Recording not required to lodge advice and previous year income 007-11010080

Where a person is not required to lodge a tax return for a previous financial year, a not required to lodge advice and income confirmation is needed for:

• Family Tax Benefit (FTB)/Child Care Benefit (CCB) reconciliation
• FTB/CCB lump sum claim
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation, or
• Single Income Family Supplement (SIFS) claim

Partner contact: If the partner is a Person Permitted to Enquire (PPE):

• an income declaration can be accepted if the partner could reasonably be expected to provide the income. A new income declaration can be sought if they contact for other reasons
• not required to lodge advice for the customer can be accepted

If allocated a Non-lodgement work item, go to Step 4.

Providing non-lodgement advice:

Customers can advise details online or via the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app unless:

• the customer is advising non-lodgement for a financial year more than 3 financial years in the past
• reconciliation has already completed and the customer is only adjusting income, or
• for CCS, if they are advising 'not required to lodge' for an ex-partner

In these circumstances, they will need to speak to a Service Officer. This cannot be updated online.

Ensure they are aware of their obligations to check their circumstances with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and the consequences of an incorrect assessment.

If the customer has:

• Contacted to advise they are not required to lodge a tax return and they are:
• receiving CCS and need to code ex-partner details, see Table 4, Step 1
• any other FTB, CCB or CCS customer, go to Step 2
• Completed an ATO non lodgement advice via the ATO, go to Step 10
• Advised they are required to lodge a tax return but they want to revise their income estimate for the previous financial year, see Recording or updating income estimates for previous years for family assistance payments. Procedure ends here
• Advised they are not required to lodge within a Family Tax Benefit lump sum claim, see Table 6, Step 5

For QOL checker instructions, see Table 6, Step 6

Bulk reconciliation will only occur for FTB customers who, for all the days in the relevant financial year:

• were single
• on an Income Support Payment (ISP)
• not subjected to an employment income nil rate period, and
• did not receive CCS

CCS customers will not be reconciled as part of this process.

Does the customer meet the criteria for bulk reconciliation?

• Yes:
• Tell the customer that their FTB will be balanced after they have received their final payment for the last financial year
• Go to Activity List (AL) screen and 'C'ancel any non-lodgement related started FAO/REA activity and/or Family Assistance Office/Document for the relevant financial year. There is no need to confirm income details. FTB instalments are not income tested for single income support customers. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

Staff must tell FTB and CCS customers who are not required to lodge a tax return that they should notify Services Australia using their Centrelink online account through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app (excluding CCS customers notifying ex-partner is not required to lodge).

If they agree to update details using self service and need help, see:

• Family assistance and Paid Parental Leave scheme options online
• Accessing and using Centrelink self service (ensure they are using the latest version)

Staff must make sure they are not in the customer’s record in Customer First or Process Direct when assisting the customer to submit their online update. The update will fail and drop through as a work item or transaction needing manual completion by staff.

Staff should only run the Family Assistance Office non lodgement exemption workflow in Customer First if the customer:

• has language or literacy barriers affecting their capacity to complete updates online or
• advising non-lodgement for a year more than 3 years in the past
• is reluctant or refuses to use the online channel, and every attempt has been made to encourage them and they still decline

Will the customer use self service to complete the non-lodgement advice?

• Yes, procedure ends here
• No, see Table 2, Step 1

Non-lodgement work items are created when the customer has provided their non-lodgement advice via online or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, but the update has not automatically completed.

All Non-lodgement work items must be actioned in Customer First.

There are two different work item types that could be allocated for manual completion:

• ZIAM_NONLDG_GEN (work item opens in Customer First), and
• ZCOC_FAO_NONLDG (work item opens in Customer First but may have a corresponding Process Direct work item. These must be actioned in Customer First)

Do not place ZCOC_FAO_NONLDG work items on hold.

The work items may be duplicated, therefore it is important to check for and complete both the:

• Integrated System (ISIS) activity (viewable via AL screen) and
• any associated Customer First (CF) SAP Interaction Record/s
• once these are completed, this will automatically complete the associated Process Direct Work Item

Checking the incomplete update

View the Note in the Customer First interaction history. This will provide details about why the 'not required to lodge' update did not automatically complete.

For both Process Direct and Customer First work items, staff will need to access Customer First to view the Note and complete the update:

• Select the CRN/BP hyperlink to go to Customer Details
• Select the Interaction History tab
• Select the relevant ID hyperlink
• Select the Note tab
• Select the Text hyperlink to view the full activity notes

The Note will contain the following text:

'Customer finalised online but the ISIS activity didn't start, or could not be completed. Complete Activity/Assessment if applicable. The following error message was recorded:'

Updates to FIPY and/or FNLE screens must be completed in Customer First. Detail of the income provided in the online update and the reason for the FNLE coding is found in the Note tab.

Where the customer has submitted the non-lodgement advice multiple times for the same financial year, check the interaction Notes against information recorded on FIPY and FNLE screens:

• Do not update FIPY unless there is new income information in the Note not already recorded on FIPY
• Do not update FNLE unless a non-lodger exemption is appropriate and is not already recorded for that year for the customer (or partner if applicable)
• Do not update FNLE if the customer (or partner if applicable) has since lodged a tax return
• Where updates are not required on FIPY and/or FNLE, mark the work item as completed

The Process Direct work item will be automatically marked as completed once the Interaction Record in Customer First is marked as Complete.

For:

• E193AM - Task XXX on another activity needs to be finished first, go to Step 5
• E028FY - Online Self Service Assessment activity has stopped for Manual Intervention. These activities are completed by the Manual Intervention team. Follow normal escalation procedures, see Manual intervention into family assistance reconciliation
• The activity was not completed as arrears were over $10,000, go to Step 6
• E199F1 - Income Year cannot be later than current income year, check the income year that has been used, confirm correct year with customer, go to Step 7
• INTERNAL.CLIENT_RECEIVE_FAILED Error while receiving by HTTP, follow-up error and resolve, go to Step 7
• FAMIV screen displays or FCRAS adjustment required. These activities are to be completed by the Manual Intervention Team. Follow normal escalation procedures. If activity is a failed online non-lodger update, take note of the work item ID to add to the escalation ACTDOC

If another STA activity has prevented the not required to lodge update from completing, a Service Officer with appropriate skills must action all outstanding activities on the customer's record.

