Vacation of home to enter care situation (INH) reviews 110-02090000

Do not cancel the activity.

Note: staff must not cancel a 2 year home vacation review activity to action updates in another activity or platform, unless supported by reference material.

If staff are allocated a work item for an Incentivising to Downsize Review (2 year home vacation review) and they:

• do not have the skill set to action the review, staff must:
  • unassign the work item using ‘User Unavailable’
  • procedure ends here
• have the skill set to action the review, go to Step 2

If the customer has sold or rented their former principal home, notification should have been provided for the:

• sale and destination of the proceeds, see Sale of principal home
• rental arrangement, see Assessing income from real estate and timeshare and Vacation of principal home due to illness for coding assistance

If the former principal home was rented, the home should already be recorded on the Real Estate (RE) screen as Type: EXE (exempt asset General 2 year exemption). The rental income should be included in the income test and the asset exemption ended at the end of the 2 year exemption.

Is the former principal home already recorded on Real Estate (RE) screen?

• Yes, go to Step 10
• No, go to Step 3

Check Accommodation Details (AC) screen for:

• LIF - Bequeathed life interest
• DEE - Deemed interest code

Does the customer have a life interest or deemed interest in the former home?

• Yes:
  • Make a referral to a Complex Assessment Officer. Include in the referral notes the referral is due to a 2 year home vacation review
  • Finalise the INH review
  • Record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets > 2YR Home Vacation Review. Link the Fast Note to the transaction or activity before completing
  • Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Check the customer's record for evidence the former home has been sold, including:

• AC screen - customer Homeowner Ownership field - was a homeowner (e.g. codes GFH, NHH or HOM) at the time entered care, now a non-homeowner (codes GFN, NHN or NHO)
• Savings Summary (SVS) screen - significant increase in funds since the date of entering care
• DOCs (including archived) - notification of sale and distribution of proceeds
• Documents provided to confirm the sale of the former home

Confirm on the record that either:

• sale proceeds have been recorded (see Sale of principal home), or
• required documents have been provided to confirm the sale and destination of proceeds (see Sale of principal home)

Is there evidence of either of the above?

• Yes, go to Step 13
• No, and the customer is:
  • deceased, go to Step 15
  • not deceased, go to Step 5

Has a request for information (QSS32- HVR Vacation of home to enter care (INH) review) letter been sent to the customer?

• Yes, and the customer:
  • has responded, go to Step 8
  • has not responded, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 6

Before issuing a Request for information (RFI), a genuine attempt to contact by phone must be made to:

• clarify or gather more information
• help the customer in providing the correct information for the first time
• provide an efficient outcome for the customer

Make a request for information using a QSS32 - HVR Vacation of home to enter care (INH) review.
Note: tailor the request for information to the customer’s circumstances:

• If the customer has a correspondence nominee, copies of letters and notices sent to the customer must also be sent to the nominee
• If a correspondence nominee is not recorded or documented, include the optional text on how to get an Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313) form
• Take care when a customer has a current Residential Care Assessment (RCA) record. The customer may be in an aged care home and not able to notify of their change of address or circumstances. Check that the request for information is being sent to the correct address
• Place the INH review on hold for 21 days+ delivery (allow extra time for surface mail delivery)
• Record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets > 2YR Home Vacation Review
• Procedure ends here pending response

If the requested documents have not been provided, make a genuine attempt to contact the customer and/or nominee to:

• explain the home vacation review requirements
• confirm ownership of the former principal home
• confirm current mailing addresses for customer and nominee (update if required)
• decide if an extension is needed to provide requested documents

Take care when a customer has a current Residential Care Assessment (RCA) record. The customer may be in an aged care home and not able to notify of their change of address or circumstances. Check that the request for information has been sent to the correct address.

If there is a correspondence nominee, check if copies of the request for information have been issued.

For action to take for Residential Care Assessment (RCA) customers, see:

• Correspondence returned to Centrelink 'Whereabouts unknown’
• Change of address to an aged care home

Has the end date of the 2 year exemption been reached?

• Yes, go to Step 14
• No:
  • hold INH review for the end date of the 2 year exemption
  • record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets > 2YR Home Vacation Review
  • procedure ends here

Does the customer still own the former principal home?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 13

INH reviews may be set, but are no longer required if:

• single customer returns to principal home
• both parties enter a care situation where one member of the couple returns to the principal home
• there has been a change in relationship status from single to partnered since entering care

Has the customer (or partner) returned to living in the principal home within 2 years of the date vacated?

