Applying for Back to Work

Back to Work applications are made online through QGrants. In order to be assessed, all applications and later payment claims must be submitted and received within the specified timeframes. You will be able to see your application status in QGrants when you log in.

All applications for Back to Work payments must include all supporting evidence documents in order to be assessed. Please read the Guidelines for Funding for further information on evidence requirements.

When you are asked to attach evidence to support your application, provide all the information you do have and upload a Word document with a note letting us know what documents you still need to provide.

This will allow you to submit your application within the application timeframe (12 weeks from the employee’s commencement date). The Back to Work Team will contact you to request the missing information once you have submitted the application.

You can use this calculator to see if your application is within the timeframe.

Further information can be found on the How to apply for a Back to Work payment page.

Initial payment applications must be received within 12 weeks of the employee completing four weeks of continuous employment.

These applications will be assessed under the Back to Work Incentives Payment Guidelines for Funding 2021-22.

If you are making an application for an eligible job seeker employed up to and including 30 June 2021, applicants may continue to make online applications after 30 June 2021, as long as the applications submitted are within the eight weeks of the employee completing four weeks continuous employment.

These applications will be assessed under the Back to Work Guidelines for Funding 2020-21.

It is important to note that applications and claims received outside of these timeframes will be ineligible for payment.

Later payment claims must be received within 12 weeks of the employee completing:

• for the second Back to Work Incentive Payment 26 weeks continuous employment.
• for the final Back to Work Incentive Payment 52 weeks continuous employment.

Claims received outside of these timeframes will be ineligible for payment.

If your initial claim was approved under the Back to Work Guidelines for Funding 2020-21, your later payment claims will continue to be assessed under these guidelines as they become due in the 2021-22 financial year.

When you have lodged an application through the QGrants system it will be assigned a status. Your application status can be checked anytime by logging into your QGrants account.

If your application is in Draft then it has not been submitted to the Back to Work Team for processing.

If your application is In Process then it has been successfully submitted through QGrants and is with the Back to Work Team for processing.

A full list of QGrants status definitions is available on the Definitions and FAQ page.

When applying for Back to Work support payments, it is important that your application is supported by documentary evidence that has been witnessed by an independent authorised person.

The evidence requested to support your application or later payment claim helps determine your eligibility for the program and protects applicants against potential fraud or identity theft. Documents submitted as evidence must be witnessed (i.e. certified by an authorised person) to authenticate them as true and correct at the time of submission.

The evidence documents have been chosen specifically as they should be documents that are easily accessible for most employers.

It is important to note that the original evidence document (e.g. original driver licence) is not a certified copy. An exact copy of the original evidence document (e.g. copy of the driver licence), which has been presented to and witnessed by an independent authorised person, is a certified copy.

The Back to Work program requires evidence to support your application for a Back to Work payment.

Some evidence documents must be witnessed by an authorised person under the Oaths Act 1867. Details on Statutory Declaration and who is an authorised person can be found here.

The authorised person must visually sight the original documents and check that there are no alterations to the copies presented to them. The authorised person must pay particular attention to names, dates and reference numbers.

The authorised person then endorses the copies with the following certification:

This is to certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original document, which I have sighted.

Date:

Signature of authorised witness:

Name of authorised witness:

Title of authorised witness (as per Statutory Declarations Regulations 2018):

Evidence you will need to include to support your application include:

WorkCover Policy or Self-insurance information 

In Queensland, under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (QLD), an employer must, for each worker employed, insure and remain insured for their legal liability to pay compensation and damages to their workers.

You will be required to provide your WorkCover Policy Number and expiration date in your application. Information provided by you, about your business, including your WorkCover Policy Number, may be disclosed to WorkCover for the purpose of verifying your compliance with the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (QLD).

If you are self-insured for workers accident and injury liability, you will be required to provide information on this insurance, inclusive of the agency who has issued your self-insurance licence.

Witnessed identification for the person submitting the application

Proof is required of the identity of the person submitting the application through QGrants. This identification must match the name and details of the person responsible in the QGrants account who is submitting the application.

Acceptable identification documents are:

• an Australian driver licence
• adult proof of age card (e.g. 18+ card)
• birth certificate
• citizenship certificate
• passport.

