Provision of Tax File Number (TFN) for family assistance and Paid Parental Leave scheme payments 007-07010020

Customers claiming Family Tax Benefit (FTB) or Stillborn Baby Payment (SBP) must provide their (and their partner's) Tax File Number (TFN) before the payment can be granted. Note: the partner's TFN statement is not required for a Parental Leave Pay (PPL) claim.

In some instances, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) may issue a replacement TFN to a customer. The customer may notify of the new TFN verbally or as part of a claim. Coding follows normal TFN processes as below.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) cannot be granted without TFN(s) being supplied or an exemption being approved. If CCS is granted with a TFN mismatch, entitlement will reduce to zero after 56 days and will not be reinstated until TFN(s) are supplied. CCS entitlement will be reinstated from the date the nil rate applied.
Note: if the TFN was provided before 9 February 2018 following a mismatch, select (top right corner of Child Care summary screen) to force a reassessment of any periods of nil entitlement. If this is not undertaken, the customer will automatically be reassessed for these periods at reconciliation.

Do not record TFNs in a DOC and do not make any paper record of the TFN provided.

If the customer is lodging a claim for FTB/SBP/CCS/PPL, they need to make a TFN statement when they claim online or on the paper claim form. See Resources page for more information about TFN statements.

Check that a TFN statement has been made for the customer (and their partner) on their claim.

• If TFN provided, go to Step 10
• If the customer (or partner) does not have a TFN or cannot access it, see Helping customers obtain a TFN for Family Assistance. Procedure ends here
• If TFN statement is not made on claim, go to Step 2

If the customer is not lodging a claim and:

• Is advising they have previously provided their TFN, go to Step 4
• Is advising their TFN by phone, go to Step 5
• Does not have a TFN or cannot access their TFN, or is lodging a TFN application or enquiry form, see Helping customers obtain a TFN for Family Assistance. Procedure ends here

If FTB/CCS/SBP/PPL claim is otherwise effective

• Send a request for information, see Requesting information (CLK)
• TFN must be provided on claim form or another approved form, per sections 8(6) and 67BE of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act 1999 or per section 59 Paid Parental Leave Act 2010. See Resources page for more information about TFN statements
• Go to Step 3

If claim is for CCS see

• Exemption from providing Tax File Numbers when claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• If claim is otherwise not effective, advise customer why claim cannot be assessed. See:
• Not effective, rejection, or withdrawal of claim for Family Tax Benefit or Stillborn Baby Payment
• Claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS)

If customer provides TFN, go to Step 10.

FTB legislation does not allow for exemptions for the customer under any circumstances.

However, a temporary or indefinite exemption from supplying their partner's TFN for FTB can be granted in limited circumstances. A Social Worker may need to be involved. The Resources page contains a link to the Families and Child Care Level 2 Policy Helpdesk.

For customers claiming on behalf of a deceased person, an exemption can be granted only where:

• the claimant is unable to provide the TFN of the deceased person, or
• a TFN statement of the deceased person's partner

For more information about exemptions, see References.

• If customer provides TFN, go to Step 10
• If customer cannot provide their or their partner's TFN, go to Step 12
• If the customer can provide their TFN but not their partner's go to Step 7

Has the customer previously claimed a family assistance payment and a TFN has been provided and recorded?

• Yes, the TFN can be re-used for the current claim. The Auth: field will default to 'Y' for the service reason being assessed for the customer and their partner if applicable. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 5

Customers can advise of their TFN by phone if:

• they or their partner have made a TFN statement that did not include the TFN, and
• they are now able to provide the TFN

Exception: if the customer is being reviewed due to a Personal Identity Discrepancy, refer them to the appropriate contact person. Check Document List (DL)/Future Activity List (FAL)/History Summary (HS) screens.

Note: do not record TFNs in a DOC and do not make any paper record of the TFN provided over the phone.

Record TFN directly on the TFN screen. Read back the TFN to the customer to check it is correct before pressing [Enter].

If a claim activity exists:

• select the activity to record the TFN
• update the claim progress DOC, or
• if no claim progress DOC exists, record details on a Note/DOC
• transfer activity back to Processing Service

If claim activity is awaiting data load and/or partner linking, go to Step 6.

If no claim activity exists or an interstate transfer is required to link partner, warm handoff to Processing Services to follow-up claim or reassessment.

• Select Processing Service according to claim type:
• Look up Processing Service details for: FTB PPL BBY Claims - Processing
• Look up Processing Service details for CCS (Child Care Subsidy)
• See Processing claims for Stillborn Baby Payment (SBP) for more information

Procedure ends here.

To link partner, see Family assistance customer becomes partnered.

• Select NCL activity
• On the Claim Summary page, review the information
• To upload claim data into the FAO new claim activity, select Process
• Check that the TFN is currently recorded on the Tax File Number Summary (TFS) screen or Tax File Number (TFN) screen for an appropriate service reason
• update the claim progress DOC, or
• if no claim progress DOC exists, record details on a Note/DOC
• If not recorded or only previously recorded for social security payments update TFN details and record that TFN for customer and/or partner has been updated:
• update the claim progress DOC, or
• if no claim progress DOC exists, record details on a Note/DOC
• Transfer to Processing Service according to claim type:
• Look up Processing Service details for: FTB PPL BBY Claims - Processing
• Look up Processing Service details for CCS (Child Care Subsidy)

Procedure ends here.

Offer the customer a referral to a social worker to discuss their circumstances, if:

• the customer is unable to provide their partner or previous partner’s TFN due to family and domestic violence circumstances, or
• their partner is refusing to supply their TFN,

Tell the customer a social worker may be able to make a decision about whether a temporary TFN exemption is appropriate.

