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Special circumstances debt waivers 107-05120030

This document outlines the waiver of debts under special circumstances.

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Considering special circumstances waiver

Considering special circumstances waiver

Table 1

Step	Action
1	Consideration of waiver Making a decision to waive or not waive a debt can happen before or after: determining the debt, or debt recovery commences A waiver must always be considered before raising a debt. Waiver must also be considered or reconsidered after a debt is raised: at the request of a customer on referral from a staff member including a social worker Has the debt been determined? Yes, go to Step 4 No, go to Step 2
2	Undetermined debt Investigate and calculate the debt. Check if the: customer has requested a debt waiver for special circumstances factors of the case indicate waiver for special circumstances is appropriate Have any of these occurred? Yes, go to Step 5 No, go to Step 3
3	Waiver for another reason Review the case to determine if there are factors indicating another waiver reason may be more appropriate. Debts less than the small debt waiver threshold must be fully waived under the small debt waiver provisions. See Small debt waivers. Note: it may be appropriate to write off all or part of the debt when special circumstances are temporary. See Temporary write off of Centrelink debts. Are there factors to consider another reason for the waiver? Yes, see Waiving Centrelink debts. Procedure ends here No, start normal recovery. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS). Procedure ends here
4	Determined debts Consider a special circumstances waiver if the: customer requests a special circumstances waiver decision to be made factors of the case indicate a special circumstances waiver may be appropriate Note: if a waiver outcome will result in an over recovered debt, do not tell the customer a refund will be paid. The Debt and Compensation Recovery Branch will decide this. They may refund or transfer the amount to other outstanding debts. Check the Overpayment Debt List (OPDL) screen to determine which debt(s) the customer is seeking a special circumstances waiver for. Check APL system/Document list to determine if any debts the customer is currently seeking special circumstances waiver for have previously undergone a formal review by Services Australia or an external review at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). See Table 1 > Step 5 of Request for Subject Matter Expert (SME) explanation or application for a formal review. If the customer specifically requests an explanation of the decision or currently has a formal review coded on APL system, see First contact about a decision and the internal review process. Has the customer previously had a formal review or external review (ART) for the debt? Yes, go to Step 5 No, a new waiver decision may be considered, go to Step 6
5	Debt has undergone formal or external review Where: a formal review has been completed, staff cannot change an ARO decision without approval from Appeals Policy and Program. See Secretary initiated review of decision an external review has been completed, a social worker must identify and request the approval for a Secretary Initiated Review, go to Step 7 to refer to a social worker
6	Customer experiencing vulnerability Customers affected by family and domestic violence or other vulnerable circumstances may need greater support. See Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues. To assist customers who feel overwhelmed trying to manage (multiple) debts: conduct compassionate interactions apply the Family and Domestic Violence Support Model if the customer is/was affected by family and domestic violence help customers explore their options related to the debt(s) approach the customer’s circumstances related to the debt with sensitivity consider if external or internal referrals for support are needed check if an FTB debt is due to a retrospective change in maintenance income. If so, a customer may be eligible for an exemption to the Maintenance Action Test (MAT), see Exemptions from seeking child support for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customers check if there has been previous interaction with a social worker and a waiver recommendation received: contact social worker for further details if there is a record that Social Work Information System (SWIS) case notes have been completed. a social worker case consultation may be useful to help staff explore customer complexities and impacts relevant to the debt
