Real estate owned by a private trust or private company 043-04060040

This information is usually based on information provided on the:

• Private Trust (MOD PT) form
• Private Company (MOD PC) form
• Special Disability Trust (MOD SDT) form
• Real estate details (MOD R) form, and
• supporting documents

The organisation may own more than one item of real estate. Each will need to be valued and recorded separately.

Has the entity supplied all relevant information?

• Yes, see Table 2
• No, go to Step 2

Issue the Company real estate details section of the MOD PC or the Trust real estate details section of the MOD PT to obtain details of property and any other forms required for the entity. See Requesting information (CLK).

Rural questionnaire

The Rural Property Questionnaire (Q454) is used in conjunction with the real estate details section of the MOD PC or MOD PT for medium to large farm properties. It collects additional information from the customer for the valuer, to enable them to better correctly value the property from the roadside. Generally, if the property is operated as a commercial enterprise, then issue the Q454 in addition to the real estate details section of the MOD PC or MOD PT.

The Q454 is not needed for smaller properties such as hobby farms with minimal farm improvements or bush blocks. Where the whole property is exempt because it is the principal home, or it is an exempt farm asset, do not issue a Rural Property Questionnaire for that property.

If required, issue the Rural Property Questionnaire (Q454). See Requesting information (CLK).

Procedure ends here until the information has been provided or the review for the return of information has matured.

When documents are returned, see Table 2.

A valuation is not required if:

• the property is a fully exempt asset for all controllers (and their partners) or linked customers (and their partners)
• the controllers (and their partners) and other linked customers are not claiming or receiving an asset tested payment, or
• no linked customers or partners are attributable stakeholders

Is a valuation required?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, code the real estate using the customers estimated value, see Table 4

Real estate owned by an entity are not included in the risk-based model for real estate assessments. CAOs must request valuations using a Services Australia Valuation Request (SA470) form.

For valuation requirements for:

• Historical assessments for undisclosed real estate assets, go to Step 3
• New claims, go to Step 4
• New entity assessments, go to Step 4
• Newly acquired real estate for an existing entity, go to Step 4
• Annual reviews, go to Step 5
• Gifting assessments, go to Step 6
• Customers querying the valuation of real estate, go to Step 7

Where a customer has undisclosed real estate, before completing the assessment, CAOs must:

• request historical valuations:
• Complete a Valuation Request SA470 form
• Include relevant dates for assessment. See Table 3
• when the valuation is returned:
• Code the formal valuation amount for relevant event date(s)
• See Table 4 for coding instructions

Urgent valuations - assessment pending

CAOs must request a valuation, before completing the new claim or new real estate assessment when the:

• customer and/or partner is claiming Pension Bonus Scheme (PBS) or Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment (PBBS)
• customer has provided an unreasonable estimate and payment rate is likely to be affected by real estate value. See Resources page for examples
• property purchased or professionally valued in past 12 months but customer’s estimated value differs to the purchase price or valuation, and payment rate is likely to be affected by real estate value

When requesting the valuation (see Table 3) include that the valuation is urgent as assessment is pending.

When the valuation is returned, complete coding per Table 4 using the formal valuation amount.

Valuation requests after payment granted or assessment finalised

A valuation can be obtained after the grant of payment or finalising the assessment of the entity, when the:

• property was purchased or professionally valued in the past 12 months (customer must provide a copy of the purchase documents or valuation, CAOs should use this value in their assessment)
• customer’s estimate differs to the purchase/valuation price within past 12 months, but it is clear the real estate value will not affect the rate of payment
• customer has provided a reasonable estimate of the value of a property not purchased/valued within the past 12 months. See Resources page for examples

Note: for new claim assessments, in the CAO assessment DOC advise assessing Service Officers after the claim has been granted a valuation of real estate is required, and they need to escalate to CAO using the T&C real estate valuation Fast Note.

Request the valuation see Table 3.

When the valuation is returned, complete coding per Table 4 using the formal valuation amount with the date of event that Services Australia received the valuation.

For annual reviews, a new valuation is required if the:

• real estate has not been formally valued within the last 24 months, and
• customer and/or partner are asset tested or within $10,000 of the asset threshold

When valuations are required, the assessment can be completed using the previously recorded real estate value. Complete a valuation request (see Table 3) and when returned, code the updated value using the date of event that the valuation was received by Services Australia. See Table 4 for coding instructions.