Transfer the customer to the Smart Centre social worker. For contact details, see Social work service referral. The assessment may not occur during this phone call. The social worker will either undertake the assessment or advise the customer of further action required.

If a Smart Centre social worker is not available:

• run the Social Worker Referral Procedure
• select the ‘Family and Domestic Violence’ referral reason, and ‘Support Required’ referral details
• include the following additional information, and any other relevant issues/details in the Guided Procedure:
• Customer unable to provide partner or previous partner’s TFN
• Families TFN exemption required
• Reason: (Family and Domestic Violence Concerns / Partner refusal)
• check the customer's phone number is correct

Following local guidelines, contact the social worker within the local service centre, or allow the customer to speak to a social worker via phone in a private area. For contact details, see Social work service referral. They will either undertake the assessment or advise the further steps the customer needs to take.

If the social worker is not available:

• run the Social Worker Referral Guided Procedure
• select the ‘Family and Domestic Violence’ referral reason, and ‘Support Required’ referral details
• include the following additional information, and any other relevant issues/details in the Guided Procedure:
• Customer unable to provide partner or previous partner’s TFN
• Families TFN exemption required
• Reason: (Family and Domestic Violence Concerns / Partner refusal)
• check the customer's phone number is correct

Annotate the Claim progress DOC and put the claim on hold for 5 days.

Social worker receives referral, go to Step 8.

It is the responsibility of the social worker to undertake a professional assessment to determine:

• where the customer has or is experiencing family and domestic violence from their partner or previous partner
• whether the partner or previous partner could become violent or there are safety concerns to the customer and/or child(ren) if they were to request their partner or previous partner’s TFN

To make a determination, the Social Worker must:

• annotate the Claim progress DOC to advise ‘social work assessment is in progress’
• complete a file assessment of the customer’s record

If there is:

• sufficient family and domestic violence information on the record which verifies the above assessment criteria, the social worker can complete a recommendation. There is no requirements to contact the customer
• no information on the customer’s record or further information is required for the assessment, the social worker is to:
• conduct a phone or face to face interview with the customer, and
• gather information for the purpose of the assessment

The social worker must make 2 genuine contact attempts to the customer over 2 business days. See Genuine attempts to contact by phone. No third party verification or evidence is required for this assessment.

Note: contact should be made if the social worker determines the customer requires family and domestic violence support and intervention including safety planning.

All social work information relating to the assessment, including sensitive information relating to any social work interventions provided must be recorded in a Social Work Information System (SWIS) Case Note, including:

• a Child Safety Notification, or
• Release of Information in the Public Interest

If additional social work intervention is provided, the social worker must include this in a DOC.

Go to Step 9.

Once a recommendation has been made, create a DOC and include the following information:

• Summary Line: TFN exemption for ptr/ex-ptr GRANTED/NOT GRANTED (delete what is not applicable)
• Body: Social worker has determined the customer is/is not (delete what is not applicable) eligible for a TFN exemption from supplying their partner’s/ex-partner’s TFN due to FDV.
• Indefinite/Temporary (delete what is not applicable) - If temporary, provide end date:
• the record has been 'Referred to Families & Child Care Level 2 Policy Helpdesk for coding'

Refer to the Families and Child Care Level 2 Policy Helpdesk for coding and include the above information in the referral. See the Resources page for a link to the Helpdesk.

Record the referral in SWIS

• Recording the referral:
• Customer Status: as applicable
• Referral Source: select ‘DHS’ and in the drop down list select appropriate option
• Referral Issues: select ‘Family and Domestic Violence’ and 2 selections as applicable
• Recording the contact:
• Contact Type: field select ‘Interview in CSC - Face to Face’, ‘Phone Interview’ or ‘File/Paper Assessment’
• Entitlement Decision: leave blank
• Social Work Intervention: select ‘Safety/Wellbeing Assessment’ and ‘Counselling/Support’ and choose another option depending on the intervention provided
• Outcome of Intervention: select ‘Information Collected’ and ‘Issues Addressed’ or choose another option depending on the outcome

Once the exemption is coded, the Helpdesk will annotate the Social Worker determination DOC.

When the claim comes off hold, staff are to check this DOC for the determination decision. If the exemption has been recorded:

• Select the activity to record the TFN
• The Auth: field defaults to 'Y' for the service reason being assessed
• If the customer has a partner, repeat the above steps for their TFN details (if the social worker has determined an exemption from supplying their partner’s TFN is appropriate, see Exemption from supplying their partner’s TFN for FTB):
• update the claim progress DOC, or
• if no claim progress DOC exists, record details on a Note/DOC

TFNs may need to be removed or blacked out from paper records if the records are:

• to be sent to an external organisation, or
• if a customer provides a document showing their TFN and Services Australia has not requested their TFN details

Paper files and documentation containing TFNs must be stored securely to guard against unauthorised access, use or disclosure of the TFN.

If a customer loses their TFN, staff must not disclose their TFN to them. Customers can find their TFN through their myGov account if they have the ATO linked or they can visit the ATO website for more information on obtaining their TFN. See Requesting a Tax File Number (TFN).

Procedure ends here.

• Advise customer that FTB/SBP/CCS claim cannot be assessed because TFN(s) have not been provided and that customer will need to re-claim
• The FTB/SBP claim is not effective
• The PPL claim is not effective
• The CCS claim is not effective
• An auto advice will be sent by the system
• Record details on a DOC