Check for ISIS activities on Activity List (AL) screen, and Customer First SAP native processes such as Interaction Records.

For activities on AL with MIV, see Manual intervention into family assistance reconciliation or, for out of scope activities, follow appropriate handoff procedures.

When STA activities on AL are complete, check for any duplicate Change of Circumstances - Non-lodgement advice Interaction Records on the customer's record and complete them.

Go to Step 7.

The following message will display:

Customer notified that they are not required to lodge a Tax Return for xx/xx. The activity was not completed as arrears/debt of over $10,000. Check the update and complete the activity.

These activities require manual completion by staff who hold the relevant manual intervention skill tag:

For FTB:

• Place the #NLTR activity on hold, with a resubmit date of 14 days
• Using Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Reconciliation > Outstanding MIV activity. If the customer is at risk or experiencing hardship, the URGENT keyword should also be added

For CCS:

• A work item and activity should have been created and sent to specialist staff for review. See Reconciliation of CCS
• Procedure ends here

For MIV Staff see: Manual intervention due to large arrears, large debts and the provision of actual income by the ATO or Manual intervention for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation

Within the activity:

• navigate to the FRCS screen for the financial year the activity is being completed, and
• place a ‘V’ in the FTB Reco Completed line

This will navigate to the FAMIV screen.

Is there a Manual Intervention (MIV) reason displayed?

• Yes, use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Reconciliation > Outstanding MIV activity to send details to the MIV team for investigation
• If the customer is at risk or experiencing hardship, add the URGENT keyword
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 8

Do not place ZCOC_FAO_NONLDG work items on hold.

View the result on the Assessment Results (AR) screen.

FTB/CCB and SIFS reconciliation may be triggered if all required information is available. Note: for the 2017-18 and later financial years, customers must meet the SIFS grandfathering provisions to be entitled to payment of SIFS.

If an undetermined qualification debt is included in the FTB reconciliation result, do not finalise the activity. For help identifying these debts and for what to do, see Qualification debt identified in FTB reconciliation result or when completing activity that triggers FTB reconciliation.

If the result is correct, the activity can be finalised.

Check for any duplicate Change of Circumstances - Non-Lodgement advice Interaction Records on the customer's record and complete them. Duplicate activities may present in:

• Integrated System (ISIS) activity (viewable via AL screen)
• Customer First (CF) SAP Interaction Record/s

If the result is not correct, follow the site's normal escalation process. See Enquiries about FTB reconciliation or lump sum claim for how to check reconciliation results.

The online service has validation checks that compare the income declared by the customer with the information available on record. The update provided by the customer must be finalised to ensure their income details are updated on the record for FTB, CCB and CCS. For example, if:

• the interaction notes state that the non-lodger has not been accepted due to one or more of the below reasons:
• income is over the tax free threshold
• income includes exempt reportable fringe benefits, reportable superannuation contributions, net investment losses or tax-exempt foreign income
• income had tax withheld
• they were self employed or had an interest in a business
• they paid or were entitled to receive child support and were not on income support for the full financial year
• the income estimate will be updated on the FAO Income for Previous Year (FIPY) screen if it was considered reasonable, but a non-lodgement exemption will not be recorded on the Non-Lodgement Exemption(FNLE) screen

Once the not required to lodge advice update has been completed, staff must check for and complete any associated Customer First (CF) SAP and/or Process Direct Interaction Record/s.

In Customer First:

• Go to Workspace and select Online Interaction Summary from the Customer Online Account assignment block. The Search Criteria will pre-fill
• Select Search
• Select the relevant row entry relating to the work item ID from in the Results List - note this work item ID
• Select Change Status
• Select Completed from the selection
• Select Save button (above the Results List and on the right of the other buttons) once appropriate action has been chosen

Note: By completing both the AL activity and the SAP Interaction, this will automatically complete the associated Process Direct work item.

Non-lodgement advice has been lodged with the ATO (either verbally or online via a 'return not necessary' notification).

Check the Non-Lodgement Exemption (FNLE) screen. If the ATO has provided a 'return not necessary' notification, the FNLE screen will display 'ATO exemption'.

Does it display ATO exemption?

• Yes, the information has been transferred from the ATO
• For FTB, reconciliation may occur using income recorded FAO Income for Previous Year (FIPY) screen for the financial year
  If income is not recorded on the FIPY screen, the most recent estimate recorded for that financial year will be used
• Check the FIPY screen or income screens in reconciliation if already completed to ensure their previous year estimate is reasonable. Manually a code revised pervious year estimate if provided. Record a DOC. See Table 3, Step 2
• For CCS, all customers are required to confirm their income, (that is, income must be recorded on the FIPY screen), even if they have told the ATO they are not required to lodge. Manually code the previous financial year income on the FIPY screen
• No, the information has not been transferred from the ATO
• Complete an FRAI refresh for the relevant financial year on the record of the outstanding lodger to request details from ATO. The FRAI refresh must be coded on either the customer or partner record in Customer First, depending on whose income is needed
• Check the FIPY screen for income. If previous year income not been coded, collect the information from the customer and manually code the previous financial year income on the FIPY screen
• If a previously provided 'not required to lodge' advice was 'not accepted' by Centrelink, a subsequent non-lodgement exemption update cannot be completed unless there are genuine changes to the declaration, if incorrect income was provided. The customer must wait until the ATO transfers details of the tax return or non-lodgement advice

Note: do not delete or correct an ATO 'return not necessary' notification recorded on the FNLE screen as ATO exemption.

It is preferred that customers advise non-lodgement using self service channels. Only run this workflow if either:

• the customer has language or literacy barriers affecting their capacity to complete updates via self-service
• the customer is advising non-lodgement for a year more than 3 years in the past

Remind customers of the importance of accurately providing their income within the non-lodgement advice so that their entitlements are correctly assessed. If the customer is unsure of their lodgement requirements, customers are to use the 'Do I need to lodge' tool on the ATO website.

