Positive Life NSW

Senator Joe Ludwig Lance Feeney updates Talkabout readers on where we're at advocating for your rights.

In 2008, the Federal Minister for Human Services Joe Ludwig conducted a review of the Job Capacity Assessment program.

Positive Life provided a submission to the review. You can read our submission here.

The Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) program assesses your ability to work. It also provides referral to employment and related support services and assesses ability to work for income support purposes (such as for Disability Support Pension, as well as partial capacity to work and exemptions from activity-testing (if you have a medical condition lasting more than 13 weeks).

In response to the review Minister Ludwig has announced:

• The outcomes of the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy and the outcomes of the Disability Employment Services Review will be taken into account.
• Job Capacity Assessors will be appropriately qualified allied health professionals.
• Customers will be matched to the assessor, or combination of assessors, best placed to help them.
• The qualifications of Job Capacity Assessors and the under-use of specialist medical and psychological assessment by specialist will be addressed, so people have access to specialist assessment when they most need it.
• Centrelink and Job Capacity Assessors will implement secure electronic transfer of medical information, to maximise privacy protections for customers.
• New standardised arrangements will be put in place to assist with claims checking and processing.

These announcements follow on from the desired outcomes announced by the government in August 2008 including:

• funding to help people on Disability Support Pension (DSP) who want help finding work;
• new frameworks to ensure that assessments meet high standards of quality, timeliness and effectiveness;
• practical improvements to services to ensure that regional and remote communities get high quality face-to-face assessment;
• new approaches to make better use of skilled senior allied health professional assessors.

Positive Life NSW will continue to advocate for a fair, responsive and flexible social security system. Such a system provides people with HIV the opportunity to find gain from employment, but also allows them the flexibility to move in and out of the workforce, as their circumstance and health dictate.