A valuation is required to determine if deprivation has occurred, unless:

• the property was sold for a price reflective of the most recent formal valuation on record, and
• that valuation is no more than 12 months old

Valuations are to be requested before completing the assessment. In the SA470, include the date of disposal as historical valuation is required for this assessment. See Table 3.

The most recent valuation information is on the Real Estate Details table or Real Estate (RE) screen in the fields:

• Event Date: the date of the valuation
• Current Market Value ($): the value assessed
• Asset Valuation Source: the source of the real estate valuation

The asset valuation source code for real estate valuations may include:

• CLI - client estimate
• VAL - desktop/kerbside valuation (completed by a contracted third-party valuation provider)
• ONS - full inspection (onsite) valuation (completed by a contracted third-party valuation provider)

A DOC will appear on the entity record when the valuation has been completed.

Is the customer contacting about real estate owned by a private trust or private company and providing an estimate that is:

• lower than the current value and the Asset Valuation Source is ONS, go to Step 8
• lower than the current value and the Asset Valuation Source is CLI or VAL, go to Step 9
• higher than the current value, go to Step 10

If the customer provides a lower estimated value and the current valuation source is from a full inspection (onsite) valuation (ONS), do not update the value of the real estate.

If the customer does not understand or does not agree with the ONS valuation result:

For an explanation of decision:

• Use the information available on the customer record to explain the outcome
• Details of completed real estate valuation/s will be in a DOC that confirms the valuation source
• Review the valuation source. The customer can request another valuation (if the current valuation does not have the valuation source of ONS, see Table 3) without having to lodge a formal review. Authority to inspect the property will be required

For a formal review of decision:

• A formal review of decision may be sought where the valuation affects the customer's entitlement. For example, rate reduction, suspension/cancellation of a payment, rejection of a claim. A formal review of a decision can be initiated upon the customer's request. A full onsite valuation is not required before the customer can request a formal review of the decision
• A formal review of decision may also involve further valuations being requested for the property. For example, an onsite inspection may be requested if one has not already been completed, see Table 3. Authority to inspect the property will be required for this to occur

See First contact about a decision and the internal review process.

If the customer advises a lower estimate, the estimate may be accepted if the:

• value has not been updated in the last 24 months
• the difference between the value currently held and the new estimate is 10% or less, and
• the new estimate appears to be reasonable. See Resources page for examples

Note: consider customer vulnerability and risk issues when a customer is providing a lower value for the property due to significant damage caused by an emergency event.

Customer's new estimate is able to be accepted

• Record the updated estimated value in the Current Market Value: field on the RE screen
• Update the valuation source as CLI
• Request an updated valuation as a follow up action, if asset tested or within $10,000 of the asset threshold, see Table 3
• Make sure any relevant details of the factors impacting the value of the property are included at Question 16 of the SA470

Customer's new estimate cannot be accepted

If the customer:

• does not understand the current assessed property value
• does not agree with the current assessed property value, and does not consent to a formal valuation, or
• wants to apply for a formal review of the decision

For an explanation of decision

• Use the information available on the customer record to explain the outcome
• Details of completed real estate valuation/s will be in a DOC that confirms the valuation source
• Review the valuation source. The customer can request another valuation (if the current valuation does not have the valuation source of ONS, see Table 3) without having to lodge a formal review. Authority to inspect the property will be required

For a formal review of decision

• A formal review of decision may be sought where the valuation affects the customer's entitlement. For example, rate reduction, suspension/cancellation of a payment, rejection of a claim. A formal review of a decision can be initiated upon the customer's request. A full onsite valuation is not required before the customer can request a formal review of the decision
• A formal review of decision may also involve further valuations being requested for the property. For example, an onsite inspection may be requested if one has not already been completed, see Table 3. Authority to inspect the property will be required for this to occur

See First contact about a decision and the internal review process.

A higher estimate provided by a customer can be accepted.