Reasons customers are required to lodge a tax return include:

• Having taxable income above the relevant tax free threshold
• Having paid tax or had tax withheld from any source of Australian income, regardless of the amount paid, including income support payments
• Being a liable or recipient parent of a child support assessment and did not receive an income support payment (ISP) for the full financial year
• Having an interest in a business, such as being self employed
• Having reportable fringe benefits, reportable superannuation contributions, net investment losses or tax exempt foreign income

Check the following information to determine the customer or their partners circumstances.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) data can be viewed on the STP Data for FTB Customer (STPF) screen in Process Direct.

Select Help on the STPF screen for more information about the screen fields.

Enter the relevant Financial Year and select search.

This will display Payroll Data Indicators for the customer and partner where applicable:

• Payroll information exists for customer/partner will present with Y if their employer has provided information
• A tax return is required (based on STP data only) will present a Y if there is a reason the customer/partner is to lodge a tax return, otherwise this will be N
• Customer/Partner reasons for tax return will display if the customer/partner has a tax return requirement:
• had tax withheld, regardless of the amount of income
• taxable income above the tax free threshold
• any amount of reportable fringe benefits, reportable superannuation contributions or tax exempt foreign income
• Payroll information will display the amount of salary and wages for the customer only. Partner income will not be displayed

Note: the 'Reconciliation income source' field on the STPF screen should not be used to determine if income has been confirmed or if reconciliation has completed.

In Customer First, view their ISP status on the FTB Income Support Explanation (FTBISPX) screen. Check payment periods on the Benefit Status (XBS) screen. This can impact which exemption reason code should be used

In Customer First, go to the Maintenance Explanation Summary (MNEX) screen and change the financial year to the year the customer is advising non-lodgement for. If:

• there is an amount (including $0.00) on the MNEX screen, the customer/partner may have had a child support assessment during the relevant financial year. If the amount shows as $0.00, go to the Maintenance Entitlement Group Summary (MNGS) suite of screens (Maintenance Action Result (MNMR) and Maintenance Child Annual Entitlement (MNCE) screens for the relevant child) to check what the $0.00 represents
• the amount was $0.00 because the customer/partner:
• had a child support assessment of $0.00, record Yes to the question 'Were you entitled to receive child support?' in the workflow
• did not have a child support assessment (e.g. the child support payer was deceased, the children were all from the current relationship, the children were all exempt from the MAT), record No to the question 'Were you entitled to receive child support?' in the workflow

Check the Foreign Income/Assets/Pension Summary (FIPS) screen for any foreign pension income. Take note of this amount to include in the Foreign Income section of the workflow.

In Customer First, check the Blended Families Split FTB Rate (FBSR) screen. If they are from a blended family in the relevant financial year, run the workflow on both records.

Information from the following screens can help to determine if a customer's income and non-lodgement declaration is reasonable:

• Employment income (EANS)
• Taxable entitlement (TXGS)
• Real estate and business (REBS)
• Non- taxable entitlement (TXGS) (note that Remote Area Allowance RAA is included as a non-taxable entitlement on TXGS but is not assessable income for FTB or CCS)
• Tax withheld (TXGS)
• Tax year to date (TXYTD)
• Trust and companies (TRCIAS)
• Pensions Income and Asset Summary (PIAS)
• PPP Income Summary (PGIA)
• NSS Income Summary (NIS)
• Other Income Summary (OINS)
• Savings Summary (SVS)
• Financial Investments Summary (IVIS)
• Families Income Summary Details (FISD)
• FTB Income Support Payment Explanation (FTBISPX)
• Payment Summary (PS)

• Yes, further discuss the lodgement requirement with the customer. If the customer:
• agrees that a tax return is needed, record details of the discussion. If there is no income on FIPY for the relevant year in Customer First, obtain income details in case the customer completes an ATO non lodgement advice with the ATO. See Updating previous financial year incomes for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Subsidy (CCS). Procedure ends here
• wants to proceed with the non-lodgement declaration, see Table 3
• No, the non-lodgement declaration seems reasonable, see Table 3

If the workflow is unavailable, record the 'not required to lodge' advice manually. See Table 5, Step 1.

Note: the workflow must only be run in Customer First.

The workflow should only be completed on the record of the person who received FTB/CCS in the relevant financial year. If both members of a couple received FTB/CCS at any stage during the financial year, or are both paid FTB as a blended family, run the workflow on both records.

Ex-partners

For FTB, if an estimate is provided for an ex-partner, there is no need to access or code an activity on the ex-partner's record, except where a blended family assessment applied for the ex-partner period.

For CCS, ex-partner updates cannot be completed via this workflow and will need to be coded separately within Process Direct. See Table 4, Step 1.

Source and Receipt page

Read message to the customer about accepting income details and the declaration in order to finalise their entitlement for the relevant financial year.

• Select the source and receipt details. If the failed online update was cancelled, the date of receipt needs to match the one used in the cancelled activity
• Select the relevant financial year. To display earlier years, select More

Select the person/s the customer is advising details for - customer, partner or ex-partner.

The workflow will display income details for the person in the Information on record section if they received income support payments during the relevant financial year.

The Service Officer must check the customer's responses to non-lodgement questions against information on record.

The Information on record section will display non-taxable components that are reportable to the ATO, but not all of these need to be included in the estimate of income, for example Carer Allowance, Pension Basic Supplement for Jobseeker principal carers.

Non-lodgement questions

Ask each question about their income circumstances for the financial year and record their answer, 'Yes' or 'No'.

Their responses will help to determine whether Services Australia can accept their not required to lodge advice, or if they must discuss lodgement with the ATO.

Note: Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payments are not taxable and do not need to be included as income.

Ask the customer to advise the amount for each adjusted taxable income (ATI) component.

• Code the estimated amount in the New column for each of the ATI components (the box is disabled and an amount cannot be coded if they answered No on the question assessment page)
• If actual income details have been transferred from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) (provided by ATO), the relevant income questions will be defaulted to 'Yes' and disabled
• If they advise nil income, leave the field blank or code $'0'
• If the customer/partner/ex-partner received any income support payments during the relevant financial year, information will display in the Information on record section in the workflow. If an income amount less than that displaying in this section is advised, this must be discussed

Income Support Payment (ISP) pre-fill

Amounts for Taxable Income and Tax Free Pension/Benefit should prefill from the Tax Payment Summary (TXGS) screen for the customer or partner. If a $0 amount is prefilled but the workflow produces a warning message indicating that there should be an amount of Taxable or Tax Free Pension/Benefit from income support payments, it may be that:

• Centrelink ISP was current in the previous financial year, however ISP payment was not paid in the previous financial year. For example:
• ISP is current at zero rate or ISP was granted for a date in the previous financial year, and
• arrears were paid in the next financial year
• DVA ISP was current in the previous financial year and the amount needs to be included as income in the non-lodgement advice

If this message appears, check the:

• amount of income support on TXGS screen
• ISP amounts on the Payment Summary (PS) screen. If arrears were paid in a later financial year, the amounts do not need to be included in income confirmation for the earlier financial year. To record the correct income, the non-lodgement advice needs to be recorded manually. See Table 5

For an example see Table 2, Scenario 5 on the Resources page.

