Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA) carer undertakes paid employment, self-employment, voluntary work, education or training activities 009-06030030

Item

Description

1

Temporary cessation of care (TCC)

When a carer is in receipt of CP, they can choose to use temporary cessation of care (respite) for the whole period they exceed 25 hours per week where Care is Not Met as an alternative to cancellation.

The Carer Programme Team have confirmed this is a beneficial application of sections 198AC(2) and 198AC(3) allowing TCC (respite) for the period exceeding 25 hours rather than applying sections 198AC(4) and 198AC(5) of the SSA 1991 which would result in the cancellation of CP.

2

Occasional increase in hours example

Tom works 20 hours per week (including travel time). Tom gets an extra shift every 4-6 weeks that takes the hours worked for one week over 25 hours.

For that week Tom could use the TCC provisions (a full 7 days temporary cessation of care (respite) even if the 25+ hours occurred over a 3-4 day period in that week), as an alternative to cancellation.

3

Irregular increase in hours example

Sally's employment is ongoing. Sometimes Sally gets an extra 3 hour shift.

The TCC provisions can be applied in this case. This removes the need for Sally to claim another payment and having to re-claim CP when the employment hours go back to normal.

4

Exceeding hours on regular basis example

June will be working 29 hours including travel time for the next 12 weeks.

As the 25 hour rule has been exceeded on an ongoing basis, June cannot utilise the respite provisions prior to cancelling the CP. CP will be cancelled from the later of the commencement of the 29 hour activity or the date the Working Credit balance will reduce to nil.

5

Carer activities are recorded on 2 screens

These screens are accessible from the Pensions Task Selector (PTS) screen, under the heading 'CAR Activities'. They will be pre-selected within the new claim screen flow.

Carer Payment Activity Details (CPAD) screen

The CPAD screen records the type of activity the carer is undertaking (study, work, etc.) the name of the organisation, institution or employer. In addition, it records the number of hours per week, including travel time, time the carer spends performing the activity and the event date.

There is also an indicator to record whether the carer provides constant care for the care receiver during the activity. This is to enable these hours to be excluded from the 25 hour calculation.

For ongoing changes of circumstance, the CPAD screen will be presented if new work or business income is coded on the Employment Income Paid Details (EAPP), the Business Details (BUS) or the Real Estate/Business Identifying (REBI) screen to enable the activity details to be updated.

The Carer Payment Activity Summary (CPAS) screen

The CPAS screen provides a summary view of all of the different activities as a carer may be participating in more than one type of activity concurrently.

6

Return to work as a full-time Australian Apprentice

From 1 July 2005 ABSTUDY, Austudy or Youth Allowance (YA) is payable to carers who meet the definition of an Australian Apprentice (apprentice or trainee).

If the carer is returning to work as a full-time Australian Apprentice, consider entitlement to these payments if their current income support payment will be cancelled or if it is to their financial advantage to change income support payments.

Customers receiving ABSTUDY, Austudy or YA as an Australian Apprentice are subject to the same income and assets tests that apply to students.

7

Carers operating as a family day care provider from their private home

If a carer is operating a Family Day Care (FDC) from their private home, and providing constant care every day, CP can only be paid if the care provided is consistent with the care receiver's need for frequent personal care or constant supervision.

A carer provides constant care or constant supervision if they personally provide care on a daily basis for a significant period, equivalent to a normal working day, during each day.

If the carer provides constant care or supervision while participating in an activity, the total time that constant care or supervision is provided can be subtracted from the total time of the activity. This means a carer will remain eligible if their participation in an activity exceeds 25 hours per week but the periods where constant care or supervision was still provided can be excluded, thus reducing the total time of the activity to less than 25 hours per week.

The following information would assist in determining if this is the case:

• Is the carer registered as an approved family day care provider?
• How many children do they usually care for and what are their ages?
• What are the daily hours they usually provide child care?
• How many days do they provide child care?
• Does anyone assist them with the child care?
• Is the carer a relative of the child/children?
• Is constant daily care personally provided to the care receiver(s) for a significant period during each day?
• How often do they attend to the care receiver while providing child care?
• How do they attend to the needs of the care receiver whilst they have young children in their care?

