'Class of debt' waivers for national disasters between 2009 and 2011 107-05120050

Item

Description

1

Eligible customers

Customers adversely affected by the late 2010 - early 2011 flooding or Cyclone Yasi may be eligible for waiver/adjustment of a:

• family assistance qualification debt, or
• reconciliation debt

if the debt was incurred in the period 1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011.

The action taken for Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR) records will depend on the customer's overall reconciliation result.

2

Amount that may be waived - CCB and CCR

When calculating the amount of CCB and CCR that may be waived, consider the net result of the 2 entitlements.

CCB

The amount of CCB that may be waived is the amount overpaid in the period 1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011 less any additional CCR entitlement paid as a result of this overpayment.

For example, a customer incurs a CCB overpayment for the period 1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011 of $200. The customer is eligible for CCR and therefore the reduced CCB entitlement means they have received an increased CCR entitlement of $100 (as their out-of-pocket expenses have increased by $200). The net result for the 2 entitlements is a debt of $100. This amount may be waived.

If the customer was not eligible for CCR (for example: because they did not meet the work/training/study test), the amount that could be waived is the CCB overpayment in the period 1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011 of $200. In the above circumstances, the amount would be $200.

CCR

The maximum amount of CCR to consider for waiver is the amount overpaid in the period 1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011.

If the CCR overpayment occurred because the customer received an increased entitlement to CCB, the overpayment will not be eligible for waiver. This is because the CCR overpayment has been fully offset from any CCB top-up paid.

For example, customer received a CCB reconciliation top-up for the period 1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011 of $200. As they received their CCR quarterly, they now have a CCR overpayment for this period of $100 (as their out-of-pocket expenses have decreased by $200). The net result for the 2 entitlements is a top-up of $100, meaning there is no amount eligible for waiver.

Note: the maximum waiver amount is the net value of customer's CCB and CCR combined reconciliation for the 2010-11 financial year, where the result is a debt.

3

Amount that may be waived or adjusted - FTB

Waive both an FTB qualification debt and reconciliation debt if the criteria are met.

Waive circumstance debts incurred during the disaster period (1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011) if all qualification criteria are met.

Waive reconciliation debts incurred during the disaster period (1 November 2010 - 19 March 2011) if the customer's overall 2010-11 reconciliation result is a debt.

If the FTB reconciliation result is a debt, equal to or greater than the amount overpaid during the disaster period, waive the amount overpaid. Use the waiver reason 'Class of Debt'.

If the FTB reconciliation result is a debt that is less than the amount overpaid during the disaster period, the FTB reconciliation result will be manually adjusted to increase the customer's FTB entitlement. The adjustment will be an amount equal to the amount of the overpayment incurred during the disaster period.

This will result in the customer receiving a top-up of FTB. This is done via the FAO Reconciliation Manual Adjustment (FRMA) screen.

4

Identifying eligible customers

Potentially eligible customers will be identified when qualification debts are manually raised. The customer may also have a reconciliation debt which may be eligible for the waiver.

See Qualification debt identified in FTB reconciliation result or when completing activity that triggers FTB reconciliation.

5

Self identification

If a customer asks to test their eligibility for this waiver, record details of the customer's circumstances (including how they have been affected by the disaster) on a DOC. Use one of the following keywords:

• FTB - #FTBDIS
• CCB - #CCFDIS
• CCR - #CCRDIS

Transfer the DOC to region code MIV.

Item

Description

1

Eligible customers - Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR)

Customers adversely affected by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires may be eligible for the waiver of their reconciliation debt for 2008-09 if they meet the following criteria.

CCB

The customer's CCB reconciliation result for 2008-09:

• is a debt, and
• some or all of the debt was incurred in the period 26 January - 3 May 2009

CCR

The customer's CCR reconciliation result for 2008-09:

• is a debt, and
• some or all of the debt was incurred in the period 26 January - 3 May 2009

The debt will only be waived if it was not caused by an increase in the customer's CCB entitlement.

CCR reconciliation debts caused by a system issue may also be considered for waiver if:

• quarterly CCR was incorrectly paid when the customer did not meet the CCR work/training/study test or exception, and
• the child care centre that the customer used was given 'emergency status'

These records can be identified as follows:

• the Child Care Work Training Study (CWTS) screen is coded as No for at least some time during the period 29 January - 29 April 2009
• on the Period Rate Explanation (REXCCF) screen the eligible hours limit is 24 for that period
• the Quarterly CCTR Result Summary (QRRS) screen for 2008-09 shows the customer was paid quarterly CCR for the third quarter (5 January - 5 April 2009), and
• the customer and/or the child care centre are in an area which was affected by the Victorian Bushfires

2

Eligible customers - Family Tax Benefit (FTB)

Customers adversely affected by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires may be eligible for the waiver/adjustment if their FTB reconciliation result for 2008-09 includes an overpayment in the period 29 January - 29 April 2009.

