Congratulations!

The Employment Services Group Preston team send our congratulations and best wishes for your
new role. It is fantastic that you have found this opportunity in a time of high unemployment and we
hope that this brings some positive changes to your life.

Starting a new job can sometimes mean that contact can be difficult. Therefore, we are here to
provide the help and support to ensure we can have the most appropriate and convenient method of
contact either face to face, email, phone or text.

Important things to remember: Support we can provide:

 Declare your earnings  Flexible contact arrangements as

You must declare your gross earnings
(before tax) every fortnight to
Centrelink. This will help avoid any
potential overpayments which may case
issues with Centrelink or the Australian
Taxation Office.
 We may ask for payslips
Keep copies of all your payslips and any
other work related paperwork for your
own records. I will also discuss with you
when I may need to collect information
regarding your working hours. This, of
course will remain confidential.
negotiated upon commencing
employment
 On the job support in consultation with
your employer
 Counselling sessions
 Assistance with transportation relating
employment (if eligible)
 Arrangement of additional training and
coaching in consultation with your
employer

 If your position is casual  Purchasing of work gear as needed to

If your earnings change weekly and you
still get some money from Centrelink,
you will be required to continue to
attend appointments and look for
additional employment.
 Please advise us if your hours are
reducing or any changes to your
conditions so that we can assist.
fulfil your job requirements
 Negotiation of wage subsidy assistance
(if eligible)
 Assistance in ensuring that you are
being paid at national minimum award
rates and support in contacting Fair
Work Australia on 13 13 94

Kind Regards,

Employment Services Group Preston

327-329 High St, Preston VIC 3072
Telephone: 9518 6168
 How to avoid a Centrelink debt

It’s easy – declare your earnings correctly.

Ensure you always report the amount of hours and gross (before tax) earnings for the Centrelink
fortnight as this will most likely not align with your pay period. Attached to this information pack is an
Earnings Worksheet that will assist in calculating exactly how much you need to report each fortnight.
If you require extra assistance, please speak to the Post Placement Support Officer or your
Employment Consultant.

If you find that you’ve reported your income incorrectly, don’t panic – we’re here to help!
Simply let us know and provide us with the payslips for the period and we will fix it up on our end.

What is a Centrelink debt?

The most common cause of Centrelink debts is where a person has been paid more of a Centrelink
payment than they were entitled to (this may not have been their fault). The amount overpaid is a debt
owed to the Commonwealth (Centrelink). If you have a debt for another reason you should contact
your closest welfare rights centre for more information (contact details are at
www.welfarerights.org.au/)

Overpayments can occur for a number of different reasons such as:

 Centrelink made an error in recording information they were given by you; OR

 Centrelink made a mistake in the calculation of your payments; OR
 Centrelink applied the law incorrectly; OR
 You did not give Centrelink correct or complete information about your circumstances within
the required time frame.

Where does Centrelink get information from?

You have an obligation to advise Centrelink of changes in your circumstances which will affect your
Centrelink payment within 14 days (such as changes in your wages, or becoming partnered with
another person). You cannot rely on Centrelink getting this information from the ATO or your
employer.

Centrelink also does data matches with other government departments (such as the ATO), and
private organisations (such as education institutions, banks, employers) and may investigate further if
the information held by those organisations does not match what is on your Centrelink records.
Centrelink may also investigate when they get a tip-off from another source, such as a member of the
public.

A 10% penalty may have been added to the debt if the reason for
your debt is that you:
 Refused or failed to provide information to Centrelink about your income from work; OR
 Knowingly or recklessly provided false or misleading information about your income from
work.
 Instructions

Earnings Worksheet

Do NOT return this worksheet to us. Centrelink

/ / to / /
This worksheet will help you calculate the amount of wages you Entitlement period
need to advise, for each employer.
Employee
This is your (or your partner’s) gross entitlement (i.e. before tax or
salary sacrifice is deducted) plus remunerative (not compensatory) You Your partner
allowances.
Employer’s details
You must advise wages earned during your Centrelink Entitlement
Period, which is the fortnight that ends on your reporting day. It Business name
might not be the same as the period which your employer uses to
calculate your wages.
Australian Business Number (ABN)
This form can be filled in, on screen using Acrobat Reader. For more
information on how to complete on screen, click the ‘Instructions’
button at the top of the form.
Phone number
( )

Income Overtime/penalty rates Gross amount

Day Date (before tax)
Hours Hourly rate Hours Hourly rate
1 / / X $ + X $ = $
2 / / X $ + X $ = $
3 / / X $ + X $ = $
4 / / X $ + X $ = $
5 / / X $ + X $ = $
6 / / X $ + X $ = $
7 / / X $ + X $ = $
8 / / X $ + X $ = $
9 / / X $ + X $ = $
10 / / X $ + X $ = $
11 / / X $ + X $ = $
12 / / X $ + X $ = $
13 / / X $ + X $ = $
14 / / X $ + X $ = $
TOTALS $ 0.00 a

Remunerative allowances
You must advise us of remunerative allowances (i.e. payment for doing extra or harder duties, e.g. fire warden,
first aid, danger money, remoteness allowance, language allowance, etc.).
Do not include allowances you receive to compensate you for out of pocket expenses (e.g. car, meal, tool, phone
and laundry allowances, etc.).

