Death of an adult care receiver and the effect on Carer Allowance (CA) 009-03090060

When the death of an adult care receiver is notified:

• if the person providing the information is in a service centre and distressed, offer a private interview before proceeding
• offer the services of a social worker
• check if the care receiver had permanently entered an institution and had permanently left the care of their carer prior to their death

Confirmation of death can be accepted where the care receiver's full name and date of death is provided together with at least 2 of the following:

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

Can the informant supply enough information to confirm the death?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No:
• ask informant's name, address, contact number and their relationship to the deceased
• name and details of the Executor, if known
• details of funeral director if known
• in the care receiver's record, run the Notification of death. This will not code the death but will record details on a DOC. This is an open Work Item to be allocated to a Service Officer with the required skill set to confirm the death. Note: when multiple notifications are received in relation to the death of the same person do not re-run the Notification of death. Check the record and annotate the original DOC to state details are correct and who advised
• if the Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First is not available, create an open work item. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Generic > Update > Death Notification (Adult) - ACTION REQUIRED
• confirm the death before taking any further action
• procedure ends here

If the carer notifies of the death of the care receiver, tell them that a bereavement payment may be available for carers in receipt of CA. However, this depends on whether they are receiving an income support payment as well as CA.

If someone other than the carer notifies of the death of the care receiver, do not provide specific information about the carer's possible entitlement to bereavement payment. Only provide general information, unless the informant has Permission to enquire for the carer.

If the carer is in receipt of:

• CA only, the carer is not entitled to a Bereavement Payment
• both CA and CP (for the same or another care receiver), the carer is not entitled to a CA Bereavement Payment, but may be entitled to bereavement payment for CP depending on which care receiver passed away
• both CA and an income support payment (including Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA)) that qualifies for a bereavement payment, they are not entitled to a CA Bereavement Payment
• both CA and an income support payment (other than Carer Payment) that does not qualify them for a bereavement payment, they are entitled to CA up to the end of the bereavement rate continuation period and also may be entitled to a CA Bereavement Payment

Shared care

If the carer is entitled to CA Bereavement Payment and care of the care receiver was shared, each carer will receive a CA Bereavement Payment. This is based on the percentage of care they provided prior to the care receiver's death.

If the care provided for CA was shared

• but only one carer is receiving CA on the day of the care receiver's death, and
• the carer receives 100% of the rate of CA payment,

that CA carer will be paid the full rate (100%) of the CA Bereavement Payment.

If the shared care provisions apply, the CA Bereavement Payment amount for each carer will be based on the CA rate they were receiving on the day before the date of death.

In the care receiver's record, run the Notification of death. If the Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First is not available, manually code the death action in Customer First.

Note: a death cannot be processed if there is an activity on the record. If the activity cannot be completed the Notification of death workflow in Process Direct or Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First will create an open DOC. If the Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First is not available, create an open work item. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Generic > Update > Death Notification (Adult) - ACTION REQUIRED.

In the carer's record in Customer First:

• select the appropriate care receiver from the Care Receiver Summary (CRS) screen
• check the Care Receiver Assessment Results (CJAR) screen

Note: a death action on a care receiver record may take overnight to affect the cancellation of CA payment.

If an activity on the carer's record is preventing the care receiver's death from being processed and it cannot be actioned, create an open work item. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Generic > Update > Death Notification (Adult) - ACTION REQUIRED - include in the Fast Note the care receiver died.

The following will show in the BEN/STS-RSN field:

• STS (Status), key CAN
• RSN (Reason), key DEA

Further action to take on carer's record

Send a Q079 letter to the carer. Be mindful of the 3 options for the CARBRV letter:

• CA Bereavement Payment
• CA Bereavement Payment and Carer Supplement
• No CA Bereavement Payment

The Q079 online advice will show. Make note of the carer's CRN and check carer's record, ensuring Q079 is actioned the next working day following cancellation.

• Complete letter and send it to the carer
• Record details of the bereavement and cancellation on a DOC, including:
• name of the care receiver who died
• date of death
• name and contact details of the informant
• executor details (if known)
• if any bereavement entitlements or overpayments exist
• the decision to cancel CA
• date of effect
• relevant legislation

Is the carer in receipt of CA and an income support payment (other than Carer Payment) that does not qualify the carer for a bereavement payment?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 8

There is no debt if Services Australia is notified of the death within the bereavement period and CA is not paid beyond the end of the bereavement period.

If the Agency is notified of the death within the bereavement period and CA is paid beyond the end of the bereavement period, there is a debt for the CA received after the end of the period.

If notified of the death of the care receiver:

• within the entitlement period in which they died; the system will cease payment of CA for that care receiver from the day prior to their Entitlement Period End Date (EPED) for the fortnight in which the death occurred. The carer will receive a lump sum CA Bereavement Payment equivalent to 7 instalments of their CA from the EPED paid as an immediate payment. Their CA entitlement for the final entitlement period will be paid on their normal payday
• within the bereavement period (that is, within 14 weeks after the EPED for the fortnight in which the care receiver died), the system will cease payment of CA for that care receiver from the day prior to their EPED. The carer will receive a lump sum CA Bereavement Payment amounting to the number of EPEDs left in the bereavement period. This is paid as an immediate payment. Their CA entitlement for the final entitlement period will be paid on their normal payday

Note: if the carer is qualified for a CA Bereavement Payment but it is not automatically issued by the system, see Step 3 in Table 2.

• outside the bereavement period (that is, outside the period of 14 weeks that starts on the day the person dies), they will not be entitled to a CA Bereavement Payment and any CA payments made to the carer after the bereavement period will be overpaid

Has notification of the care receiver's death occurred outside the bereavement period?

