Clients approved for the Streamlined Access to Incapacity Payments are expected to be:
- motivated and ready to attempt a return to employment;
- willing to continue to participate in whole-of-person rehabilitation activities approved under their extended rehabilitation plan that may assist in making their return to work more sustainable;
- happy to be contacted by their Rehabilitation Provider on a regular basis while their extended rehabilitation plan remains open;
- agreeable to their Rehabilitation Provider contacting their health providers, and/or their employer to:
- seek information about issues where it is appropriate for them to do so,
- to try to resolve difficulties with their employment role, or
- to access documents from their employer to ensure that their incapacity payments can recommence as quickly as possible if they need to reduce their hours or cease employment;
- prepared to address issues that may arise during their employment, and be proactive in seeking out and using strategies that may help them to remain in employment for as long as they are able to;
- committed to contacting their Rehabilitation Provider as soon as they begin to experience difficulties in their work role, or relationships with employers or co-workers, or a change in their mental health symptoms;
- agreeable to visiting their GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or other appropriate medical specialist if they begin to experience an increase in the symptoms of their accepted mental health conditions;
- prepared to access appropriate treatment during the period that they are away from work, or working reduced hours; and
- willing to contact their Rehabilitation Provider when they are comfortable for their extended rehabilitation plan to be closed, as they feel that they are managing their employment effectively.
Participation in Streamlined Access to Incapacity Payments is voluntary and clients can decide that they would like to withdraw from their involvement at any time. However, clients who are participating will be expected to continue to be involved in activities on their rehabilitation plan that focus on building on their capacity to sustain long term employment.
As the client will be concurrently managing their employment obligations while adjusting to changes to routine and demand on their time that they may not be used to, it is important that the rehabilitation activities are not too onerous and that participation these can be realistically achieved. A rehabilitation plan for a participating client would be expected to be less complex and include fewer activities relative to other clients. Any achieved goals need to be closed, and an appropriate monitoring of employment goal needs to be created for any activities relating to this period. Scheduled Rehabilitation Provider contact needs to be agreed upon, and can be more or less frequent, depending on the clients’ needs.
If a client withdraws from Streamlined Access to Incapacity Payments, the Rehabilitation Provider is expected to provide a rehabilitation closure report for the Rehabilitation Coordinator explaining that the client has chosen to withdraw, however, successful return to work (if still appropriate) can still be used as the reason for closure.