If a reasonable estimate is determined, an explanation must be recorded in the Fast Note.

Their answers to the following questions may require more details to be added to the Fast Note:

• Did you or your partner have any tax withheld from any income or payments?
• the Information on record section will indicate if the person had any tax withheld from their income support payments
• if an amount greater than $0.00 is displayed, the Service Officer must record 'Yes' to this question
• Did you pay any child support?
• the most recent estimate for Deductible Child Maintenance Expenditure in the relevant financial year is displayed in the workflow under the Current column on the Income Details page
• if an amount greater than $0.00 is displayed, but the customer advises no child support was paid, the Service Officer must record an explanation in the Fast Note

Single Income family Supplement (SIFS) is assessed using taxable income. An estimate of all ATI components is requested to ensure the taxable income estimate is reasonable. SIFS can only be paid for a partnered period if partner income is known (reasonable estimate or taxable income details transferred from ATO). For the 2017-18 and later years, customers must meet the SIFS grandfathering provisions for payment of SIFS at reconciliation.

Helping families provide a reasonable annual income estimate for family assistance payments.

CDP wages

Community Development Program (CDP) wage customers may need help obtaining CDP income details.

If they do not have their Payment Summary and are unable to contact their provider to obtain one, ask them if they give their permission to contact the ATO.

• If they give permission, request CDP income details. If the ATO advises the information is not available, help them provide a reasonable estimate. Check income recorded on the Other Government Payments Summary (OGPS) and Other Income Summary (OINS) screens
• If they do not give permission, advise them to contact once their CDP income is known

Consider if the income declaration appears reasonable

If the customer advises an amount less than the Information on Record section and the Service Officer determines the income is reasonable, they must record an explanation in the Fast Note.

This applies only to the income details provided, not the non-lodgement advice.

For example, the 'not required to lodge exemption' may not be accepted based on answers to the income questions, but income details are considered reasonable based on information on record and the discussion. This will mean the income is recorded if they lodge an ATO non-lodgement advice.

Take into account the reason for the update, their responses, their income estimate, and details in the Information on record section. These details are to be used as a guide only.

• Information is read from these screens:
• Employment income (EANS)
• Taxable entitlement (TXGS)
• Real estate and business (REBS)
• Non- taxable entitlement (TXGS)
• Tax withheld (TXGS)
• Trust and companies (TRCIAS)
• Tax Year To Date Totals (TXYTD)
• Other Income Summary (OINS)
• Savings Summary (SVS)
• Financial Investments Summary (IVIS)
• Payment Summary (PS)
• Income details from these screens have been rounded up. These amounts can be used in the income fields, there is no need to round them down
• If taxable income was received, including an income support payment, 'Yes' must be answered to the first question in the workflow, and the amount of benefit received entered in the Taxable income field
• If a tax free pension was received, the amount must be entered into the Tax free pension/ benefit field. This must be entered even if they advise the only income received was a Centrelink pension or benefit
• Check for income on the following screens:
• PPP Income Summary (PGIA) - check for any employment income and investments if in receipt of Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP)
• Pensions Income and Asset Summary (PIAS) - check for any employment income and investments if in receipt of a pension
• NSS Income Summary (NIS) - check for any employment income and investments if in receipt of a NSS payment
• Maintenance Explanation Summary (MNEX) - if there is an amount greater than $0.00, the customer/partner has been entitled to receive child support
• Families Income Summary Details (FISD) - check Most Recent Estimate (MRE) for relevant financial year for amounts and whether any deductible child maintenance expenditure was estimated
• Single Touch Payroll Families (STPF) in Process Direct - check for taxable income above the tax free threshold, income components that require a tax return and tax return required indicators on the screen. A SAP refresh may be needed to see the latest information on this screen

Errors:

• E027FY - Nil estimate on (customer/partner) is not reasonable
• E135FI -'ISP customer's estimate needs Taxable Income and Tax-Free Pension

If either of the above errors is preventing a claim or activity from being finalised, obtain and update a reasonable combined family income estimate from the customer. This will allow the affected activity to complete. See Action needed when warning W223FY, estimate check edit E027FY or E135FI present.

When running the workflow, staff are asked to indicate, 'Based on the discussion you have had and using the information on record, does the income declaration appear reasonable?'

Staff can use income in the Information on record section to guide this discussion with the customer.

• Select 'No' to this question if:
• it appears the customer had income during the year which they are not including in their non-lodgement declaration, or
• the income figure provided is otherwise not reasonable, or
• the customer/partner received a government pension or benefit and the customer/partner income is above the 'received ISP' tax free threshold
• Select 'Yes' to this question if:
• the customer/partner received a government pension or benefit and
• the customer/partner income is equal to or below the 'received ISP' tax free threshold, and
• that based on the discussion with the customer, the income is reasonable

Does the income declaration appear reasonable?

• Yes, select 'Yes', go to Step 6
• No, select 'No' and provide free text for the reason why the estimate is unreasonable. Select Continue, go to Step 6

Based on the discussion with the customer, select the reason for non-lodgement:

• GPA (received government pension or allowance). Used where the:
• taxable income is equal to or below the relevant tax free threshold received income support for at least one day during the relevant year
• all of the non-lodgement acceptance criteria has been met
• BTT (income below tax-free threshold). Used where the GPA criteria is not met
• NTP (no tax paid). Used where the customer has confirmed
• they or their partner are not required to lodge; and
• they have income but are not required to pay tax in Australia on that income, for example, foreign income

Note: under no circumstances should the OTH reason code be used.

