 168KB | RTF 269KB)

ESAt Indicators

• A job seeker’s responses to some of the questions, in combination with his/her age, can also identify that he/she has multiple or complex barriers to employment that require further assessment. These job seekers may be referred for an ESAt to determine the services which best suit their circumstances.
  
• The outcome of an ESAt may include a recommendation for referral to Streams 1 to 3, Stream 4 or DES. The ESAt also determines a job seeker’s work capacity in hours per week bandwidths of 0 to 7 hours per week, 8 to 14 hours per week, 15 to 22 hours per week, 23 to 29 hours per week and 30 or more hours per week.
  

The JSCI factors used as ESAt indicators are