7	Consider the need for a social worker referral Refer to a social worker for case consultation or debt waiver recommendation: to explore all factors of the case to help determine if the customer’s circumstances constitute special circumstances if a customer is experiencing, or experienced, family and domestic violence or complex vulnerabilities and does not have adequate support, or if the customer’s circumstances are sensitive and further contact may cause significant distress, a social worker consultation may be useful Note: the delegate applying the waiver is responsible for the decision and remains the decision maker. Generally, a social worker report is not needed if there is available evidence on file to make a determination. If a case is particularly complex, a social worker report may be useful to make informed decisions. Is a social worker case consultation or debt waiver referral needed? Yes, for service officers in: Payments and Integrity Group, refer the customer to a Payment Integrity social worker, see Social workers' role in debt, payment assurance and compensation Service Delivery, refer the customer to a social worker, see Referral to a social worker take no further action until the consult occurs or recommendation is received No, go to Step 8
8	Waiver provisions process Fully or partially waive a debt if all the following apply: there are factors that distinguish the case as having 'special circumstances' it is more appropriate to waive the debt than to write it off, and one of the following applies to the debt: the debt did not result wholly or partly from the customer or another person knowingly providing false information, misrepresenting facts or failing to adhere to the law the debt resulted wholly or partly from such an act or omission by the customer, but that act, or omission was justified in the circumstances the debt resulted wholly or partly from such an act or omission by another person, but the customer did not know about that act or omission, or the debt resulted wholly or partly from such an act or omission by another person, but the customer was justified in the circumstances for not correcting that act or omission See the Resources page for examples. When determining whether a person was ‘justified in the circumstances’, staff will be required to consider the person’s circumstances in their entirety. To determine if the customer is eligible for waiver, review the customer’s circumstances by: completing a review of the customer’s record contacting the customer to discuss their details (if required) obtaining details of the special circumstances and supporting information (if applicable) from the customer or from information already recorded on their customer’s record Go to Step 9.
9	Factors to consider with special circumstances waiver There is no set criteria or list of supporting information when determining whether special circumstances exist. Consider the customer's circumstances at any period of time when assessing special circumstances, such as: when the debt arose during the period the debt was identified, raised for recovery and repaid, or if the customer is currently experiencing special circumstances Special circumstances do not need to relate to the cause of the debt if they are deemed to be circumstances that are unusual, uncommon or out of the ordinary. Each case must be considered on its own merits. The special circumstances waiver requires consideration of a person’s circumstances in their entirety, including: family and domestic violence financial abuse and coercion mental health decision making capacity the impact of natural disasters homelessness, or serious dependence on drugs and alcohol See Family and domestic violence and Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues. Go to Step 10.
10	Conduct a review of the customer’s record Review the customer’s record, including: Document tools and Document List, including: records that relate to the special circumstances DOCs in the Archive Culling Engine (ACE), and letters sent to the customer Debt screens Medical Conditions screens Marital status screen and Address summary screen social work contact (for social workers, this includes information held in Social Work Information System (SWIS) where sensitive information is recorded). Contact social workers for more details if there is a record that SWIS case notes have been completed Appeal/ARO contact letters sent any other relevant information held on the customer’s record that may support the application of the waiver provision. See Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues for screens to check Go to Step 11.
