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Single Touch Payroll debt recovery data match 107-21052045

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This document outlines the procedures regarding Single Touch Payroll (STP) data matches.

On this page:

Non-STP Recovery trained staff

STP Recovery trained staff

Non-STP Recovery trained staff

Table 1

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Non-STP Recovery trained telephony staff

If a customer calls, non-trained staff must:

  • establish their Proof of Record Ownership (PORO)
  • follow details recorded in the Display on Access (DOA) DOC:
    • between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (AEST), cold transfer customers through CXone Agent Workspace / Services Australia Workspace to CLK Debt STP Use Case 3
    • where a customer contacts outside these hours, use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debt Recovery > Debt Recovery Referrals > STPUC3 Contact Referral and leave this Open. Workload Management (WLM) will transfer the open Fast Note to STP Recovery staff, who will contact the customer the next business day

If an employer calls, non-trained staff must transfer to the appropriate queue as an unannounced (cold) transfer. Authentication is not required.

Note: do not attach Fast Notes to the Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity.

2

Non-STP Recovery trained processing staff

When a 'No Arrangement' (NOARR) work item is allocated to non-STP Recovery trained staff doing processing work and an STP Recovery activity exists on the Activity List (AL) screen, check if the STP Recovery activity is:

  • 'REGistered', continue with regular recovery action
  • 'STArted' or on 'Hold':
    • add the keyword RCV0019 to the 'No Arrangement' work item and hold this for 7 days, with no action taken
    • the allocated 'No Arrangement' activity will auto unassign from the staff member's inbox
    • these work items will be actioned within the STP Recovery process that has already begun on these files

Note: do not attach Fast Notes to the Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity.


STP Recovery trained staff

Table 2: For Service Officers with DMNSTP mainframe access.

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Actioning a Single Touch Payroll (STP) Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity

Staff may only action a record through the STPUC3 process if there is an STP MFU on the Activity List (AL) screen.

Before actioning an STP MFU, go to the Debt List (OPDL) and Payment Arrangement List (OPAL) screens.

Does the customer have a payment arrangement or temporary pause in place for their debts?

2

Customer has a payment arrangement or temporary debt pause in place

To finalise the STP MFU activity, staff must go to the:

  • Activity List (AL) screen and ‘S’elect the STP MFU activity
  • STP Employer Summary (OPSTE) screen, key Y in the Finalise activity? field
  • STP Outcome (OPSTX) screen, for customers with:
    • a payment arrangement, key ARR (Payment arrangement coded) in the Reason field
    • a debt pause, key EXC (Exclude from ETP selection) in the Reason field and update the Exclusion End field to align with the end date of the debt pause (to a maximum of 6 months)
    • key Y in the Confirm (Y/N) field, to complete the activity

If the customer has not confirmed the details about the data match, delete the auto completed STP DOC (created at finalisation).

Procedure ends here.

3

Confirm data match details are for the correct customer

Note: if the STP MFU is blank, finalise as an exclusion for 7 days.

Check the customer’s personal details, including:

  • STP data (OPSTC) screen
  • Customer Personal Detail Summary (CPDS) screen for all of the customer's known names
  • date of birth
  • address (present and historical)

Is the data match for the correct customer?

4

Confirm the employment start date

Is the employment start date at least 3 months before today's date?

  • Yes, go to Step 6
  • No, to finalise the activity, go to the STP Outcome (OPSTX) screen. In these fields:
    • Reason, select EXC (Exclude from ETP selection)
    • Exclusion End, key the employment start date plus 3 months
    • Confirm, key Y
    • Note: if the customer has not confirmed the details about the data match, delete the auto completed STP DOC (created at finalisation), go to Step 11

5

Data mismatch

If the STP data match is not for the correct customer, staff must:

  • email the mismatch details to the Operational Leader (OL)/Quality Development Officer (QDO) who will complete the MCR Issues/Errors webform in mySupport, see the Resources page
  • finalise the STP MFU activity on the STP Employer Summary (OPSTE) screen. Select the reason EXC (Exclude from ETP selection) on the STP Outcome (OPSTX) screen
  • code an exclusion end date of 1 month
  • delete the auto completed STP DOC (created at finalisation)

Procedure ends here.

6

Recoverable debts

Go to the Overpayment Debt List (OPDL) screen. Check if there is at least one recoverable debt that is cost effective to pursue.

Is there at least one debt to recover?

  • Yes:
  • No:
    • 'S'elect the STP MFU activity from the Activity List (AL) screen
    • when the STP Employer Summary (OPSTE) screen shows, key Y in the Finalise activity field
    • on the STP Outcome (OPSTX) screen, in the Reason field, key EXC (Exclude from ETP selection). In the Confirm field, key Y to finalise the activity
    • code an exclusion end date of 1 month
    • delete the auto completed STP DOC (created at finalisation). As information has not been confirmed, it should not be on the file

Procedure ends here.

