12.2 Criteria for Determining whether Employment is Suitable Employment

The definition of 'suitable employment' sets out four statutory criteria indicating whether particular employment is suitable:

(i)              the client's age, experience, training, language and other skills

(ii)              the client's suitability for rehabilitation or vocational retraining

(iii)              where employment is available in a place that would require the client to change his or her place of residence – whether it is reasonable to expect the client to change their place of residence

(iv)              Any other relevant matter.

A Delegate must 'have regard to' these criteria when determining whether employment is suitable for the particular client. In making this assessment, the following points should be noted:

• regard must be paid to all four criteria – no one criteria alone can be determinative of the issue
• regard must be paid to the client's individual circumstances as well as to any general rules designed to ensure consistency in decision-making in this complex area
• the inclusion of 'any other relevant matter' as a criteria invites consideration of special circumstances and unusual features of each individual case.