These provisions only apply when the carer operates a family day care for more than 25 hours per week.

While it would be extremely unusual for a carer to operate family day care for less than 25 hours per week, it is possible if the carer only operates the family day care for 2 or 3 days per week.

If the carer is not providing constant care or constant supervision while participating in an activity, the total time that care is provided cannot be subtracted from the total time of the activity.

If the Service Officer:

• determines the carer is not providing constant care or constant supervision for a disabled adult or child in the home of the care receiver each day, CP is not payable
• is satisfied that constant care is being provided, CP is payable

If the carer qualifies for CP, see Income and expenses of a business for details on how the income from the family day care is assessed.

8

Policy position - Carers operating as a Family Day Care (FDC) and crosschecking departmental CCS records

When assessing applications for CP where the carer is also operating as an FDC provider, Service Officers may require independent and third party verification of information before making a final determination.

To determine whether a carer is providing the amount of care claimed, staff can cross-check the information provided by the applicant with agency Centrelink CCS records and check if constant daily care is satisfied while they are simultaneously operating as an FDC provider.

Staff are to compare the CCS hours the CP applicant is charging to care for children as an FDC provider with the hours they are providing constant care as per their CP claim. This process will help determine whether a person qualifies for CP or not.

Section 202(1) of the SSA Act provides that a person may obtain protected information if the information is obtained for the purposes of social security law. Additionally, section 202(2) relevantly provides that protected information can be recorded, used or disclosed where the recording, use or disclosure is for the purposes of the social security law. The Services Australia Legal Services Division have confirmed that use of information for this purpose is authorised under section 202 (2) (d) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and that use of this information also satisfies section 6.2(b) of the Australian Privacy Principles.

This process will only be used when there are concerns about the validity of the information provided by the carer regarding the number of hours the carer operates the FDC and based on this information the carer would qualify for CP, for example:

• carer operates the FDC for 10 hours per day, 5 days per week – the process would not be used
• carer operates the FDC for 10 hours per day, 2 days per week – the process would be used if there were concerns the FDC is operating for more than 2 days per week
• carer operates the FDC for 24 hours per week – the process would be used if there were concerns the FDC operating for more than 25 hours per week

When checking the information about the age and the number of hours each CCS child is attending FDC:

• check the information provided by the FDC provider as part of their FDC correspondence (family surnames, name of children)
• compare the information with Centrelink CCS records
• check the number of children the FDC provider is claiming care for
• check the number of days the carer operates the FDC
• check the number of hours per day they are claiming on CCS to provide care as part of their FDC business, and
• check whether the carer is absent from the care situation to pick up or drop off the FDC children at their home and or school

If there are any concerns as to either the number of days an FDC provider operates or the hours they operate or the number of children they are caring for, reject the CP claim (or cancel CP if current) based on the information obtained from the carer.

Item

Description

1

Commercial arrangement

A carer who is paid CP provides care for a family member who has autism.

The carer receives $800 per week from the Western Australian Disability Services Commission. This is paid through Perth Home Care Services, to pay the carer in recognition for the care he provides.

This is a commercial arrangement. The $800 per week income the carer receives is not exempt income under the pension income and assets test.

2

Commercial arrangement forms part of package

Example 1

A carer who is paid CP receives a package of $950 per week from the Queensland Resource Centre for carers to care for her elderly sister aged 86.

$300 of the amount is for reimbursement of costs associated with her caring role.

The balance of $650 per week is a commercial arrangement and will be considered as income.

The $300 per week is exempt from the pension income and assets test.

Example 2

A carer who claims CP receives a package of $800 per week to care for their partner. Of that amount, $200 per week is for reimbursement of costs associated with his caring role and is exempt from the pension income and assets test.

The balance of $600 per week is a commercial arrangement and will be considered as income.