• Record the updated estimated value in the Current Market Value: field on the RE screen
• Update the valuation source as CLI
• Request an updated valuation as a follow up action, if the customer is asset tested or within $10,000 of the asset threshold, see Table 3
• Make sure any relevant details of the factors impacting the value of the property are included at Question 16 of the SA470

Complete the SA470 in an editable format. Handwritten, photocopied or scanned SA470s cannot be accepted. Forms must be submitted in an editable format as they will be amended before being sent to third party valuation providers:

• Open the link to the SA470
• Complete the form on the screen, answering all relevant questions
• Include the reason for the valuation request in the SA470
• DOC the customer record with the reason for the valuation request
• Provide details of any supporting documents scanned to the customers record in Question 16. This includes:
• date
• name document is scanned under
• details of the document (rates notice, title etc), and
• the page number of the scan where it can be found
• Submit a New Level 2 Enquiry through the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk and:
• attach the SA470
• enter the CAO line manager (in the event the requesting CAO is unavailable) in the Additional Contact Name
• include the reason for the valuation request in the Enquiry Description section
• if request is urgent, change the Priority Level from Normal to High and include the reason
• Once the new Level 2 Enquiry has been submitted, the requesting CAO should delete all text from Question 1 and replace with their logon, then save the changes
• Upload the SA470 to the customer’s record using code UNS011. See Attaching electronic documents to a Centrelink customer's record

• The outcome of the valuation will be documented on the entity/customer’s record by the Valuation Helpdesk, and
• An email will be sent to the requesting CAO and their line manager (in the event the requesting CAO is unavailable), to advise the valuation has been completed and the record is ready to be updated. In this case, it is the requesting CAO’s responsibility to make sure they update the entity’s record correctly. Where the CAO is unavailable their line manager will allocate the work item

Complete the following fields of the Real Estate/Business Identifying (REBI) screen on the entity record.

The REBI screen is used to record the type, description and address details of real estate.

• Real Estate/Business Type: code the appropriate type of real estate
• Description: enter a description for the real estate, this field is not mandatory
• Principal Home: enter 'Y' for yes, if the real estate is the customer's principal home or 'N' for no if not the principal home
• Sold/Gifted/Ceased: update if sold, gifted/transferred, no longer assessable. Enter valid code using field help '?'. See Assessment and sale of real estate and timeshare asset
• Authority to inspect: 'Yes' or 'No'. It is important that this field is coded as it is required by the agency’s third party contracted valuers to arrange access to the property for onsite inspections
• Land Titles Reference: enter the land title reference (the rates notice will contain this information). If the property has multiple land title references, record each individual reference.
• Multiple Titles: this field is for information only. Three options are available 'Y' for yes, 'N' for no. Blank is the default. Leave blank if unknown

Note: code 'N' for no, where the customer's property has a single title document, even if it is made up of multiple adjoining lots. Where a customer's property is on multiple titles, and they are all adjoining, they are to be recorded as one real estate record. The Multiple Title indicator should be set to 'Y' for yes in these cases. More information on multiple lots on the one title document can be found in Assessing and coding real estate details.

Address: Town/Suburb: Postcode: State: Country: code the address details. The customer must uniquely identify the location of any real estate or business site they own or have an interest in. For more information on a real estate address, see Assessing and coding real estate details.

Select [ENTER], the Real Estate Details (RE) screen appears. Update the:

• Event date: date of event
• % Asset Owned: % of the real estate owned by the entity
• Asset Valn Source: CLI (client estimate), VAL (desktop/kerbside valuation completed by a contracted third-party valuation provider) or ONS (full onsite inspection valuation completed by a contracted third-party valuation provider)
• Current market value: record customer’s estimate or value provided (if a formal valuation has been completed). The value of an overseas property is converted from the foreign currency into $AUD

Upon valuation of the real estate, complete the Valuers Job Number and Valuers Property Number fields as provided by the Valuations Helpdesk.

Is the real estate a house owned by the entity and occupied by a customer or part of a Special Disability Trust (SDT)?

For more details, see Customer's principal residence owned by a private trust or private company - determining home ownership. Note: it is not necessary to determine home ownership for the principal beneficiary of an SDT.

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

Code 'Y' in the Go To REHC? field.

For more details, see Home property adjustment amount and apportionment calculations on entity owned residences.

Finalise the assessment and record the results on a DOC.