Non-compliance for Community Work Experience

A partner could fail Community Work Experience without a good and sufficient reason at any point. This could occur when:

• a partner does not find a position due to making minimal or no effort to search for one, or
• a partner does not complete the required hours in any of the 4 weeks of the position period, or
• an organisation advises MSD that a partner failed to perform the duties of the position, for example, a partner attends the organisation for the hours required but spends most of their time on their phone instead of completing assigned tasks.

MSD may consider information shared by an organisation when determining if a partner has a good and sufficient reason for failing to find or complete Community Work Experience, however MSD must also consider information provided by the partner.

For example, if an organisation advises MSD that a partner did not show up to do their 5 hours that week, MSD must contact the partner to see if there was a good and sufficient reason for their absence.

If MSD determines that a partner does not have a good and sufficient reason for failing to find or complete Community Work Experience, the partner is considered non-compliant.

A partner without dependent children will have their benefit suspended from the first day of the week that they were considered non-compliant.

Their payments will remain suspended for up to 13 weeks after Community Work Experience was first imposed, unless they recomply.

A partner may complete a recompliance activity during this period that is the same or similar to the activity that they originally failed. Their benefit will be resumed from the date that the partner recomplies.

When a partner’s benefit has remained suspended  because they have not recomplied, their benefit will cancel 13 weeks after Community Work Experience was first imposed.

Partners with dependent children have 50% payment protection.

A partner with dependent children will have their payments reduce by 50% from the first day of the week that they were considered non-compliant.

A partner may complete a recompliance activity during this period that is the same or similar to the activity that they originally failed. Their benefit will be resumed from the date that the partner has recomplied.

These partners will also be contacted after 2 weeks of receiving only 50% of their benefit.