Make sure the result is correct before finalising the workflow.

Results

This table confirms which financial year has been updated and the result of the update for the customer and/or partner.

The non-lodgement exemption should produce an accepted outcome if all the following applies.

• A customer had:
• taxable income component that was less than the tax free threshold
• no tax withheld or was paid on received income
• none of the following income components:
  net investment losses
  reportable superannuation contributions
  exempt reportable fringe benefits
  other reportable fringe benefits
  tax exempt foreign income
• a child support assessment, they received ISP for the entire financial year
• was not involved in a business during the financial year
• If the outcome is 'accepted', however the above criteria is not met, answer 'No' to the 'Is the income reasonable' question in the workflow. This will change the outcome to 'not accepted'. Annotate the DOC to outline why the non-lodgement advice is not accepted (e.g. taxable income is above the tax free threshold)
• Obtain reasonable income from the customer for the relevant financial year and record it manually on the FAO Previous Year Income (FIPY) screen within the activity. This will ensure income is available if the customer completes an ATO RNN update. Annotate the DOC to include the reasonable income estimate updated on FIPY

Whether the non-lodgement exemption will be accepted or not accepted, the workflow must be completed if:

• a customer is advising they are not required to lodge
• the information they are providing is reasonable

If the result is:

• Accepted, see Table 6, Step 1
• Not accepted, see Table 6, Step 4

CCS is not included in the FTB auto reconciliation process that occurs for ex-partners who have not advised their income. Ex-partner income is needed for CCS reconciliation.

Only the customer can advise of ex-partner details. If the ex-partner contacts, advise this information is unable to be accepted and recorded.

CCS ex-partner details cannot be updated by the customer via self-service. This update can only be actioned in Process Direct.

Is customer contacting to advise ex-partner is not required to lodge?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, procedure ends here

Does it display Not Required to Lodge (ATO) for ex-partner?

• Yes, the information has been transferred from the ATO. Income details are still required to be recorded. If the customer and ex-partner separated:
• in the relevant CCS year, go to Step 7
• after the end of the relevant CCS year, go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 3

As the ATO has not made a decision about the tax return lodgement requirements for the ex-partner, both Income Estimate and Not required to lodge details will need to be investigated and manually recorded for the ex-partner.

Before starting the update, check the following screens in the customer's record to determine if the ex-partner details from when the customer was partnered reasonably match previous income information held.

• In Customer First go to the Families Income Summary Details (FISD) screen to check Most Recent Estimate (MRE) for relevant financial year for amounts and whether any deductible child maintenance expenditure was estimated, or
• Process Direct > FAO Income Summary Details (FISD) screen

To ensure the ex-partner's privacy, staff should not access the ex-partner's record to view income details.

Responses to the questions in Step 4 will help determine whether Services Australia can accept the not required to lodge advice, or if they will need to discuss lodgement with the ATO.

If customer separates:

• in the relevant financial year, go to Step 4
• after the end of the relevant financial year, go to Step 9

Not Required to Lodge advice updates for CCS ex-partners must be completed in the customer's record.

In Process Direct:

• Go to the EXFNLE table

Discuss the ex-partner's income by asking the following questions about the relevant financial year and noting if they answer yes to any of the questions. Ex-partner income details will need to be recorded and saved even if the NRTL exemption advice will not be accepted.

• If your ex-partner was paid any income, did they have tax withheld from any income or payments?
• Did they have taxable income above the tax-free threshold for the entire financial year?
• Did your ex-partner's income include any exempt reportable fringe benefits, reportable fringe benefits or reportable superannuation contributions?
• Did they have an interest in a business or were they self-employed?
• Did they have any income from rental properties, financial investments or shares?
• Did they incur a loss from any rental properties, financial investments or shares?
• Did they pay any child support?
• Were they entitled to receive any child support?

CCS will not be included in the FTB auto reconciliation process that occurs for ex-partners who has not advised their income.

Under the Ex-partner's Income table header:

• Select the relevant individual's twisty
• From the Income Detail field select the + to create income
• From the Income Source field select Customer Provided

Complete the income fields with estimate incomes as advised by the customer, ensuring each is reasonable:

• Taxable Income
• Exempt Reportable FB (Fringe Benefits)
• Other Reportable FB (Fringe Benefits)
• Foreign income
• Deductible Child Maintenance Expenditure
• Total Net Investment Losses
• Tax Free Pensions/Benefits
• Reportable Super Contributions
• Tax Exempt Foreign Income

Select Save.

Did the customer answer yes to any of the questions in Step 4?

• Yes, the non-lodgement exemptions cannot be accepted and therefore no further coding is to be completed. Advise the customer:
• 'The information you have provided indicates that your ex-partner needs to check their details with the Australian Taxation Office. Services Australia is unable to update their details at this time.'
• Services Australia can only accept non-lodgement declarations in certain circumstances. Your ex-partner's circumstances indicate that they do not meet our criteria to declare a non-lodgement. They will need to contact the Australian Taxation Office who will assist them with lodging a tax return or completing an Australian Taxation Office non-lodgement advice.'
• 'If they do not lodge a tax return or the Australian Taxation Office accepts their not required to lodge advice, you will not need to contact us again. We will automatically reconcile your payments once the Australian Taxation Office provides the details.'
• Select Save and Finish the activity. Advise the customer that the ex-partner will need to contact the ATO to lodge a tax return. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 6

After income is coded for the ex-partner, the 'not required to lodge' advice for CCS ex-partners must be completed.

On the EXFNLE table on the Non-Lodger Exemption, select Add then:

• Select the relevant Financial Year
• Select the appropriate Non-Lodgement CRN and name. This field will populate with any ex-partners, provided they are linked to the customer in the relevant year
• Enter the ITR Exemption Code
• Select the most appropriate option in the Reason for Non-lodgement field as per discussion with the customer:
• GPA (received government pension or allowance). Used where the
  taxable income is equal to or below the relevant tax free threshold
  received income support for at least one day during the relevant year
  all of the non-lodgement acceptance criteria has been met
• BTT (income below tax-free threshold). Used where the GPA criteria is not met
• NTP (no tax paid). Used where the customer has confirmed
  they or their partner are not required to lodge; and
  they have income but are not required to pay tax in Australia on that income, for example, foreign income

Note: under no circumstances should the OTH reason code be used.