Witnessed ABN Certificate

All registered businesses will have received an ABN Certificate at the time of registering the business. A copy of your ABN Certificate (which includes a letter) can be requested from the Australian Business Register at https://www.abr.gov.au/business-super-funds-charities/applying-abn/your-business-information-abr/paper-copies-abn-details

The ABN and name on the ABN Certificate must match the ABN and name on your QGrants organisation account and the employee payslips you provide.

All pages of the ABN Certificate must be submitted and witnessed as part of the evidence for your application.

Please note, an ASIC certificate and ABN lookups are not accepted as evidence.

Payslips

An employee must have been in paid employment with you for at least four continuous weeks prior to the initial application being made and must have worked the average hours relevant to a part-time or full-time application.

To prove that these requirements have been met, please provide copies of the employee’s payslips for the first four continuous full weeks of their employment with you. Payslips must be submitted as timesheets or a payroll summary will not be sufficient. The ABN and name on the payslips you provide must match the ABN and name on your ABN Certificate and QGrants organisation account.

Payslips must meet the minimum requirement as set out by Fair Work Australia under the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009. Information on the legal requirements for payslips is available through the Fair Work Australia website.

Payslips can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Please provide copies of the actual payslips that you issued to your employee.

You can use this calculator to see if your employee has completed the minimum four weeks.

Employee Consent Form

An employee consent form must be included with all initial payment applications submitted in QGrants. This form must be completed and signed by the employee for whom the application is regarding.

Employee identification

Proof is required of the jobseeker’s identity. Acceptable identification documents are:

• An Australian driver licence
• Adult proof of age card (e.g. 18+ Card)
• Birth certificate
• Citizenship certificate or
• Passport.

If an non-Australian passport is being submitted as evidence, a letter issued by the Australian Government to the employee outlining their visa details must also be submitted.

The employee identification must be current (not expired) at the date the employee commenced employment. The first name, surname and date of birth on the employee identification must match the first name, surname and date of birth on the application.

Please ensure the details are correct and there are no typos.

Employees with a disability

If an employee has a disability and a workplace assessment to work between 8 and 20 hours per week, a signed letter issued by a Disability Employment Services Provider or Department of Human Services endorsed Job Capacity Assessment must be attached to the application. This document should detail the employee’s approved benchmark working hours, or the application will not meet the required eligibility criteria. The employee must be working in accordance with their approved benchmark hours. If the payslips do not align with the approved benchmark working hours, the application will not meet the required eligibility criteria.

Eligible part-time jobs will attract 75 per cent of the full-time payment.

Applicants must reaffirm that they continue to meet the eligibility criteria for all later payments outlined in the payment schedule. Evidence must be provided to support each later application including that continuous employment has occurred for the specified period of time.

To support your 26 week or 52 week claim you must provide evidence to demonstrate that your employee has completed 26 weeks or 52 weeks continuous employment with your business. The employee must have also worked the average hours relevant to a part-time or full-time application.t

Documents must be certified by an authorised person  under the Oaths Act 1867.

The authorised person must visually sight the original documents and check that there are no alterations to the copies. They are to pay particular attention to names, dates and reference numbers.  The authorised witness then endorses the copies with the following certification:

This is to certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original document, which I have sighted.

Date:

Signature of authorised witness:

Name of authorised witness:

Title of authorised witness (as per Statutory Declarations Regulations 2018):

Witnessed identification for the person submitting the later payment claim

Proof is required of the identity of the person submitting the application through QGrants. This identification must match the name and details of the person responsible in the QGrants account who is submitting the application.

Acceptable identification documents are:

• an Australian driver licence
• adult proof of age card (e.g. 18+ card)
• birth certificate
• citizenship certificate
• passport.

The identification must be current (not expired) at the date the employee commenced employment.

Witnessed ABN Certificate

All registered businesses will have received an ABN Certificate at the time of registering the business. This certificate may have been emailed to you at the time you registered for an ABN or sent to you in the mail. If you cannot locate this document, a copy of the certificate (which includes a letter), can be requested from the Australian Business Register.

The ABN and name on the ABN certificate must match the ABN and name on your QGrants organisation account and the employee payslips you provide.

All pages of the ABN Certificate must be submitted and witnessed as part of the evidence for your later payment claim.

Please note, an ASIC certificate and ABN lookups are not accepted as evidence.