How much remunerative allowance was paid in addition to the hourly rate? $ b

Total (a + b) This is the amount you advise, for this period, for this employer. $ 0.00 a+b

Print Clear
SU505.1403 1 of 1
 Questions about your pay and entitlements

If you have any enquiries about your pay, entitlements, etc. it is best to ring Fair Work.

Website: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/

Telephone: 13 13 94

Open 8am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday (except for public holidays)

EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS AND EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES

Employer obligations and my responsibilities – When you start a job, you have a right to certain pay,
allowances and entitlements that are governed by an award, enterprise agreement or written contract
of employment. Allowances and entitlements are extra payments people receive for things such as
having a certain skills or working in hazardous conditions. You need to know your responsibilities in
the workplace and ensure you always behave appropriately. In return, your employee must provide
you with a safe workplace. You also need to know if you are being hired as a full-time employee, a
part-time employee, a casual employee or an independent contractor.

If a person wants to find out what the minimum pay and conditions are for their job, or if they are
having problems at work, they can:

 Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website and select ‘Pay’.

 Call the Fair Work Ombudsman
 Minimum Wages Fact Sheet for Job Seekers – Effective 1 July 2018
What is a minimum wage?
A minimum wage is the lowest wage you can be legally paid for your work. For the vast majority of people
over 21 years or older, the wage should be at least $18.93 per hour because that is the national ‘minimum
wage’ for adults.
For most people, their minimum wage is set out in a document called either an Award or an Enterprise
Agreement, and could be higher than $18.93 per hour. If there is no Award or Enterprise Agreement that
applies to the work you do and if you are 21 years or older, you still must be paid at least $18.93 per hour.
If you are employed as a casual, an extra amount called ‘Casual Loading’ will usually bring your minimum
hourly wage up to $23.66 if you are 21 or older.
In some cases you can legally be paid less than $18.93 per hour, for example if you are under the age of
21. But you would still need to get the casual loading if you are a casual.
If an Award or Enterprise Agreement applies to you then you have to be paid the amount it says in the
document. Your employer should help you to get a copy of that Award or Agreement, for example give
you the name of it so you can look it up on the internet yourself. Then you can see if you are being paid
the right amount. Or, you can contact your jobactive provider or the Fair Work Ombudsman and ask them
to look it up for you. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s website (www.fairwork.gov.au) contains a range of
useful information and online tools, including an online wage calculator.
A quick way to check your minimum wage, including any extra loadings, is to use the online wage
calculator at https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au

You can also look at the full list of pay guides to find the award that applies to you at
www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/minimum-wages/pay-guides

What is the current national minimum wage?

As of 1 July 2018, the national minimum wage for adults is $719.20 per full time week or $18.93 per hour.
Casuals get another 25% on top of that, which works out to be $23.66 per hour. Remember, some Awards
and Enterprise Agreements have a higher amount than the national minimum wage so you must be paid
AT LEAST the national minimum wage.
If you are a junior employee (that is, you are under 21 years of age), a special national minimum wage will
apply as the minimum amount you should be paid. Awards and Enterprise Agreements might have higher
minimum rates so check what you are entitled to, but it must be AT LEAST what it says in the table below.
If you are doing an apprenticeship or traineeship, or if you have a disability, there are different special
national minimum wage rates.
Minimum wages by age under the national minimum wage are set out in the table below. They generally
change each year on 1 July – most of the time they go up each year. For example, on 1 July 2018 the
minimum hourly adult wage went up from $18.29 to $18.93 per hour. The Fair Work Commission decides
the amounts each year. You can find more information on the www.fairwork.gov.au website.
 Minimum wage rates for 2018-19

You must be paid AT LEAST Minimum wage per

this amount (if you are on an Minimum wage Minimum wage hour - Casual
award or enterprise per 38 hour week per hour (includes
agreement it could be more) 25 per cent loading)

Aged 21 and over $ 719.20 $ 18.93 $ 23.66

At 20 years of age $ 702.70 $ 18.49 $ 23.11

At 19 years of age $ 593.30 $ 15.62 $ 19.53

At 18 years of age $ 491.20 $ 12.93 $ 16.16

At 17 years of age $ 415.70 $ 10.94 $ 13.68

At 16 years of age $ 340.20 $ 8.95 $ 11.19

Under 16 years of age $ 264.70 $ 6.97 $ 8.71

Where can I find out more?

Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website: www.fairwork.gov.au
Look at the Fair Work Ombudsman Minimum Wages Fact Sheet:
www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/minimum-workplace-
entitlements/minimum-wages

You can also ring the Fair Work Infoline: 13 13 94

Need language help?
Contact the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 13 14 50
Hearing & speech assistance
Call through the National Relay Service (NRS):
 For TTY: 13 36 77. Ask for the Fair Work Infoline 13 13 94
 Speak & Listen: 1300 555 727. Ask for the Fair Work Infoline 13 13 94