The action taken for FTB records will depend on the affected customer's overall reconciliation result.

If the overall reconciliation result is a:

• debt which is equal to or greater than the overpayment amount, the overpayment amount will be waived. This will result in a reduced debt balance
• top-up, nil adjustment or debt which is less than that the overpayment amount, the overpayment amount will be added back on to their FTB entitlement. This will result in a top-up being issued

3

Calculate amount to be waived

When calculating the amount of CCB or CCR that may be waived, consider the net result for the 2 entitlements.

CCB

The amount of CCB that may be considered for waiver is the amount overpaid in the period 26 January 2009 - 3 May 2009 less any additional CCR entitlement paid as a result of this overpayment.

Example:

A customer incurs a CCB overpayment in the period 26 January - 3 May 2009 of $200. The customer is eligible for CCR and therefore the reduced CCB entitlement means they have received an increased CCR entitlement of $100 (as their out-of-pocket expenses have increased by $200). The net result for the 2 entitlements is a debt of $100. This is the amount that may be considered for waiver.

If the customer was not eligible for CCR (for example, because they did not meet the work/training/study test), the amount that could be considered for waiver is the CCB overpayment in the period 26 January - 3 May 2009. In the above circumstances, the amount would be $200.

Note: the maximum waiver amount is the net value of customer's CCB and CCR combined reconciliation for the 2008-09 financial year, where the result is a debt.

CCR

The amount of CCR to consider for waiver is the amount overpaid in the period 26 January - 3 May 2009.

However, if the CCR overpayment occurred because the customer received an increased entitlement to CCB, the overpayment will not be eligible for waiver.

Example:

A customer received a CCB reconciliation top-up for the period 26 January - 3 May 2009 of $200. As they received their CCR quarterly, they now have a CCR overpayment for this period of $100 (as their out-of-pocket expenses have decreased by $200). The net result for the 2 entitlements is a top-up of $100. In this case, there is no amount eligible for waiver.

Note: the maximum waiver amount is the net value of customer's CCB and CCR combined reconciliation for the 2008-09 financial year, where the result is a debt.

4

Amount that may be waived or adjusted - FTB

The amount of FTB that considered for waiver or adjustment is the amount overpaid in the period 29 January - 29 April 2009. This is regardless of the overall reconciliation result for 2008-09. The overall result will determine the process for applying the waiver.

If the affected customer's FTB reconciliation result is a debt, equal to or greater than the amount overpaid in the period 29 January - 29 April 2009, waive the amount overpaid. Use the waiver reason 'Class of Debt'.

If the affected customer's FTB reconciliation result is a top-up, nil change, or a debt that is less than the amount overpaid in the period 29 January - 29 April 2009, the FTB reconciliation result will be manually adjusted to increase the customer's FTB entitlement by an amount equal to the amount overpaid in the period 29 January - 29 April 2009.

This will result in the customer receiving a top-up of FTB. This is applied via the FAO Reconciliation Manual Adjustment (FRMA) screen.

5

Automatic identification

Most customers potentially eligible for a waiver, are identified automatically during the reconciliation process. This will occur for customers:

• who received an emergency payment due to the Victorian Bushfires and
• whose reconciliation result includes an overpayment in the period 29 January - 29 April 2009 for FTB, or 26 January - 3 May 2009 for CCB and CCR

A Manual Follow-up (MFU) will be created on the customer record with:

• the keyword '#FTBVBW', '#CCFVBW' or '#CCRVBW', and
• activity notes 'Check Elig for waiver/adj of (payment type) result under section 102 of FA (Admin) Act - Disallowable Instrument for Victorian Bushfire Victims'

These MFUs map to the Manual Intervention (MIV) Team for processing.

6

Self Identification

Customers may also self identify. They may not have received an emergency payment but feel they were adversely affected by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.

If this occurs, record the details of the customer's circumstances (including how they have been affected by the bushfires) in a DOC. Transfer the DOC to region code MIV with one of the following keywords:

• FTB - #FTBVBW
• CCB - #CCFVBW
• CCR - #CCRVBW

Customers who incurred a debt due to the CCR system issue:

• are deemed to have been adversely affected by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires, and
• do not need to provide information about how they have been affected