Work testing

Depending on their circumstances, clients receiving a work-tested benefit may be subject to:

• a full-time work test
• a part-time work test, or
• a requirement to meet Work and Income case managers to plan their entry into paid work.

Clients may be exempted from the work test on a range of grounds, including health issues and caring responsibilities.

For many clients who are not exempted from the work test and who have no dependent children aged under six years, fulfilling their work-test requirements involves registering as job seekers.

Any work or training being undertaken (whether this began before or after they became subject to a work test) may be counted toward fulfilling a client's obligations under the work test.

During the 2003/2004 financial year, work-tested clients had Government expectations about meeting the work test made clearer. Other work-test requirements added during the 2003/2004 financial year included a requirement to:

• take pre-employment drug tests if required to by a prospective employer (from October 2003)
• commute to seek and undertake paid work if there is no such work available in their local area (from March 2004).