7

Inbound recovery calls

Be aware of customers experiencing vulnerability. See Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues.

See Safeguarding customer privacy when raising and recovering debts:

  • when raising and recovering debts, and
  • before discussing the reason for the call

All customers must be advised of the:

  • STP employment data match, and
  • current outstanding balance and any payment arrangements

Note: the STP information including the Year to Date (YTD) is only an indication of the customer's circumstances. Consider the customer's individual circumstances.

If the customer:

  • does not dispute the data match, consider exclusions and set up an arrangement. Go to Step 11
  • disputes the data match:
    • obtain details about why the customer disagrees
    • refer the file to an Operational Leader/Quality Development Officer for investigation
  • requests additional time, hold the activity for a maximum of 7 days from the response date listed in the Q289 letter. After this time, no further extensions should be granted, and staff must resume the recovery process
  • refuses to enter an arrangement and has not received a Q289 letter, document the conversation on the customer's record. Go to Step 14

Inbound garnishee instructions

Follow details recorded in the DOA DOC if one of the following applies:

  • customer refuses to enter a repayment arrangement and has received a Q289 letter
  • customer or employer wants to discuss an existing wage garnishee, or
  • employer is calling to discuss EFT payment details

For inbound customer contact:

  • between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (AEST):
    • cold transfer customers through CXone Agent Workspace / Services Australia Workspace to CLK Debt STP Use Case 3
  • outside these hours:
    • use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debt Recovery > Debt Recovery Referrals > STPUC3 Contact Referral and leave this Open. Workload Management (WLM) will transfer the open Fast Note to STP Recovery staff, who will contact the customer the next business day

Procedure ends here.

8

Reasonable effort to contact

Review the customer record including:

  • previous arrangements
  • repayments
  • debt amount, status and balance
  • any correspondence and notifications sent to the customer

Interest Charges (IC) must be updated before making an outbound contact attempt. This must be completed in Customer First for DMIS debts, and Process Direct for Child Care Subsidy debts.

Send a pre-call SMS before every contact attempt if the customer:

Reasonable attempts to contact the customer must be made using all phone numbers available on the Telephone Summary (TDS) screen and in STP data.

Factor that the customer may be experiencing vulnerability. See Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues.

Before explaining the reason for the call, make sure the customer's privacy is protected. See Safeguarding customer's privacy when raising and recovering debts.

Take into account the individual customer circumstances. STP data may only be an indication of the customer's situation. All customers contacted must be advised:

  • the call is being recorded
  • of the STP employment data match and STP information that includes the Year to Date (YTD)
  • the current outstanding debt balance and any broken repayment arrangements

If the contact attempt is unsuccessful and there is an answering service, leave a message. Ask the customer to call the Centrelink debt recovery line by the end of the next business day.

Was customer contact successful?

9

Discuss the reason for the call

If the customer:

  • does not dispute the data match, consider exclusions and set up an arrangement. Go to Step 11
  • disputes the data match:
    • obtain details about why the customer disagrees
    • refer the file to an Operational Leader/Quality Development Officer for investigation
  • requests additional time, hold the activity for a maximum of 7 days from the response date listed in the Q289 letter. After this time, no further extensions should be granted, and staff must resume the recovery process
  • refuses to enter an arrangement and has:
    • received a Q289 letter, tell them their employer will be contacted to place a wage garnishee. They will receive a notice with details of the garnishee. Go to Step 15
    • not received a Q289 letter, document the conversation on the customer's record, go to Step 14

10

Unsuccessful customer contact attempt

Was a message left for the customer to call back?

  • Yes:
    • hold the MFU activity for 2 business days
    • DOC the customer's record, detailing the outbound call attempt. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debt Recovery > Single Touch Payroll Recovery > STP- First Customer Call Attempt
    • procedure ends here
  • No:
    • DOC the customer's record, detailing the outbound call attempt. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debt Recovery > Single Touch Payroll Recovery > STP- First Customer Call Attempt
    • go to Step 14

11

Exclusions

A customer can be excluded from the STP data match process because of their circumstances. For example, the customer is experiencing vulnerability or severe financial hardship or are at risk.

Consider the customer's circumstances, including any identified vulnerability they may be experiencing, to determine how best to assist the customer

To assess severe financial hardship, first engage in conversation with the customer to gather information about the circumstances. After considering the information provided, if there is doubt about their circumstances, a more detailed financial assessment may be conducted.

