An Activity Agreement is a written and signed agreement negotiated between you, the participant and STEPS Employment (STEPS). The Activity Agreement forms an important basis which outlines the employment assistance or intervention that STEPS will provide and the activities that you will be required to undertake whilst you are on the programme. The aim of the Activity Agreement is to maximise your employment opportunities.

Your Activity Agreement will be tailored to meet your individual needs and will develop over time as milestones are reached and/or a change in your circumstances necessitates an update.

There are two elements to the Activity Agreement. The first element (Part A – Compulsory Activities) involves specifying the obligations, which you must meet or your Centrelink payment may be stopped. The second element (Part B – Voluntary Activities) may include activities such as:

• Job Search,
• Employment Preparation,
• Attend complimentary Employment and Training Programmes, and
• Ongoing support assistance to maintain your employment.

For Activity Tested Participants only: Your Activity Agreement will outline the assistance or intervention agreed between both parties and details the activity/ies required by the participant to meet their Activity Test.

Your Activity Agreement will be developed in consultation with you or you and your advocate and STEPS.

Your initial Activity Agreement is completed at the time of acceptance on the programme and individualised by the end of Assessment (refer Program Overview). Information that will be used to complete initial Activity Agreement may include:

• evidence obtained from the STEPS assessment process,
• evidence obtained/supplied by other service providers, advocate and/or significant other/s, and
• most importantly, your input to achieve your employment goals.

Your Activity Agreement may be mutually changed at any time where there is a need to vary the activities or your capacity to follow the existing activities change.

You will be required to fully participate in the STEPS Employment programme. Failure to participate may result in a non-conformity, which may lead to STEPS having to complete a Participation Report for Activity Tested participants. This notifies Centrelink that you have not met your obligations under this agreement.

STEPS will hold a current copy of signed Activity Agreement at all times. You, the Participant will receive the original signed Activity Agreement. You will be able to view and print your own Activity Agreement by accessing your Personal Page on Australian JobSearch (AJS) or from a JobSearch Kiosk. Only a current and approved Activity Agreement will be available via this means.

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