11	Supporting information Make decisions on whether to apply the special circumstances waiver based on the evidence available and the circumstances of the individual case. Consider: information held on the customer’s record such as DOCs, marital status, income and asset, vulnerability indicators and health conditions specialist involvement or referrals. For example, social worker information held in Social Work Information System (SWIS) and Job Capacity Assessments (JCA) and JCA reports or Community Engagement Officers readily available evidence provided by the customer. For example, bank statements, insurance claims, police and court documents, third party information from support services (counsellors, doctors, or accommodation providers) the customer's account of events. The customer can provide a statutory declaration if the delegate considers the customer's account of events alone is insufficient The customer may provide supporting information relevant to the debt period, however there is no requirement for them to do so. Where staff are satisfied the customer has experienced a special circumstance, waive the debt without supporting information. When actioning an undetermined debt where the customer is not yet aware of the waiver consideration, consider: if contact with the customer may cause them any further undue stress that it may be difficult for customers to access and provide documents Staff must consider if customer contact is necessary when there is sufficient information from other sources to support a waiver. Go to Step 12.
12	Delegation Staff who action debts must have the required system access to perform debt related functions in Process Direct and Customer Record/Customer First, see Access requirements to action debt activities in Waiving Centrelink debts Delegations are based on the debt amount to be waived. See Centrelink Services, Delegations and Authorisations for the appropriate debt waiver. Does the staff member have the correct access to waive the debt? Yes, go to Table 2 > Step 1 No, go to Step 13
13	Request a debt waiver Is the relevant debt a Family Tax Benefit (FTB) or Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation or non-lodgement debt? Yes, go to Step 14 No, for: all other CCS debts, see Table 3 in Raising Child Care Subsidy (CCS) debts in Process Direct all other debts, go to Step 15
14	FTB and CCS reconciliation or non-lodgement debts Check a customer’s eligibility to an exemption to the FTB Maintenance Action Test (MAT) before assessment for a special circumstances waiver, if the FTB debt is due to a retrospective change in maintenance income. See Exemptions from seeking child support for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customers. Create a detailed waiver submission using these Fast Notes on the customer's record, for: CCS, use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Families > Reconciliation > Complex CCS reco escalation FTB, 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 where one of the following applies: not knowingly providing false information, misrepresenting facts or failing to adhere to the law knowingly providing a false statement, representation or omission, but that act, or omission was justified in the circumstances such an act or omission by another person but the customer did not know about that act or omission, or such an act or omission by another person but the customer was justified in the circumstances for not correcting that act or omission 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. For debt waivers requiring action due to delegation limitations, see the References page for a link to Centrelink Services, Delegations and Authorisations. For debts where the waiver amount is over $5,000 but does not exceed $15,000: APS5 or APS6 delegation is required, use the Direct Referral to SSO webform, for: CCS, select Benefit type MIV-CCS, and FTB, select Benefit type FTB Escalation type, select Debt Waiver for FTB/CCS only Summary of enquiry, include debt ID, amount and reason for waiver update the record, use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Generic > Escalation > Escalated to Service Support Officer indicating the record has been sent to SSO For debts where the waiver amount exceeds $15,000, for: FTB debts where EL1 delegation is required, refer to local leadership for action CCS debts, use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Families > Updates > CCS MIV action required Are there other debts on the record which need to be referred to a different business area? Yes, go to Step 15 No, procedure ends here
15	Use Fast Note to refer the case for a debt waiver Use the relevant 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 where one of the following applies: not knowingly providing false information, misrepresenting facts or failing to adhere to the law knowingly providing a false statement, representation or omission, but that act, or omission was justified in the circumstances such an act or omission by another person but the customer did not know about that act or omission, or such an act or omission by another person but the customer was justified in the circumstances for not correcting that act or omission 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 Online Document Recording (ODR). Refer all other debts which meet the criteria for debt waiver to the relevant business area. Procedure ends here.

