Making a decision about a hardship advance or anticipated payment 003-10020000

Customers may request a hardship advance. They are only available for the first instalment:

• of a new grant
• after restoring a payment, or
• after a customer has been released from prison or psychiatric confinement

Note: Agents and Access Points cannot issue Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.

If the customer is:

• awaiting new claim processing see Progress of claim or Immediate new claim and non-new claim priority processing. Procedure ends here
• awaiting first payment from recently assessed new claim for a social security payment, go to Step 2
• requesting their payment be restored or re-granted, go to Step 4

Is the customer's first instalment still in the future?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No:
• The customer is not eligible for a hardship advance
• The customer can test the eligibility for an urgent payment. See Urgent payments due to exceptional and unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances or Urgent payments due to Centrelink delay
• Procedure ends here

If the customer is serving a waiting period (ASS), they are not eligible for a hardship advance. The payment must be current (CUR) before a hardship advance can be granted.

Is the customer’s benefit status CUR?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No:
• The customer is not eligible
• Consider waiving the Ordinary Waiting Period (OWP) or offer alternative assistance
• Procedure ends here

A hardship advance can only be made when the payment was cancelled or suspended because:

• the delegate was satisfied that the customer was not qualified, or the payment was not payable
• This means the customer could not be paid for a period before the grant or restoration date and because of this is not eligible for any arrears. See Resources for examples
• the customer failed to respond to a request to provide a statement or information
• the customer failed to take action to obtain a comparable foreign payment (CFP)

See Cancellation, Suspension and Rejection reason codes (CLK) for further information.

Was the customer's payment cancelled or suspended for any of the reasons above?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No:
• Tell the customer they are not eligible for a hardship advance
• Go to Table 2 > Step 1

If a customer is entitled to arrears, consider the hardship advance as unavailable. Instead, test the customer's entitlement to an immediate payment.

Is the customer entitled to arrears?

• Yes:
• Tell the customer they are not eligible for a hardship advance
• Customers can test their eligibility for an urgent payment or immediate payment
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 6

Is the customer in severe financial hardship?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No:
• Tell the customer they are not eligible for a hardship advance
• Go to Table 2 > Step 1

A hardship advance should be limited to between 1 day and 7 days of the customer’s first instalment. Paying more than this can place the customer in further financial hardship.

In exceptional circumstances, a Team Leader may approve a higher amount if they believe it is warranted. The maximum advance is 14 days or the number of days in the first entitlement period, whichever is the lesser.

• Determine the number of days entitlement available to the customer in their first instalment
• Calculate the amount that can be advanced and tell the customer
• Tell the customer the amount they receive will be recovered from their first instalment
• This amount is the amount available after any deduction from the payment, for example Centrepay, tax deductions

See the Resources page for examples of hardship advance payments, and the minimum amount needed to meet the customer’s immediate need.

If the customer is Income Managed, see Urgent Payment requests from Income Managed customers for how this will affect the payment.

Go to Table 2 > Step 1.

Access the Immediate Payment workflow in Process Direct:

In Process Direct:

• Key START in the Super Key
• Select the Immediate Payment workflow from the Task Selector

If the Immediate Payment workflow is not available, see:

• Real time payment delivery to Centrelink customers
• Real time payments to Farm Household Allowance (FHA) and Status Resolution Support Service (SRSS) customers

Use the Immediate Payment workflow to issue the hardship advance.

Select Hardship Advance and then select Next.

Any hardship advance will include an amount paid into the income management account. This amount varies depending on the Income Management regime.

The Immediate Payment workflow will only display the amount that can be paid directly to the customer as an immediate payment. This amount does not include the amount that will go into their income management account.

The Immediate Payment workflow will go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen to choose the appropriate future payment.

Select the payment line and then select Next.

Is the customer eligible for a hardship advance?

• Yes:
• Select Customer is eligible
• Record details in the Note section
• Go to Step 7
• No, select No then go to Step 6

• Record details on a DOC with the following:
• the rejection reason for the immediate payment request
• the documents or verifiable evidence provided by the customer (if required)
• the amount the customer requested
• method of payment
• any other assistance provided for referrals
• Select Finish

Procedure ends here.

On this screen:

• Code the amount to pay the customer. The workflow will show the maximum amount, but code the amount to be paid
• Choose the payment method

Payment is made by direct credit, New Payments Platform (NPP) or Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), or Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card.

Only use EBT card when direct credit, NPP and RTGS are not suitable methods for an urgent payment.

Note: Agents and Access Points cannot issue EBT cards.

If the customer's regular payments go to a payment nominee or parent, the hardship advance must also go into that account. See Nominees.

If the payment will be issued by:

• Direct Credit, NPP or RTGS, go to Step 8
• EBT card:
• Select EBT
• Select Next
• Go to Step 9

Priority direct credit

If the customer’s account is reachable via the NPP:

• the payment will deliver to the customer’s account straight away, no matter the time or day of the request
• If the payment fails to deliver, it will re-issue via RTGS if available, or via direct credit

If the account is not reachable via NPP, RTGS will be available.

Direct credit

The expected delivery date will be:

• 1 working day for payments made via the Newstart System (NSS)
• 2 working days for payment made via all other systems

RTGS operating hours

Weekdays between 8:00 am - 3:30 pm (AEST). This excludes national public holidays observed on the same day in both Sydney and Melbourne.

