Eligibility

Jobseekers are generally eligible for Ostara Australia – Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) if they:

  • have a diagnosed mental health challenge.
  • are aged at least 14 but have not yet attained the Age Pension qualifying age.
  • are at or above the minimum legal working age in NSW
  • are an Australian resident or eligible Visa holder.
  • are not studying full time (there is an exception – see below); and
  • have a valid Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) or Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) recommending IEA with a Future Work Capacity of eight or more hours per week; and
  • are not working at or above their assessed work capacity (not applicable for Work Assist Participants and people who receive National Disability Insurance Scheme funding for supported employment, and/or Australian Disability Enterprise participants).

There are special eligibility arrangements for specific jobseekers, which permit access to IEA without an ESAt. These are:

  • Eligible School Leavers – full time, final year secondary school students with significant disability or young people transitioning from an eligible state or territory transition to work program or School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES).
  • Special Class Clients (for IEA-DMS only) – jobseekers who have acquired a disability, injury or illness as a result of being present at, and directly affected by, notified events such as the Bali and London bomb attacks and the December 2004 Tsunami.
  • Work Assist – eligible workers who are having difficulty fulfilling the essential requirements of their role due to their injury, disability or health challenge and are seeking assistance from a IEA provider.

Jobseekers can access IEA either through referral by Services Australia —generally for those receiving Centrelink payments who have Mutual Obligation or Compulsory Participation Requirements — or by directly registering with a IEA provider of their choice).

Apart from people who are eligible to access IEA under the special eligibility arrangements listed above, jobseekers will generally need to undertake an ESAt.

An ESAt is conducted by Services Australia and is used to determine the most appropriate employment service for a jobseeker with disability (e.g. Workforce Australia Online, Workforce Australia Services, IEA-DMS or IEA-ESS) and establish a jobseeker’s current and future work capacity with intervention (within two years) based on an assessment of their individual circumstances.

While a jobseeker is waiting for an appointment the jobseeker can contact us,  this will help you understand our business and how we can help support you. 

At the ESAt / JCA Appointment you can let Services Australia know you would like to be referred to Ostara Australia.

Need further support, call or email us.