• Yes, an overpayment has been incurred:
• carer is not entitled to CA from the end of the bereavement period. See General debt raising information. Procedure ends here
• No, see Step 1 in Table 2

The carer is not entitled to a CA Bereavement Payment.

The system will auto-cease payment of CA for that care receiver.

Note: this does not occur immediately. The date of effect of CA cancellation is auto calculated as date of death + 1 unless a respite absence (reason 'RSP') that includes the date of death is coded on the Absences Details (ABSN) screen.

If the absence reason 'RSP' is coded for a period that includes the date of death then the date of effect should be the date of death.

If the carer provides care on the day the care receiver dies, the date of effect should be the day after the care receiver died.

If the Agency is notified of the care receiver's death:

• within 28 days of the date of death and CA cancels within 28 days of the date of death, there is no debt
• within 28 days of the date of death and CA is paid for more than 28 days after the death of the care receiver, a debt is raised from the 29th day
• more than 28 days after the date of death, a debt is raised from the day after the date of death. If the TCC provisions applied on the date of death, a debt is raised from the date of death

Was the care of the adult care receiver shared?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

Each carer will receive a CA Bereavement Payment based on the percentage of care they provided prior to the care receiver's death.

If the care provided for CA was shared but only one carer was receiving CA and the carer received 100% of the rate of CA payment on the day of the care receiver's death, then that CA carer will be paid the full rate (100%) of the CA Bereavement Payment.

To determine the percentage of care for shared care cases:

• check the Care Details (CDCR) screen in the care receiver's record for shared care, and
• whether the other carer's Customer Reference Number (CRN) exists, and
• if the other carer is receiving CA

If no other carer was receiving CA for the care receiver, the shared care percentage of care/days in care is ignored as per the regular CA payment and the full CA Bereavement Payment is paid.

If the other care giver was also receiving CA for the deceased care receiver then a proportion of CA Bereavement Payment will be paid based on the percentage of care.

The death action on the care receiver's record should ripple to the carer's record and cancel CA from the end of the bereavement rate continuation period and calculate the applicable CA Bereavement Payment.

The CA Bereavement Payment is calculated by multiplying:

• the rate at which CA was payable to the carer immediately before the adult care receiver died, by
• the number of EPEDs in the bereavement lump sum period

To ensure the CA Bereavement Payment has been paid correctly, check the Carer One Off Payments Summary (COOPS) screen for a record of the CA Bereavement Payment ('BRV').

Note: the list of payments on the COOPS screen is in alphabetical order, so the BRV entry may appear on the second or subsequent pages.

If the carer is also entitled to Carer Supplement for the bereavement period that includes 1 July, check the COOPS screen for a record of the Carer Supplement ('ACS').

Is there a record of the CA Bereavement Payment (and Carer Supplement where applicable) on the COOPS screen and have they been paid correctly?

• Yes, complete the Q079 letter activity which appears on the Activity List (AL) screen the next working day after cancellation. Go to Step 6
• No, determine the amount of CA Bereavement Payment (and Carer Supplement where applicable) the carer is entitled to and manually issue payment. To manually issue:
• CA Bereavement Payment, go to Step 4
• Carer Supplement, go to Step 5

Code the payment on the One Off Payments (OOP) screen:

Process Direct:

• Go to the OOP screen
• Select Add
• Select the appropriate Service Reason
• In Payment type field, select BLS – Bereavement Lump Sum for the CA Bereavement Payment
• In Date of effect field, key date of care receiver's death, select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields, select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings
• Select Assess again and proceed to the Entitlements (ELD) screen
• Go back to the OOP screen
• Calculate the amount of CA Bereavement Payment, key this amount in the One Time Payment Amount field, select Update
• Select Finish. Record details of the update on the Finalise screen
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction

Customer First:

• Date of Effect: field, key date of care receiver's death
• Payment Type field, code 'BLS' for the CA Bereavement Payment

Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen:

• key 'O' beside the line labelled 'CDA/BRV/OOP'. The OOP screen will show
• calculate the amount of CA Bereavement Payment, key this amount in the Amount$ field and press [Enter]

Go to Step 6.

Manually issue the Carer Supplement (for CA carers who receive the CA Bereavement Payment and the bereavement period includes the 1st July).

Key the Carer Supplement on the One Off Payments (OOP) screen:

Process Direct:

• Go to the OOP screen
• Select Add
• Select the appropriate Service Reason
• In Payment type: field, key ASCP for Carer Supplement (if applicable)
• In Date of effect: field, key date of care receiver's death
• Select Save
• Code Receipt Date: and Channel: fields, and Save
• Select Assess to go to the Entitlements (ELD) screen
• Go back to the OOP screen
• Key the appropriate amount of Carer Supplement (maximum amount is $600) in the One Time Payment Amount field, Update and Finish to finalise the update.

Customer First:

• Date of Effect: field, key date of care receiver's death
• Payment Type field, key 'ACSP' for Carer Supplement (if applicable)

Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Key:

• 'O' beside the line labelled 'ASCP/OOP'. The OOP screen will show
• the appropriate amount of Carer Supplement (maximum amount is $600) in the Amount$ field and press [Enter]

Send a Q079 letter to the carer.

In Customer First select the Q079 letter activity which appears on the AL screen and key 'LD' in the NEXT field.

• Select the service reasons
• Enter the care receiver's name, and
• Select the relevant option from the 4 available options for the CARBRV letter:
• CA Bereavement Payment
• CA Bereavement Payment and Carer Supplement
• No CA Bereavement Payment
• Select 13 weeks for the option to ask for a review
• Code FIN in the command field once all sections of the Q079 are complete. The letter will then issue
• Record the details of the bereavement on a DOC in the carer and care receiver's record

Note: make note of the carer's CRN and check the carer's record to ensure Q079 is actioned the next working day following cancellation.