Select Save.

In Receipt Date and Channel code fields, complete:

• Receipt Date: Today's date in activity in dd/mm/yyyy format or select the relevant date from the calendar
• Channel: Select the relevant channel
• Service Reason: Select CCP
• Select Save
• Select Assess
• Select Finish then Finalise to complete the activity. Take note of the Transaction ID to include in the note

Select and record details of the update made.

Go to Step 10

If already displayed for ex-partner, income details need to be recorded.

If ex- partner has contacted the ATO and confirmed a tax return is not required, income details will still need to be recorded for the ex-partner before the customer's CCS can be reconciled.

Ex-partner income amounts are coded on the EXFNLE screen.

Under the Ex-partner's Income table header, select the relevant individual's twisty and select Add Estimate.

From the Income Source field select Customer Provided.

Enter the income as advised by the customer in the Taxable Income field.

Complete any other income fields with estimated incomes as advised by the customer.

The decision about lodgement requirements has already been made by the ATO - income values in the EXFNLE table can be entered as advised by the customer without further investigation.

• Taxable income
• Exempt Reportable FB (Fringe Benefits)
• Other Reportable FB (Fringe Benefits)
• Foreign income
• Deductible Child Maintenance Expenditure
• Total Net Investment Losses
• Tax Free Pensions/Benefits
• Reportable Super Contributions
• Tax Exempt Foreign Income

Select Save.

In Receipt Date and Channel code fields, complete:

• Receipt Date: Today's date in activity in dd/mm/yyyy format or select the relevant date from the calendar
• Channel: Select the relevant channel
• Service Reason: Select CCP
• Select Save
• Select Assess
• Select Finish then Finalise to complete the activity. Take note of the Transaction ID to include in the note

Select and record details of the update made.

Go to Step 10

Update income confirmation details through Customer First:

• Open the customer's record in Customer First
• Navigate to the FIPY screen to make updates
• Check the Financial Year field to ensure the correct financial year details are displaying
• Select the person number relating to the specific partner
• Source: (As appropriate)
• Key all income components. Key '0' (zero) if the customer indicates no income for that component

Note: use judgement when discussing reasonable estimates for ex-partners. Do not provide any information from the ex-partner file to the customer. When deciding a reasonable estimate take into account estimates recorded in Process Direct on the customer's file as well as information provided by the customer including:

• Taxable Income
• Exempt Reportable Fringe Benefits (FB)
• Other Reportable Fringe Benefits (FB)
• Foreign income
• Deductible Child Maintenance Expenditure
• Total Net Investment Losses
• Tax Free Pensions/Benefits
• Reportable Super Contributions
• Tax Exempt Foreign Income

When all information is recorded, go to the FNLE screen to enter the ITR Exemption Code.

Select the most appropriate option in the Reason for Non-lodgement field based on the discussion with the customer.

• GPA (received government pension or allowance). Used where the:
• taxable income is equal to or below the relevant tax free threshold
• received income support for at least one day during the relevant year
• all of the non-lodgement acceptance criteria has been met
• BTT (income below tax-free threshold). Used where the GPA criteria is not met
• NTP (no tax paid). Used where the customer has confirmed
• they or their partner are not required to lodge; and
• they have income but are not required to pay tax in Australia on that income, for example, foreign income
• Finalise activity and record a Note with details of the update.

• Go to Step 10.

If already displayed for ex-partner, income details need to be recorded. If ex-partner has contacted the ATO and confirmed a tax return is not required, income details will still need to be recorded for the ex-partner before the customer's CCS can be reconciled.

Ex-partner income amounts are recorded on the FIPY screen on the customer's record in Customer First.

• Open the customer's record in Customer First
• Navigate to the FIPY screen to make updates
• Check the Financial Year field to ensure the correct financial year details are displaying
• Select the person number relating to the specific partner
• Source: CUS (As appropriate)
• Key all income components. Key '0' (zero) if the customer indicates no income for that component

Note: use judgement when discussing reasonable estimates for ex-partners. Do not provide any information from the ex-partner file to the customer. When deciding a reasonable estimate take into account estimates recorded in Process Direct on the customer's file as well as information provided by the customer.

Enter the income as advised by the customer in the Taxable Income field.

Complete any other income fields with estimated incomes as advised by the customer.

The decision about lodgement requirements has already been made by the ATO - income values in the EXFNLE table can be entered as advised by the customer without further investigation.

• Exempt Reportable FB (Fringe Benefits)
• Other Reportable FB (Fringe Benefits)
• Foreign income
• Deductible Child Maintenance Expenditure
• Total Net Investment Losses
• Tax Free Pensions/Benefits
• Reportable Super Contributions
• Tax Exempt Foreign Income
• Finalise the activity and record a Note with details of the update

Go to Step 10

Tell the customer the non-lodgement advice has been accepted for the ex-partner. Once all income confirmation requirements have been met, CCS will be reconciled in due course. Customer will be notified of the outcome. Tell the customer they can check the status of their reconciliation using the CCS payment balancing service in their online account or Express Plus app.

Procedure ends here.

A non-lodgement advice should only be recorded manually if:

• the relevant workflow is not available, or
• updating non-lodgement as part of an FTB claim

Check the Non-Lodgement Exemption (FNLE) screen.

Does it display an ATO exemption for the relevant financial year?