Are there circumstances for the customer where an exclusion may be required?

12

Exclude customer from STP data match

To exclude the customer from the STP process:

  • 'S'elect the MFU from the AL screen, to go to the OPSTE screen
  • in the Finalise activity field, key Y to go to the OPSTX screen
  • key EXC (Exclude from ETP selection) and the date the customer is to be excluded to finalise the activity
  • code an exclusion end date of 3 months, unless one of the following applies:
    • a discussion with the customer identifies a longer period of hardship/vulnerability, code an exclusion end date to a maximum of 6 months, or
    • the customer is living in a declared emergency area, code an exclusion end date of 6 months (customer contact is not required)
  • an online document is automatically created on the customer's record with the details of the STP data
  • if the customer has:
    • been advised of the data match, DOC the customer's record detailing the decision and reason for exclusion
    • not been advised of the data match, delete the STP DOC
  • expire the 'STP - Recovery' DOA DOC
  • procedure ends here

If the customer:

13

Payment arrangement

Negotiate a new arrangement to recover the debt:

  • record the arrangement and document the customer's file. See Arranging cash repayments to recover debts
  • 'S'elect the MFU from the AL screen
  • when the OPSTE screen shows, key Y in the Finalise activity field
  • on the OPSTX screen, key ARR (Payment Arrangement Coded) to finalise the activity
  • an online document is automatically created on the customer's record with details of the STP data
  • expire the 'STP - Recovery' DOA DOC
  • procedure ends here

14

Send Q289 letter to the customer

Interest Charges (IC) must be updated before sending a Q289 letter. This must be completed in Customer First for DMIS debts, and Process Direct for Child Care Subsidy debts.

If the customer has a correspondence nominee, a copy of the Q289 letter must be issued to both the customer and nominee.

Compare the address from the STP data with the address start date on the Address History (ADH) screen. Send a manual Q289 letter to the address with the most recent date.

Do not send an 'Ask employer for employment details' (Q609) letter. STP data match information is sufficient to confirm employment. STP information updates regularly and includes payroll event start and end dates.

DOC the customer's record detailing the issuing of the Q289 letter. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debt Recovery > Single Touch Payroll Recovery > STP- Data Match Q289 Letter sent.

The Q289 letter must allow the customer 14 days to respond. Do not adjust this date to allow additional days for delivery.

Hold the STP MFU activity for 14 days plus additional delivery days depending on the customer’s location.

Do not apply a wage garnishee unless the customer has been advised of the data match. If the Q289 letter has been returned to sender, see Table 2 in Safeguarding customer privacy when raising and recovering debts. If a new address is obtained, reissue the letter.

Did the customer respond and enter into a payment arrangement?

15

Consider garnishee

A final call attempt can be made to customers to seek a voluntary payment arrangement before contacting the employer to commence a wage garnishee.

Consider issuing a wage garnishee, see Garnishees.

Customer suitable for wage garnishee

If the customer is suitable for a wage garnishee on STP data match employer:

  • locate the customer's employer using the STP Employer Details (OPSED) screen. Phone the employer to confirm the best way to issue paperwork to their payroll area. For example, by post, fax or email
  • locate the company's legal name via the 'ABN Lookup' link on the Resources page. Send garnishee notices to the legal business/company name, not the trading name
  • 'S'elect the MFU from the AL screen:
    • select Continue to view the OPSTE screen
    • in the Finalise Activity box, key Y to view the OPSTX screen
  • key GRN (Garnishee Coded) to finalise the activity
  • an online document will automatically create on the customer's record with the details of the STP data
  • to apply the wage garnishee, see Table 3 in Garnishee of continuing income to recover debts

Staff may attempt to locate employer contact numbers through White/Yellow Pages, Google/Bing or ABN searches only where the STP match contains:

  • no employer contact number or the listed number is not answered, or
  • an employer contact number is for an area other than payroll and the person is unable/unwilling to provide contact information for their payroll department

If payroll details are not confirmed via phone after completing relevant searches:

  • issue the garnishee letter to the employer using the address obtained via White/Yellow Pages, Google/Bing or ABN search
  • make sure the envelope is marked private and confidential with 'Attention: payroll staff in confidence'
Customer not suitable for wage garnishee

If the customer is not suitable for a wage garnishee on STP data match employer:

  • document the customer record, to indicate the customer is not suitable for garnishee at this time
  • 'S'elect the MFU from the AL screen:
    • select Continue to view the OPSTE screen
    • in the Finalise Activity box, key Y to view the OPSTX screen
  • key EXC (Exclude from ETP selection) on the OPSTX screen to finalise the activity
  • code an exclusion end date of 1 month