Death of a child care receiver and the effect on Carer Allowance (CA) 009-03090050

When advice is received of the death of a child, offer social worker assistance.

Confirmation of death can be accepted where the child's full name and date of birth is provided together with at least two of the following:

• deceased customer's last address in full
• date of birth
• Customer Reference Number (CRN)

See Centrelink - Notification, confirming and recording a death.

Can informant supply enough information to confirm death?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No,
• obtain name and contact number of the person advising and details of the funeral director (if known) on a DOC
• confirm the death before taking any further action and suspend Carer Allowance (CA) if death cannot be confirmed and customer's whereabouts are unknown
• Go to Step 4

CA (auto) recipients

Where the carer received CA (auto), this payment will continue for 14 weeks during the bereavement period because of the continuation of Carer Payment (CP). This CA (auto) is not paid under CA bereavement conditions but because of the continuation of CP for the 14 weeks.

There is no lump sum bereavement payment for a CA (auto) child.

CA (child) recipients - lump sum bereavement payments

A bereavement payment of 14 weeks CA may be payable from the child's date of death, where the child met the definition of a Family Tax Benefit child (does not necessarily mean that the carer received Family Tax Benefit (FTB) payments) immediately before the date of death. This amount is paid as a lump sum.

Where the child did not meet the definition of an FTB child a bereavement payment of 4 weeks CA may be payable from the date of the child's death. This amount is paid as a lump sum.

The bereavement payment is paid at the CA rate that applied immediately before the child died. It is paid as if the child had not died and care continued to be provided.

The lump sum bereavement payment of CA (child) is calculated in accordance with section 992K of the Social Security Act 1991. The References page contains a link to the legislation.

Was the child receiving care assessed under the '2 disabled children combined' rule?

• Yes, reassess the other child receiving care to see if the carer still qualifies for CA. Go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

Create a review to fall due 8 weeks after the child has died, to:

• Contact the carer and advise them if they want to continue to get Carer Allowance for the other child/ren they need to complete and return issued forms by the end of the 14-week bereavement period
• Issue the carer with:
• Carer Payment and Carer Allowance medical report (SA431) – if re-use doesn’t apply
• Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance Care Needs Assessment (SA394)

Use the Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families >Updates > Notification of death FTB/CCS/PPL - Child Fast Note to record the following information: full name, address, contact number and relationship to the child of the person notifying the death

• full name, address, contact number and Customer Reference Number (CRN) of the customer receiving FTB/PPL
• full name, date of birth and date of death of the deceased child
• name of the funeral director or hospital able to confirm the date of death
• whether FTB payment options were discussed and if the customer has chosen to be paid via instalments or a lump sum
• any other information considered to be confirmation of death for a child
• whether there are any doubts about information provided
• if applicable, the name of any person charged with the death of the child/ren

The Notification of death FTB/CCS/PPL - Child Fast Note template auto - adds the keyword FAOBRV to ensure the open work item is allocated to the Families Bereavement and Double Orphan Pension (DOP) team. There is no requirement to add additional keywords.

When the Families Bereavement Processing team record the death, the system will:

• if applicable, automatically pay the LBP for Carer Payment, Carer Allowance and FTB
• set up a review for 14 weeks to review the record to either cancel or continue