• Yes,
• For FTB, the information has been transferred from the ATO. Check the FAO Income for Previous Year (FIPY) screen to make sure the estimate is reasonable. Manually code revised estimate if provided. Record a DOC
• For CCS, all CCS customers must confirm their income in order for CCS reconciliation to occur
• To record income for the customer and/or partner, see Recording or updating income estimates for previous years for family assistance payments
• to record income for an ex-partner, see Table 4, Step 1
• No, a FRAI refresh can be completed to request details from ATO. The FRAI refresh must be coded on either the customer or partner record in Customer First, depending on whose income is needed. If a previously provided 'not required to lodge' advice was not accepted by Centrelink, a subsequent non-lodgement exemption update cannot be completed unless there are genuine changes to the declaration. For example, incorrect income was provided. The customer must wait until the ATO transfers details of the tax return or non-lodgement advice

Before starting the update, check the following screens to determine if the customer received any income in the financial year or was entitled to receive child support:

• STP Data for FTB customers (STPF) screen in Process Direct
• Tax Payment Summary (TXGS) - check if they paid tax or received any Centrelink entitlements. Note: the Information on record section will display non-taxable components that are reportable to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) however not all of these need to be included in the estimate of income. For example, Carer Allowance, Pension Basic Supplement for Jobseeker principal carers
• PPP Income Summary (PGIA) - check for any employment income and investments if in receipt of Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP)
• Pensions Income and Asset Summary (PIAS) - check for any employment income and investments if in receipt of a pension
• NSS Income Summary (NIS) - check for any employment income and investments if in receipt of a NSS payment
• Maintenance Explanation Summary (MNEX) - if there is an amount greater than $0.00, the customer/partner has been entitled to receive child support
• Families Income Summary Details (FISD) - check Most Recent Estimate (MRE) for relevant financial year for amounts and whether any deductible child maintenance expenditure was estimated

Responses to the following questions will help determine if Services Australia can accept the not required to lodge advice, or if they will need to discuss lodgement with the ATO.

Ask the following questions and record any income declared in each component field on the FIPY screen for the relevant financial year.

Note: not required to lodge advice updates must be completed in the FTB customer's record.

If customer states they received nil income for an income component, record $0. Make sure the estimate declared appears reasonable:

• Were you paid any taxable income in the financial year?
• Did you have tax withheld from any income or payments?
• Did your income include any exempt reportable fringe benefits, reportable fringe benefits or reportable superannuation contributions?
• Did you have an interest in a business or were you self-employed?
• Did you have any income from rental properties, financial investments or shares?
• Did you incur a loss from any rental properties, financial investments or shares?
• Did you pay any child support?
• Were you entitled to receive any child support?

Note if customer answered 'yes' to any of these questions:

• Did you have tax withheld from any income or payments?
• Did your income include any exempt reportable fringe benefits, reportable fringe benefits or Reportable Superannuation Contributions?
• Did you have an interest in a business or were you self-employed?
• Did you have any income from rental properties, financial investments or shares?
• Did you incur a loss from any rental properties, financial investments or shares?
• Did you pay or were you entitled to receive any child support and were not on income support payments for 365 days?

Did the customer answer 'yes' to any of these questions and/or had taxable income above the relevant tax free threshold?

• Yes, the non-lodgement exemption cannot be accepted. They must be advised to contact the ATO to lodge a tax return or to advise the ATO they are not required to lodge. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 5

If the non-lodgement exemption is not accepted (but income declaration is reasonable), the FIPY screen must be coded with the estimate amounts, however the FNLE screen is not to be updated.

If the non-lodgement exemption cannot be accepted, advise the customer:

• 'The information you have provided indicates that you need to check your details with the Australian Taxation Office. Services Australia is unable to accept your non-lodgement details at this time'
• 'Services Australia can only accept not required to lodge declarations in certain circumstances. Your circumstances indicate that you do not meet our criteria to declare that you are not required to lodge. You will need to contact the Australian Taxation Office who will assist you with lodging a tax return or completing an Australian Taxation Office non-lodgement advice'
• 'If you do lodge a tax return or complete an ATO non-lodgement form, you will not need to contact us again. We will automatically reconcile your payments once the Australian Taxation Office provides the details'
• 'If the Australian Taxation Office accepts your 'not required to lodge' advice, we will automatically receive the details. You may need to contact to provide income details. If this is the case, we will write to you'
• If you do not lodge a tax return or complete an ATO non lodgement form you may:
• miss out on payment entitlements
• your fortnightly payments may stop
• your fortnightly payments may be cancelled
• have to repay the FTB for the relevant financial year

Once you have read the declaration and the customer has acknowledged they understand, record their responses in a DOC and check FIPY activity update.

Before finalising the activity:

• navigate to the FRCS screen for the financial year being completed, and
• place a ‘V’ in the FTB Reco completed line

This will navigate to the FAMIV screen.

Is there a MIV reason displayed?

• Yes, use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Reconciliation > Outstanding MIV activity to send details to the MIV team for investigation
• If the customer is at risk or experiencing hardship, add the URGENT keyword
• Procedure ends here
• No, finalise activity and check result

Declaration - for accepted

Make sure the 'accepted' result is correct before finalising the workflow. Confirm that the taxable income amount is equal to or below the relevant tax free threshold.

• If the taxable income exceeds the threshold relevant to the individual:
• select back to go to the Income page
• select no to the question 'Does the income declaration appear reasonable'
• add the following text to the notes box that appears 'Income exceeds tax free threshold'
• select continue
• the result should now be not accepted
• go to Step 4
• If the taxable income is equal to or below the threshold relevant to the individual:

Remind customers of the importance of accurately providing their income within the non-lodgement advice so that their entitlements are correctly assessed.

Read the following to the customer:

'For me to update your record, you need to declare that you understand the following information:

• Although you will not be lodging a tax return, we may still confirm your income with the Australian Taxation Office using data such as payment summaries lodged by employers and declarations from financial institutions about interest paid or dividends received
• If you later choose to lodge a tax return, this information will be provided to us by the ATO and will be used to review your entitlement'

Select Customer acknowledges box and Continue.

Continue the workflow. Details will be recorded on the FAO Income for Previous Year (FIPY) and FAO Non Lodger Exemption (FNLE) screens, and a DOC is recorded.

If the customer notifies after the lodgement year for 2012-13 or later financial years, or after the extended lodgement year for 2011-12 or earlier financial years, that they (or their partner or ex-partner) are not required to lodge an income tax return, any re-reconciliation arrears (including supplements) may need to be suppressed.

Has not required to lodge advice been provided after the lodgement year/extended lodgement year?

• Yes, see Non-lodger and late lodger process for FTB. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

FTB

View the result on the Assessment Results (AR) screen. FTB/CCB and SIFS reconciliation may be triggered if all required information is available. Note: for the 2017-18 and later financial years, customers must meet the SIFS grandfathering provisions to be entitled to payment of SIFS.

