General notification provisions and exceptions 110-08040010

Government intent

Centrelink customers are required to notify of any changes to their circumstances to ensure that Centrelink have complete and correct contact information, so that customers can receive correct entitlements.

Notification requirements

Failure to notify a change in circumstances may result in cancellation or suspension of payment and in some cases a failure may be imposed.

A customer may notify a change of circumstances in writing, by attending a service centre, by phoning Centrelink or, in certain circumstances, by using the self service facilities.

Notification to one Centrelink section is legal notification by the customer to Centrelink as a whole and means that the customer has fulfilled their obligation to notify.

Notification across Services Australia programs

Customers should be advised that information used for their Centrelink, Child Support and Medicare payments and services is not routinely transferred within Services Australia. The customer may need to contact either Centrelink, Child Support or Medicare, to update relevant information.

In most cases, the general notification period is 14 days. This means the customer must notify of a change within 14 days, starting from the day after the date of the change (date of event).

The notification period is the period of time a customer has to notify Services Australia of a change in their circumstances and be considered to have notified in time. The notification period will depend on whether the customer is a:

• notification customer (not required to report) - the notification period is usually 14 days
• stimulus customer (required to report) - for notification period, see Stimulus customers

The notification period starts:

• on the day after the day the notifiable event or change of circumstances occurs, or
• the day after the person becomes aware that the event or change of circumstances is likely to occur

When customers submit a claim, they are acknowledging their understanding of the notification requirements and are bound by the notification provisions by:

• signing a paper claim, or
• agreeing to the Claim Declaration for online claims and Assisted Customer Claims (ACC)

Customers are informed of their notification requirements in correspondence issued to them.

Stimulus customers must report fortnightly either via:

• online services (including online, Express Mobile App or phone)
• phone call to Services Australia
• attending a service centre

Stimulus customers must report all changes in circumstances:

• on their report due date (for customers on 2 weekly reporting frequency), or
• by their Entitlement Period End Day (EPED) in the fortnight when the change occurred (for customers who are on variable reporting)

Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) customers with partners receiving a stimulus based payment

The PPP 14 day notification period commences from the stimulus customers due to lodge day (EPED) following the date of event.

Where the Secretary of the Department of Social Services, or their delegate, considers that it would be unreasonable for a customer to notify within 14 days, the Secretary, or their delegate, may give particular groups of customers up to 28 days to report changes.

For customers granted an extended notification period, the extended period applies from the date of the event that led to them being granted the extension.

Extension examples include:

• 28 day rule for International Services (CIS) customers
• 28 day rule for bereavement

There are different notification requirements for customers who receive Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and/or ABSTUDY. For more information, see:

• Notification provisions for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• Changes in circumstances and date of effect for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS)
• Notification rules for students in receipt of ABSTUDY payments

Depending on the date of the event, some notification periods will end on a weekend or a public holiday. In these situations, the notification period will end on the next working day after the weekend or public holiday.

As each state of Australia may have public holidays on different days (for example, King's Birthday, Labour Day) the public holiday must be a holiday gazetted in the customer's state of residence, or a national gazetted public holiday.

Customers must be advised in writing about changes to their notification period. If a change occurs, the new notification period will not take effect until 7 days after the determination of the change in circumstance that has resulted in a shortened notification period.

Example: customer returns from overseas and their notification period is reduced from 28 to 14 days.

An increased notification will apply from the date of event that led to the extension of the notification period.

Example: customer leaves Australia permanently or intends to be away for at least 12 months will have their notification period extended from 14 days to 28 days from the date they left Australia.

Customers eligible for Working Credit may have reporting requirements every 2 weeks if:

• they have variable employment income
• an employment income reporting profile has been determined
• the customer has a partner, both customers will have the same reporting frequency applied
• they are a Centrelink managed job seeker

Customers who do not have a mutual obligation requirement profile, no employment income and no changes in their circumstances, may be considered a notification customer. See Reporting overview.