NEST Compliance Framework

New Employment Services Scheme Compliance System

Know where you stand and how the rules can affect you!

You need to know about your mutual obligation requirements for jobactive, New Employment Services Trial (NEST) and Disability Employment Services (DES).

When you apply for an income support payment, you make an agreement with the government that you will do some tasks in exchange for your payment. These tasks are called mutual obligation requirements, and they are listed in your Job Plan. They can include:

• meeting a points target
• going to appointments
• doing training
• doing work for the dole

You get different points for different tasks:

• Job application = 5 points
• Updating or creating a profile = 5 points
• Job interview = 10 points
• Start a job = 10 points
• Paid work = 5 points per 10 hours

You can also get points for attending activities. Points vary depending on how many hours or days the activity runs.

Your online dashboard will help you to manage your requirements and points status. You can access it from myGov or you can download the jobactive Job Seeker App

Please note that if you fail to meet your agreed mutual obligation requirements you could get demerits and it may affect your income support payment.

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Introduction to the compliance system

Watch this video if you have compulsory mutual obligation requirements. It explains what you need to know about:

• your Job Plan or Participation Plan
• reporting your requirements each month
• who to talk to if you need help or more information

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Understanding the compliance system

Meet your requirements by the due date and you’ll stay on track and your payment will be fine.

Miss a payment and you could get a demerit. This could put you in a compliance zone and you could even get a financial penalty.

Watch this video to learn about:

• where to find your requirements
• demerits and how you can avoid them
• warning and penalty zones
• payment cancellations

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How to make sure you meet your requirements

1. Attend appointments – As your provider ETC will setup appointments to help you prepare for work and refer you to services and activities to help you build you job skills.
2. Complete your required taks on time – Depending what you have agreed to in your job plan this could be job search, meeting a Points Target, participating in interviews or other activities. Report these using MyGov.
3. Participate in activities to build job skills – Attend each day of activities and courses, record this via MyGov.
4. Follow up on job refferals and participate in job interviews – Keep your resume up to date, be prepared and attend any job interview your jobs advisor sets up for you. Make sure to check your job matches in your online dashboard and record your attendance at job interviews.
5. Use your online dashboard – Check your requiremensts, record jobs you have applied for, record attended appointments, job interviews and other activities.
6. Contact us straight away if you can’t meet your requirements – contact your jobs advisor or call our contact centre on 1800 007 400 to let us know if you can’t meet a requirement. This will prevent demerits which can affect your income payment.

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Online Dashboard: Compliance symbols explained

Compliance symbols make it quick and easy to understand your compliance status. You will see these compliance symbols on your dashboard and your participation history page.

Watch this video to find out what the different symbols mean.

Resources

Visit the Jobsearch.gov.au Compliance Page for more information

Download the jobactive Understanding the Compliance System Poster 2021

Visit the How to report points page on the Jobsearch website for more information