• Yes, the customer remains a homeowner:
  • On Accommodation Details (AC) screen:
    Home Ownership field for customer remains a homeowner
    Event Date is the date the customer returned to the principal home
    Clear the Reason Home Vacated field
    Clear the Date Home Vacated field
  • Finalise the INH review
  • Record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets > 2YR Home Vacation Review. Link the Fast Note to the transaction or activity before completing
  • Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 10

If the former home has not been sold at the end of the 2 year exemption:

• the customer is treated as a non-homeowner
• the principal home is an assessable asset

On the Accommodation Details (AC) screen update:

• Home Ownership with the required non-homeowner code:
  • GFN - Non homeowner in Govt funded Aged Care
  • SRN - Non homeowner Lives in Special Residence
• Event Date: the end date of the 2 year exemption
• Clear the Reason Home Vacated field
• Clear the Date Home Vacated field
• Date of Receipt - see Date of receipt
• Update partner's AC screen if relevant

Is the former home a retirement village unit?

• Yes, go to Step 12
• No, go to Step 11

If the former principal home is already coded on the REBI screen (due to rental income) as an exempt asset General 2 year exemption code NAA, end date the entry:

Update the REBI screen: Remove any entry in Sold/Gifted/Ceased and code 'C' for change in Action field.

Update the Real Estate (RE) screen with the following details from MOD R:

• % Asset Owned
• Current Market Value
• Gross Annual Income
• Allowable Income Dedns
• Annual Interest
• Make sure the Curtilage type field is blank as curtilage no longer applies
• Event Date is the end date of the 2 year exemption
• RCA former principal home - change to Yes

If the former home was not recorded on REBS screen, record the former home on the RE screen as an assessable asset.

Follow the process for Assessing and coding the Real estate details Mod R: The Event Date on the RE screen is the same as recorded on the AC screen.

Finalise the INH review.

Note: if there is an unfavourable decision, see Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision.

Record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets > 2YR Home Vacation Review. Link the Fast Note to the transaction or activity before completing.

If the customer is deceased, proceed with the death action.

Procedure ends here.

If the former home is a retirement village and the customer has not received a refund of their entry contribution:

• Check the Other Assets Summary (OASS) screen to see if any entry contribution is being assessed. If it is, select it to go to the OAS screen
• Enter the description as 'OTHER ASSET'
• In the Total Asset $: field, update value as detailed below:
• If the customer has not received a refund but expects to later, for example, when the unit has sold, do not remove the asset value of the entry contribution until the refund is received

If an assessable amount is not already coded, the net refundable amount should now be on the OAS screen as it is no longer exempt. This is because the Entry Contribution was exempt (more than the Extra Allowable Amount).

If the customer has not received a refund, check the contract for the previous retirement village:

• If the terminology indicates a loan has been created between the customer and the retirement village, the deeming provisions would apply on the balance due to the customer. See Loans
• If not, then deeming would not apply

Procedure ends here.

If the home is sold during the 2 year exemption period:

• the customer is treated as a non-homeowner, and
• proceeds of sale are assessed as an asset and subject to deeming from the date of sale of the former principal home

On the Accommodation details (AC) screen update these fields:

Update Home Ownership with the required non-homeowner code:

• GFN - Non homeowner in Govt funded Aged Care, if not already coded
• SRN - Non homeowner Lives in Special Residence, if not already coded
• Event Date: settlement date for the sale of the home
• Clear Reason Home Vacated
• Clear Date Home Vacated
• Date of Receipt - see Date of Receipt

Update the partner's AC screen if relevant.

Follow the process for Sale of principal home.

Code the income and asset changes including updating the Household and Personal Effects (HPE) from the Other Asset Summary (OAS) screen with value provided by the customer.

Finalise the INH review.

Note: if there is an unfavourable decision, see Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision.

Record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets > 2YR Home Vacation Review. Link the Fast Note to the transaction or activity before completing.

If the customer is deceased, proceed with the death action.

Procedure ends here.

If the customer was issued an appropriate request for information/action and has failed to reply within the allowable time, the payment may be suspended FRC.

Refer to the payment specific process for suspension instructions:

• Suspension of Age Pension
• Suspension of Disability Support Pension (DSP)

DOC the suspension of payment and include the text:

Please refer to the 2YR Home Vacation Review DOC dated (xx/xx/xx) for further information relating to this matter.

Close DOC - 2YR Home Vacation Review.

Finalise the INH review adding in the notes ‘payment suspended FRC'.

Before completing the death action:

• Restore the payment from the date payment was suspended
• Finalise the INH review
• Record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets > 2YR Home Vacation Review. Link the Fast Note to the transaction or activity before completing
• Proceed with death action
• Procedure ends here