Payslips

For 26 week claims the evidence must include:

• if the period of employment does not cross a financial year, one payslip from each month from the employee’s commencement including one covering the 26-week point.

• if the period of employment crosses a financial year, one payslip per month including one covering the 26 week point from the employee’s commencement date, the last payslip for the end of the financial year and the first payslip from the new financial year.

For 52 week claims the evidence must include:

• if the period of employment does not cross a financial year, one payslip from each month from the employee’s commencement including one covering the 52-week point

• if the period of employment crosses a financial year, one payslip per month including one covering the 52 week point from the employee’s commencement date, the last payslip for the end of the financial year and the first payslip from the new financial year.

Payslips can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Please provide copies of the actual payslips that you issued to your employee.

Further information can be found on the Making a Later Payment Claim page.

WorkCover Policy or Licence

In Queensland, under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (QLD), an employer must, for each worker employed, insure and remain insured for their legal liability to pay compensation and damages to their workers.

You will be required to provide your WorkCover Policy or Licence Number and expiration date in your application. Information provided by you, about your business, including your Workcover Policy or Licence Number, may be disclosed to WorkCover for the purpose of verifying your compliance of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (QLD).

Witnessed identification for the person submitting the application

Evidence is required of the identity of the person submitting the application through QGrants. This identification must match the name and details of the person identified in the QGrants account responsible for submitting the application and be witnessed by an independent authorised person.

Acceptable identification documents are:

• an Australian driver licence;
• adult proof of age card (e.g. 18+ card);
• birth certificate;
• citizenship certificate;
• passport.

The identification must be current (not expired) at the date the application it is supporting is submitted.

Copy of paper ABN confirmation advice

All registered businesses will have received an ABN confirmation advice at the time of registering the business. This advice may have been made available to you electronically at the time you registered for an ABN or have been sent to you in the mail. If you cannot locate this document a copy of the advice (which includes a letter) can be requested from the Australian Business Register.

The ABN and the name on the ABN certificate and/or ABN lookup is not accepted as evidence. This is because this documentation is publicly available and accessible by other parties.

Payslips

An employee must have been in ongoing and continuous paid full-time or part-time employment with your business for at least four full weeks prior to the initial payment application being made and must have worked the minimum average hours relevant to the application being made.

To substantiate that these requirements have been met, please provide copies of the employee’s payslips for the first four continuous weeks of their employment. Payslips must be submitted; timesheets or a payroll summary report is not sufficient. The ABN and name on the payslips you provide must match the ABN and name on your ABN confirmation advice and QGrants organisation account.

Payslips must meet the minimum requirements as set out by Fair Work Australia under the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009. This includes any superannuation contributions paid for the employee’s benefit, including the amount of contributions made during the pay period (or the amount of contributions that need to be made).

Information on the legal requirements for payslips is available through the Fair Work Australia website.

Employee consent form

An employee consent form (available on the Back to Work website), must be included with all initial payment applications submitted in QGrants.

This form must be completed and signed by the employee the application is regarding.

Employee identification

Evidence is required of the identity of the jobseeker that has been employed. Acceptable identification documents are:

• an Australian driver licence;
• adult proof of age card (e.g. 18+ card);
• birth certificate;
• citizenship certificate;
• passport.

Note: if a non-Australian passport is being submitted as evidence, a letter issued by the Australian Government to the employee outlining their visa details must also be submitted.

The employee identification must be current (not expired) at the date the employee commenced employment. The first name, surname and date of birth on the employee identification must match the first name, surname and date of birth on the application.

Employees with a disability

If an employee has a disability and an Employment Services Assessment (ESAT) or a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) to work between 8 and 20 hours per week, a signed letter issued by a Disability Employment Services Provider or Department of Human Services endorsed JCA must be attached to the application. This document should detail the employee’s approved benchmark working hours or the application will not meet the required eligibility criteria. The employee must be working in accordance with their approved benchmark hours. If the payslips do not align with the approved benchmark working hours the application will not meet the required eligibility criteria.

These eligible part-time jobs will attract 75 per cent of the full-time payment.

Unincorporated associations and trust arrangements

Unincorporated associations and trusts are permitted to make application to the Back to Work program.

