3.11.14.20 No show, no pay failures

Introduction

The RAES commenced on 1 November 2025, replacing the CDP. The service operates in RAES regions (formerly CDP regions). The RAES supports job seekers with the skills, mentoring and training they need to take up job opportunities, including those created through the Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) program. Relevant information is being continually updated in the Social Security Guide.

This topic concerns information on NSNP failures under the compliance arrangements set out in SS(Admin)Act Part 3 Division 3A, otherwise known as the Job Seeker Compliance Framework. These arrangements only apply to job seekers on participation payments who are declared program participants (that is, RAES participants) under the Social Security (Declared Program Participant) Determination 2025.

Note: Participation in activities under RAES is voluntary and will continue to be listed as voluntary in Job Plans. As such, only the following items are compulsory under RAES:

• agree to a Job Plan
• attend monthly appointments
• undertake job search requirements (depending on the strength of the local labour market)
• attend job interviews
• accept or not leave suitable paid work.

For information on how compliance activities are treated, please refer to 3.11.14.60.

NSNP overview

A job seeker may incur one or more NSNP failures on a day if, on the day, they:

• fail to attend a job interview
• during a job interview, deliberately behave in a way that results in them not receiving a job offer
• and the job seeker receives an instalment of a participation payment for the instalment period in which the day occurs.

A decision maker cannot apply a NSNP failure when the job seeker has a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with a requirement and, when the job seeker has failed to attend a job interview, they gave prior notice of the reasonable excuse, the job seeker is a new apprentice or the day is in a reconnection failure period.

Failure to attend a job interview

Failure to attend a job interview with a prospective employer is a NSNP failure during instalment periods in which a job seeker receives an instalment of a participation payment. For a failure to apply, the job seeker must have no reasonable excuse for the failure, the work must be suitable (see 3.11.1.20 for the definition of suitable work). A NSNP failure applies for the day of the missed job interview.

Refusal of a suitable job offer is a serious failure.

Failure to behave appropriately at a job interview

If a job seeker attends a job interview with a prospective employer but deliberately behaves in a manner that could be expected to result in the job seeker not receiving a job offer and the job seeker receives an instalment of a participation payment for the instalment period in which the day occurs, a NSNP failure applies. Failing to behave appropriately at a job interview could include:

• dressing in a way that is clearly inappropriate for the interview
• displaying an obvious lack of interest in the job on offer
• using inappropriate language
• overplaying the impacts of real or non-apparent injuries or illnesses.

Circumstances not within the job seeker's control such as excessive nervousness, poor language or verbal skills or a limited wardrobe cannot be considered as deliberate misbehaviour. It must also have been reasonably foreseeable (in the circumstances of the remote community not the circumstances of the general population in non-remote locations) that the behaviour would result in an offer of employment not being made.

NSNP penalties

A NSNP failure will result in the job seeker losing the equivalent of a working day's payment. A working day's payment refers to a calculated amount that not only takes into account a daily payment but also the appropriate proportion of any weekends occurring in the relevant instalment period. In a 14-day instalment period that is not affected by a reconnection failure period, this will work out to be one-tenth of their participation payment for the pay period in which the failure occurred, plus one-tenth of any fortnightly ES paid (see note), and one-tenth of any participation-related supplement. A participation-related supplement is the additional payment that a job seeker gets under social security law for participating in some activities, including an approved program of work and Skills for Education and Employment Program (SEE).

Note: The ES may be paid either fortnightly or quarterly. If a job seeker is receiving the ES on a fortnightly basis, paid with their fortnightly participation payment, the ES is included when calculating any penalty amount. If the ES is paid on a quarterly basis, it is a separate payment and is not included in or affected by any NSNP penalties.

The calculation of the amount does not include add-on payments such as RAA, pension GST supplement, RA, PhA, YDS, MOB, PES, TAL and UA. The penalty does not affect a job seeker's access to a HCC or FTB. The penalty amount cannot be greater than the job seeker's payment for the period in which the failure/s occurred. The calculation of the amount is based on the job seeker's participation payment after taking into account any income reductions due to personal, partner or parental income. If part of the period coincided with a reconnection failure period, this will also reduce the amount of participation payment on which the calculation is based.

A NSNP penalty does not reduce the job seeker's entitlement for the pay period in which it is incurred. It results in the job seeker incurring a penalty amount which is deducted from a later payment. The penalty amount cannot be deducted from the first payment that is made after the job seeker is notified of the decision to apply the failure, but can be deducted from any payment after that. If necessary, it can be taken from more than one payment.

Because the penalty amount is calculated on the basis of the amount of participation payment received in the period in which the failure/s occurred, it is possible that in the period in which it is deducted the job seeker may not receive enough participation payment to allow full recovery of the penalty amount (for example, because the job seeker has income from part-time work which has reduced their payment). If this is the case, the balance is deducted from future payments of any participation payment until it is fully recovered. Debt recovery arrangements (for example, waiver of small amounts) do not apply to compliance penalty amounts.

The calculation method for a NSNP penalty is detailed in the Social Security (Administration) (Penalty Amount) Determination 2025.