What your commitments are

There are things you must do to keep getting your JobSeeker Payment.

Mutual obligation requirements

Mutual obligation requirements are tasks and activities you agree to do while getting JobSeeker Payment from us.

What applies to job seekers in South Australia

Mutual obligation requirements are voluntary for South Australians from Wednesday 18 November to Sunday 29 November 2020. During this time, there are no suspensions or penalties.

You can still contact your employment services provider either online or over the phone.

If you’re in online employment services you should still think about your employment and training goals. This may help you keep on track.

You still need to:

What applies to job seekers in other states and territories

You must meet all of your mutual obligation requirements.

This means doing the tasks and activities in your Job Plan. Suspensions and penalties apply if you don’t.

This may also apply if you’re getting both JobKeeper Payment and JobSeeker Payment.

If you’re in online employment services, you need to do the tasks on your dashboard.

You must attend all appointments with your provider. You can do this in any of the following ways:

  • over the phone
  • online
  • in person, if safe to do so.

You can opt-in to get face to face services by contacting your provider. If you do, you’ll go to appointments and activities in person, if it’s safe to do so.

If you don’t want face to face servicing, you may be able to do these over the phone or online.

Read about mutual obligation requirements.

When penalties apply

There are demerits and financial penalties for not meeting your mutual obligation requirements.

This applies to you if you’re with 1 of these:

At the moment this doesn’t apply to you if you live in South Australia. We’ll let you know when this changes.

If you’re in the Community Development Program, the penalties are different.

When exemptions apply

You may be exempt from mutual obligation requirements in certain circumstances. This includes if you’re:

  • impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • a sole trader or self employed.

Read about what exemptions may apply.

Report employment income

If you get an income support payment from us, you must report any income you and your partner get. This includes JobKeeper Payment. You need to report every 2 weeks, even if it’s $0. This is so we pay you the right amount.

Before you get your first payment, you need to report your and your partner’s income.

You can report your income by:

You can check your reporting dates through your Centrelink online account.

When you report your income each fortnight, you’re confirming you’re meeting your mutual obligation requirements.

Read about income reporting and get help using our Centrelink online account guides.

Change of circumstances

You must tell us if things change as it may affect your JobSeeker Payment.

You can tell us using the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app or your Centrelink online account through myGov.

Read about what you need to tell us.

Next: How to claim

Complete the following steps to claim JobSeeker Payment. Before you start, check if you can get it.

Page last updated: 23 November 2020