CCS

CCS reconciliation outcomes will not display on the Assessment Results (AR) screen in Customer First. After finalising the Family Assistance non lodgement exemption workflow there could be a delay before the CCS result is visible in the CCS Reconciliation Dashboard in Process Direct. Advise the customer that CCS will be reconciled once all available information becomes available. The customer will receive notification of the outcome once completed. Customers will be able to view the status of their CCS reconciliation using the payment balancing service within their online account or Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

Once CCS reconciliation has been completed staff can check the reconciliation result by selecting:

• Process Direct
• CCS Reconciliation Dashboard
• Enter CRN
• Relevant Year to display the latest reconciliation result for CCS

Before finalising the activity:

• navigate to the FRCS screen for the financial year being completed, and
• place a ‘V’ in the FTB Reco completed line

This will navigate to the FAMIV screen.

Is there a MIV reason displayed?

• Yes, use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Reconciliation > Outstanding MIV activity to send details to the MIV team for investigation
• If the customer is at risk or experiencing hardship, add the URGENT keyword
• Procedure ends here
• No, Finalise:
• See What to do if an undetermined qualification debt is included in the FTB reconciliation result
• Finalise activity
• For QOL checker instructions, go to Step 6, otherwise procedure ends here

Possible reasons why a non-lodgement exemption may not be accepted:

Whether or not the non-lodgement exemption is accepted, the workflow must be finalised to ensure the income details provided are updated on the record for FTB, CCB and CCS.

• Their taxable income was above the tax free threshold
• They paid tax on income
• They had exempt reportable fringe benefits, reportable fringe benefits, reportable superannuation contributions, net investment losses, or tax exempt foreign income
• They were self-employed or had an interest in a business
• They paid or were entitled to receive child support and were not on income support for the full financial year. If they answer yes to being a payer or payee of a child support agreement, the workflow will check if they have been on income support for the full financial year:
• if they have, the workflow will accept their declaration (if all other relevant information is accepted)
• if they have not, their advice is 'not accepted'
• The income estimate was deemed 'unreasonable'
• If 'N' was recorded in the Does the income declaration appear reasonable? field, the income will not be recorded on the FIPY screen and the not required to lodge advice will not be accepted. If they subsequently lodge a non-lodgement advice with the ATO, FTB/CCB will be reconciled using the customer's most recent estimate. For CCS reconciliation to occur, the customer will need to contact to provide reasonable income details

Declaration - for not accepted

Read declaration to the customer and check they acknowledge it.

They must contact the ATO for help with lodging a tax return or completing an ATO non-lodgement advice. See Resources page for links to the ATO website.

Do not provide tax advice. Refer them to the ATO website to check their details.

If the customer submits a non-lodgement advice with the ATO, details will transfer from the ATO and used with their most recent estimate to reconcile FTB, CCB and SIFS.

For CCS reconciliation, the customer will need to contact to provide income details.

Select Customer acknowledges box and Continue.

Continue workflow. The income estimate will be updated on the FIPY screen if it was considered reasonable, but a non-lodgement exemption is not recorded on the FNLE screen. A DOC is recorded by the workflow.

View the result on the Assessment Results (AR) screen for correctness before finalising.

Procedure ends here.

For assistance in determining whose lodgement is outstanding, go to the FAO Reconciliation and Claim Summary (FRCS) screen and select the Reconciliation Pending line.

The navigation link displays FAO Non Lodger Details (FNLD) and FTB Lump Sum and Reconciliation Pending (LRPF) screens.

Advise the customer what information is still required.

• To receive their full FTB entitlement, income lodgement requirements must be met by 30 June of the lodgement year (extended lodgement year for 2011-12 or earlier years)
• If special circumstances prevent them from meeting certain family assistance lodgement requirements within the 1 year timeframe, a lodgement extension may be granted
• FTB reconciliation can occur if only an ex-partner's actual income details are required. However, SIFS can only be paid for a partnered period if the partner's taxable income is known. See FTB reconciliation or lump sum claim pending
• Reconciliation may also remain pending where the outcome is a debt, and there is a pause on debt raising due to a declared major disaster or emergency event such as a pandemic (not currently in use)

The Non-Lodger Exemption (FNLE) screen will not display in the QOL Checking Tool.

To make sure the Family Assistance Office non lodgement exemption workflow activities are correct, check the following screens:

• Tax payment Summary (TXGS) and or TXYTD screen to determine if the customer/partner/ex-partner has been on an income support payment for 365 days and/or had tax withheld from their income support payment
• If the person had any tax withheld from their income support payments, the Service Officer must record 'Yes' to this question
• If the customer has advised income less than the Information on record section of the workflow for income support payments received during the relevant financial year, and the Service Officer determines it is a reasonable estimate, they must record an explanation in the Fast Note to support this amount
• FAO Income Summary Details (FISD) to determine if the customer/partner/ex-partner may have been paying child support during the relevant financial year
• If an amount greater than $0.00 is displayed, but the customer advises no child support was paid, the Service Officer must record an explanation in the Fast Note
• Main Explanation Summary (MNEX) to determine if the customer/partner/ex-partner was entitled to receive child support during the relevant financial year:
• If there is an amount greater than $0.00, the customer/partner has been entitled to receive child support
• The Service Officer must record 'Yes' to the question 'Were you entitled to receive child support?'
• FTB/CCF Manual Intervention (FAMIV) screen to determine if the activity should be sent to the MIV team for action
• Non-lodger Exemption (FNLE) to determine if the Non-Lodgement Exemption reason has been correctly assessed

The information from the following screens is to be used as a guide only:

• STP Data for FTB Customer (STPF) screen (in Process Direct only)
• Employment income (EANS)
• Taxable entitlement (TXGS)
• Real estate and business (REBS)
• Non- taxable entitlement (TXGS)
• Tax withheld (TXGS)
• Trust and companies (TRCIAS)
• Foreign Income/Assets/Pension Summary (FIPS)
• Payment Summary (PS)

If the customer advises an amount less than the above screens and the Service Officer determines it is a reasonable estimate, the Service Officer must record an explanation in the Fast Note to support this amount.

After completing these checks, if it is determined any of the Non-lodgement questions have been incorrectly answered and a non-lodgement declaration incorrectly accepted, return the activity under Is there a Rate error transaction question, 'Application of Non-Lodgement exemption incorrect'.

If an incorrect Reason for Non-lodgement has been coded and this has no effect on acceptance of the exemption, release the activity with feedback.