Waiving a debt

Table 2

Step	Action
1	Delegation Delegations are based on the debt amount to be waived. See Centrelink Services, Delegations and Authorisations to confirm the delegation level for a waiver submission. The staff member with the appropriate delegation will be the decision maker. They will code the waiver and document the decision. The delegation amounts for special circumstance debt waivers have been increased for APS level staff to reflect that the agency now has extended powers to waive social security debts. Delegation amounts to apply special circumstance debt waivers have been increased for: APS3 and APS4 up to $5,000 APS5 and APS6 up to $15,000 Does the staff member have the correct delegation to waive the debt? Yes, go to Step 4 No, go to Step 2
2	Escalate to have waiver submission assessed Staff who do not have the delegation, need to complete a waiver submission and submit the request to the appropriate delegation level to assess for assessment. Staff in: PAROD, use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Debt Raising > Debt raising ACTion DOC Request to document the record with special circumstance waiver details for consideration all other areas with debt raising responsibilities, refer to a staff member with the appropriate delegation level using local team channels Include minimum DOC standards for debt waivers and relevant details for the delegate to consider, such as: customer details and contact how the debt occurred debt reasons and calculations section of the Act the debt is being waived under whether the debt arose from the customer or someone else: knowingly making a false statement, representation or omission, or failing to comply with legislation factors that support waiver due to special circumstances why it is more appropriate to waive the debt than write it off PAROD staff who have escalated to a higher delegation will hold to user (HTU) the Fast Note for 3 business days. Note: if the Fast Note becomes due without being actioned, HTU for a further 3 business days and escalate to line manager.
3	Delegate's role The delegate will review the waiver submission DOC. Staff should action the special circumstances debt waiver based on the recommendation of the referrer, including social worker recommendations. Does the delegate approve the waiver submission? Yes, go to Step 4 No: inform the staff member of the outcome and document the record using the Special Circ Waiver Criteria Not Met Fast Note go to Step 5
4	Code the debt waiver Check the debt status on the Debt List (OPDL) screen. For undetermined debts, use the Debt Assist workflow in Process Direct. See Waiving Centrelink debts. Where staff do not have access to the Debt Assist workflow, use the Debt Action script in Customer Record. The script will ask why the debt needs waiving: select the relevant waiver reason. Note: when using the Debt Action script to code the waiver the script will ask if the debt arose from the customer ‘knowingly’ contributing to the debt. If it has been determined that the customer is eligible for waiver under the new provisions staff must answer ‘No’ to allow the script to progress follow the screen flow to finalise the activity update the DOC with the correct information For determined debts, if the debt status is DET (determined, pending recovery), before coding the debt waiver: select the debt from the Debt List (OPDL) screen go to the Write off (OPWO) screen key Y in the restart recovery box Service officers with the correct delegation can code the waiver: 'S'elect the Debt ID that is to be waived from the OPDL screen > [Enter] go to the Add Waiver (OPWAA) screen and complete these fields: Amount Waived $, key the amount to be waived Reason Waived, use field help ('?') to locate the correct code Comments, key 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. Go to Step 5.
5	Record the outcome of the special circumstances waiver decision Special circumstances waiver - Criteria met Create a detailed document using the relevant Fast Note on the customer's record. For special circumstances waivers relating to: family and domestic violence: use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Spec Circs Waiver > Special Circ Waiver Applied Family DV mental health: use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Spec Circs Waiver > Special Circ Waiver Applied Mental HLTH other circumstances: use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Spec Circs Waiver > Special Circ Waiver Applied Other Special circumstances waiver criteria not met Create a detailed document on the customer's record: use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Spec Circs Waiver > Special Circ Waiver Criteria Not Met Staff must use the appropriate Fast Note to document their decision. Make sure the information being recorded on the customer’s record is in line with Online Document recording standards and minimum DOC standards for debt waivers. Is contact required to notify the customer of the waiver decision outcome? Yes, the staff member who made the referral for waiver is responsible for advising the customer of the outcome, go to Step 6 No, procedure ends here
6	Tell the customer about the decision if applicable Where the customer has asked for or is aware of the consideration of the application of special circumstances waiver, the customer will need to be advised of the delegate’s decision to: apply the special circumstances waiver to the customer’s debt, or not apply the special circumstances waiver to the customer’s debt as the special circumstances waiver criteria were not met Make reasonable effort to contact the customer and genuine attempts to contact by phone. Speaking with the customer Advise the customer of the special circumstances waiver decision. Explain: the decision, including the reasons for it the impact the decision will have on the customer’s debt, and their review and appeal rights Send a Special circumstance waiver outcome (Q053) letter, even if the contact is unsuccessful, to advise of the outcome of the waiver. Note: if a partial waiver has been applied, a Q417 must be sent advising of the new debt amount, see Creating a manual letter or Online Advice (OLA). Enclose the Q053 and Q417 in the same envelope. Not speaking with the customer There may be some circumstances where the customer was not aware of the consideration for special circumstances waiver, including: when actioning an undetermined debt, where the information may have been obtained from a review of the customer record, and contact with the customer may cause undue stress Making contact and sending a letter may not be required in these circumstances. Note: if the decision is not to apply a waiver due to insufficient evidence, contact the customer to give them the opportunity to provide this (if they have not already).