Special circumstances debt waivers 107-05120030

Investigate and calculate the debt. Check if:

• the customer has requested a debt waiver for special circumstances
• the factors of the case indicate waiver for special circumstances should be considered
• the customer asked for a waiver for another reason

Have any of these occurred?

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

Review the case to determine if there are factors indicating the customer requested the waiver for another reason.

Are there factors indicating another reason should be considered for the waiver?

• Yes, see Waiving debts. Procedure ends here
• No, commence normal recovery. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS). Procedure ends here

Note: it may be appropriate to write off all or part of the debt when special circumstances are temporary.

A customer may feel overwhelmed trying to manage multiple debts. They may be at greater risk of non-compliance.

Social workers can assist by interviewing vulnerable customers to:

• explore whether the customers circumstances may meet the criteria for special circumstances waivers, and
• provide a recommendation to the delegate

Note: the delegate in Payment and Integrity remains the decision maker.

See Social workers role in Payments and Integrity.

A social worker may recommend a debt be waived due to special circumstances. In addition to the recommendation, the customer's circumstances and previous decisions must be reviewed before considering waiver. The person applying the waiver is responsible for the decision.

Has the customer indicated they have special circumstances that need social worker involvement?

• Yes, refer customer to a social worker, see Social work service referral. Take no further action until the social worker recommendation is received, then go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 4

Waive the debt if:

• the debt did not arise from the customer or another person:
• knowingly providing a false statement, representation or omission or
• failing to comply with the relevant Act
• there are factors that distinguish the case as having 'special circumstances'. See the Resources page for examples of ‘special circumstances’
• it is more appropriate to waive the debt than to write it off

Can the debt be waived due to special circumstances?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, see Step 3 in Table 2

Staff with the appropriate delegation can waive a debt.

See the References page for a link to Centrelink Services, Delegations and Authorisations.

Does the staff member have the delegation to waive the debt?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 6

Is the relevant debt a Family Tax Benefit (FTB) or Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation or non-lodgement debt?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, all other debts, go to Step 8

Create a detailed submission in a Fast Note on the customer's record. Use Fast Note – select Auto text, use Debts > Enquiry > FAO Reco Spec and Unusual Circs waiver

Include relevant details for staff to consider, such as:

• customer details and contact
• background information into the creation of the debt, outlining the cause and reason for the debt
• debt calculations
• whether the debt arose from the customer or someone else:
• knowingly providing a false statement, representation or omission,
• or failing to comply with the relevant Act
• the factors that distinguish the case as having 'special circumstances'
• why it is more appropriate to waive the debt rather than to write it off
• a recommendation as to why it is inequitable to recover this amount now and in the future, and why a debt waiver under special circumstances is required

See minimum DOC standards for debt waivers and the Resources page for example DOC text.

Once the waiver submission is complete, refer the request if the value is above your delegation limit:

For debt waivers requiring action from:

• APS5 or APS6, use the Direct Referral to SSO webform. See the Resources page for a link to Direct Referral to SSO webform
• EL1 or above, refer to local leadership for action

Go to Step 8 if there are other debts on the record which need to be referred to a different business area. If all relevant debts have been referred, procedure ends here.

Use Fast Note to refer the case to the relevant Debt Team. See the Resources page in Debt ownership for referral details. Include relevant details for staff to consider, such as:

• customer details and contact
• background information into the creation of the debt, outlining the cause and reason for the debt
• debt calculations
• whether the debt arose from the customer or someone else:
• knowingly providing a false statement, representation or omission
• or failing to comply with the relevant Act
• the factors that distinguish the case as having 'special circumstances'
• why it is more appropriate to waive the debt rather than to write it off
• a recommendation as to why it is inequitable to recover this amount now and in the future, and why a debt waiver under special circumstances is required

See minimum DOC standards for debt waivers and the Resources page for example DOC text.

Refer all other debts which meet the criteria for debt waiver to the relevant business area.

Procedure ends here.

• Yes, see Step 1 in Table 2
• No, see Step 2 in Table 2

For Debt Management and Information System (DMIS) to allow the waiver, the debt status must show as DET (determined). This is done by adjusting the repayment history.

Over-recovered debts

Do not tell the customer if a refund will be paid. Payment Assurance Operations will decide this. They may refund or transfer the amount to other outstanding debts.

Non-Debt Staff:

• use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Debt Recovery > Debt Recovery referrals > Adj Req for Debt Waiver
• select confirm
• record relevant information as required

The Fast Note will create a DOC and automatically refer to Payment Assurance Operations, requesting the repayment history be adjusted to allow the debt waiver to be applied.

Debt Staff:

• select the debt to waive from the OPDL screen
• go to the Repayment History (OPRH) screen. Adjust the last payment by $0.01 cent. Note: reverse this before finalising the debt
• where required, use Fast Note to refer the case to the relevant Debt Team to code the debt waiver. See the Resources page in Debt ownership for referral details.

Check the debt status on the Debt List (OPDL) screen.

If the debt status is DET (determined, pending recovery), complete the following before coding the debt waiver:

• select the debt from the OPDL screen
• go to the Write off (OPWO) screen
• key 'Y' in the restart recovery box

Service Officers with the appropriate delegation are to code the waiver by:

• 'S'elect the Debt ID that is to be waived from the Debt List (OPDL) screen and press [Enter]
• go to the Add Waiver (OPWAA) screen and complete:
• Amount Waived $: field, code the amount to be waived
• Reason Waived: field, use field help ('?') to locate the correct code
• Comments: field, code a brief explanation of why the debt is being waived
• press [Enter]

See the References page for a link to Centrelink Services, Delegations and Authorisations.

Where a recovery fee has been applied, see Effect of waiving a debt on the recovery fee.

Finalise activity on the Assessment Finalisation (OPAF) screen.

If waiving an undetermined debt there is no need to notify the customer.

If waiving a determined debt:

• make a reasonable effort to contact the customer
• send a Q053 letter if the reasonable effort is unsuccessful. See Resources page for approved text

Record details in a DOC. See Minimum DOC standards for debt waivers.