In these circumstances, the individual who is authorised to make the application on behalf of the management committee or the trustee/s must provide evidence that they are operating within the rules and authority of the unincorporated association or trust deed when entering into an agreement with the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training.

These declarations must include that the applicant:

• will comply with the requirements of unincorporated associations or trust deed under the Back to Work program
• is appropriately indemnified out of the funds of the unincorporated association or trust arrangement; and
• acknowledges that the applicant accepts to be personally liable under the arrangement with the Department.

If you are waiting for evidence documents (e.g. ABN Certificate) and it getting closer to the due date (that is, 12 weeks from the employee’s commencement date), you can still apply.

When you are asked to attach evidence to support your application, provide all the information you do have and upload a Word document with a note letting us know what documents you still need to provide.

This will allow you to submit your application within the application timeframe (12 weeks from the employee’s commencement date).

The Back to Work Team will contact you to request the missing information once you have submitted the application.

Consideration will be given to a late application if the applicant has experienced circumstances beyond their control (e.g. ill health, loss of records due to a natural disaster or a large scale internet failure) that prevented the submission of an application within the required timeframe and the Back to Work Team has been notified.

Please note that being unaware of the Back to Work program and subsequently not submitting an application within the required timeframe is not considered an extenuating circumstance. Late application requests will not be considered in this circumstance.

A written request for consideration of a late application, including a statutory declaration, together with all relevant material must be submitted to the Back to Work Team at BTW.ProgramManagement@desbt.qld.gov.au.

Applicants will be notified in writing of a decision within 60 business days from the receipt of the written request.

Only employers can make a Back to Work application. Third parties such as employment agencies, accountants or bookkeepers cannot make an application on behalf of an employer.

Proof of the employer’s identity is required for all initial payment applications and later payment claims.

It is important to remember that applicants for Back to Work payments are entering into a legal agreement with the                          Queensland Government. Employers are asked to make an Employer Declaration prior to submitting an application for consideration. This declaration can only be made by the direct employer.

It is important to remember that applicants for Back to Work payments are entering into a legal agreement with the              Queensland Government.

Before your application or later payment claim is submitted in QGrants, applicants will need to confirm, for each application submitted, that they:

• have read and understood the Guidelines and Terms and Conditions and
• consent to the Privacy Collection Notice detailed within the Back to Work Terms and Conditions. Specifically authorising the Back to Work Team to share information  with Queensland and Australian Government agencies including but not limited to the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, Office of State Revenue; Queensland Treasury; Office of Industrial Relations; Department of State Development, Tourism and Innovation;  Queensland Ombudsman; Queensland Police Service; Department of Education; TAFE Queensland; Queensland Audit Office; WorkCover Queensland; Australian Taxation Office; Fair Work Ombudsman; Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment and Centrelink. This is for the purposes of:
  • evaluating, administering, assessing, monitoring and auditing compliance with the eligibility criteria for the Back to Work Program
  • supporting the delivery of other Back to Work funding and support
  • promoting the Back to Work Program
• have sought and obtained the consent of the employee (see Evidence requirements) referred to in the application to disclose the personal details of the employee for the purposes set out in the privacy statement contained in the Terms and Conditions and
• are committed to ongoing employment and
• that the employer and its office holders are compliant, and will continue to comply, with all local, state and Australian Government laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, industrial relations and taxation (including superannuation) legislation and
• that the information they have provided is correct and they have not provided false or misleading information within the application.

All eligibility criteria must be met in order to receive a Back to Work payment.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the information provided in the application is true and correct. If the Back to Work Team becomes aware of any matter and determines that the eligibility criteria has not been met, repayment of the funds may be required.

During the assessment process, applicants may be asked to provide further information to support their claim. This means that you either need to make a change to your application or upload further documents before your application assessment can be completed.

If you are requested to provide more information, your application will be re-opened by the Back to Work Team in QGrants so that further documentation can be uploaded and the application resubmitted.

Your application status in QGrants will be More Information Required. This status allows you to make the change to your application  and re-submit it for the Back to Work Team to review.

You can re-upload documents in the Specified Attachments screen of your application. If uploading them to the Specified Attachments section is not an option, you can also attach them in the Optional Attachments section underneath. This will ensure that the Back to Work Team will still receive your evidence documents to support your application.

The Back to Work Team will be notified when your application has been re-submitted. Your application will then be processed and you will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible.