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Is your provider asking you for your work payslips?

My provider is requesting my payslips or saying I need to provide them. Is this correct?
There is nothing - regulation, rule or guideline - which says participants must provide their payslip/s to a provider.
Providers may confuse or threaten you with a request for a payslip, and be deceptive about the reasons they give for the request.. This is because providers can generally and technically, request your payslip/s. At the same time,
you have the right to decline this request. There is never an obligation on participants to accept payslip requests.
If providers want evidence of work hours and pay, they can check their own IT systems. The systems showing incomplete information may prompt the provider to request your payslip/s, but you do not have to provide your payslip/s if you do not want to.
Also, note that providers can only contact your employer for payslip/s with your express permission and awareness.From the Workforce Australia Universal Guidelines Part A, 3.10:
“if an individual receives a social security benefit or payment, that individual’s information will likely be both personal and Protected Information…This means the Provider’s Personnel may commit a criminal offence if they: disclose Protected Information to other staff or third parties who do not need to know that information”- page 27
The information that you are receiving a Centrelink benefit is protected information, and it could be a criminal offence for your provider to reveal this information to your employer.
If your provider has contacted your employer without your permission, and you would like to protect your rights, we recommend contacting your local Welfare Rights office.
The best way to find your local office is to search on the Economic Justice Australia (EJA) website. Link here: https://www.ejaustralia.org.au/legal-help-centrelink/. On there, you can search for EJA affiliated community legal centres who specialise in social security matters and potentially, other adjacent matters, like privacy.

Why do they do this?
Job providers hassle us for our payslips for one very simple reason: they might need need them to receive outcome bonuses from the government. There are no direct benefits to job seekers themselves for handing over this personal information to providers; but many feel pressured to by providers desperate to boost their KPIs and outcome bonuses.
This means that the payslip/s have value to the provider. Because of this, it can be possible to negotiate with your providers to obtain things from the employment assistance fund (EAF) such as retail/fuel vouchers, work
equipment etc. in exchange for providing them. However, we only recommend doing this this if you are comfortable engaging with your provider.
The AUWU routinely hears stories of providers harassing their clients for their payslips. Some providers have even gone as far as contacting their clients’ employer for this information or, have attended clients’ homes.
I’m feeling harassed or pressured, what can I do?
Your provider isn’t allowed to suspend your income if you refuse their requests to provide your payslip/s. Therefore, you should not receive threats about your payment or demerits being applied to your file.
Harassment and interference with your employer, if you have one, should not be tolerated. Stand up for your rights. And call them out.
If they threaten to, you should immediately lodge a complaint to the Department’s National Customer Service Line (NSCL)
Call 1800 805 260 or email NationalCustomerServiceLine@dewr.gov.au
If you’d like to discuss your experience with us, you can contact our free hotline on 1800 289 848 (1800 AUWU4U), which operates from 10 AM to 2 PM (AEST) Monday to Friday.

1800 289 848	auwu.org.au