Contributed to hardship

Payment of Emergency Benefit may be considered when a client can show they are in hardship, as they are unable to earn a sufficient livelihood for themselves (and any dependent family).

Where a client has the ability to earn a sufficient livelihood but has chosen not to earn that livelihood the client has imposed their own hardship and Emergency Benefit should not be considered.

Example

A client is married and their partner has gone overseas. They have one child, 14 years of age. The circumstances of the client identifies that it is reasonable to expect them to look for work, however they have stated they will not.

In this situation, the client has imposed their own hardship by choosing not to look for work therefore Emergency Benefit should not be considered.

Note all the client's circumstances must be determined to assess why the client is unable to earn a sufficient livelihood. There may be other reasons why they are in hardship.