If the RTGS activity completes after 3:30 pm (AEST) including Quality on Line (QOL), the payment will not issue until the next working day from 9 am. Payments to the smaller banks and credit unions may take up to 2 working days to go into the customer's account.

If the customer advises the account is overdrawn, it is their choice whether the payment is made to the account. Tell the customer that:

• the bank may retain some or all of the overdrawn amount; and
• it will take longer for the payment to be available as manual processing may be required by the bank

Staff must:

• Select how the payment will be issued:
• Priority Direct Credit
• Direct Credit
• Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) - this option only displays if NPP is not available
• Confirm bank details
• Select Finish

Procedure ends here.

Only issue EBT cards in denominations of $20 or $50. These are the amounts available at ATMs.

Check the Office Locator page of the service centre the customer will be attending. Check for any general notes for the service centre.

Do not activate EBT cards before the customer attends the service centre.

Tell the customer:

• to attend the service centre during business hours
• if they do not attend the service centre on the day the hardship advance is approved, they will need to reapply for a hardship advance
• they must:
• provide identity documents including at least one with their photo for a comparison, and/or
• answer questions from details on their customer record for Proof of Record Ownership (PORO). See Authenticating a Centrelink customer
• if they cannot confirm their identity or PORO, the service centre will not issue the EBT card

Procedure ends here.

See New claim for Crisis Payment before the release of a customer in prison or psychiatric confinement for qualification criteria.

This is not at the Service Officer's discretion. It must be offered to all customers.

Tell the customer if they choose an anticipated payment, they will get a reduced payment the following fortnight.

There is no form to complete to request an anticipated payment. This is completed verbally.

Check payment history screens:

• Allowance/Benefit History (ABH) screen
• Pension History (PNSH) screen

Was the customer's previous payment cancelled or suspended because the customer was in prison?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No:
• The suspension reason will need to be corrected before paying an anticipated payment. See: Centrelink service standards and procedures for pre-release and post-release prison customers
• Procedure ends here

• Yes, assess hardship advance. See Table 1
• No:
• The customer can be assessed for an anticipated payment
• Claim for payment can be made up to 21 days before the known date of release
• Use the corrective services list of upcoming known releases. See Centrelink service standards and procedures for pre-release and post-release prison customers
• Go to Step 4

Assess the claim or restoration. . See Centrelink service standards and procedures for pre-release and post-release prison customers.

Is the customer qualified for a social security pension or social security benefit (and this is payable)?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No:
• The customer is not eligible for an anticipated payment
• Offer other assistance if available
• Procedure ends here

Is the customer qualified for a Crisis Payment (CrP) due to prison release?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No:
• The customer is not eligible for an anticipated payment
• Offer other assistance if available
• Go to Table 4 >Step 1

Is the customer in severe financial hardship?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No:
• Tell the customer they are not eligible for an anticipated payment
• Go to Table 4

An anticipated payment should be limited to between 1 to 7 days of the customer’s first instalment.

In exceptional circumstances, a Team Leader may approve a higher amount if they believe it is warranted. The maximum advance is 14 days or the number of days in the first entitlement period, whichever is the lesser.

• Check the number of days entitlement available to the customer in their first instalment
• Calculate the amount that can be advanced and tell the customer
• Tell the customer the amount they receive will be recovered from their first instalment
• This amount is the amount available after any deduction from the payment, for example, Centrepay, tax deductions

See Resources for examples of anticipated payments and the minimum amount needed to meet the customer’s immediate need.

If the customer is Income Managed, see Urgent Payment requests from Income Managed customers for how it will affect the payment.

Go to Table 4.

In Process Direct:

• Key START in the Super Key
• Select the Immediate Payment workflow from the Task Selector

Is the workflow available?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 7

Use the Immediate Payment workflow to issue the anticipated payment.

Select Anticipated Payment then select Next.

Payment Summary Screen

• Select the payment for anticipated payment to be issued from

Service Officer Decision

Is Crisis Payment granted?

• Yes:
• Confirm if customer is eligible
• Go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 4

In the Notes section, record:

• In what State or Territory is the Correctional Centre located?
• What is the name of the Correctional Centre from which the customer was or will be released
• Prisoner Identification Number
• Expected date of the customer’s release
• Anticipated Payment issued: enter the date the payment will be delivered

Is the Crisis Payment (CrP) being granted?

• Yes, select Next. Go to Step 5
• No, select Finish. Procedure ends here

Anticipated payments can only be paid for the first entitlement period when granting or restoring the customer's main payment after suspension or cancellation due to imprisonment.

Payment details:

• Enter the requested amount
• Select the payment method
• Record confirmation of bank account details
• Select Finish

Any hardship advance will include an amount paid into the income management account. This amount varies depending on the Income Management regime.

The Immediate Payment workflow will only display the amount that can be paid to the customer as an immediate payment. This amount does not include the amount that will go into their income management account.

Code manually in Customer First:

• Go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• 'S'elect the first instalment payment with an R
• Remove the 'S' on the Issue Payment Select (IPPRE) screen and re-select Anticipated Release Payment with an 'S'
• The method of payment will default to Direct Credit. If applicable, remove the 'S' and re-select the payment method EBT with an 'S'
• Issue Amt: key the amount to be paid. Note: payment is not to exceed 7 days of future entitlement. If the customer has less than 7 days entitlement, consider changing their Entitlement Period End Date (EPED), only if the customer agrees
• Reason: defaults to ARP (Anticipated Release Payment)
• Notes: enter details of the release
• Source: key 'INT'
• DOR: key the date the forms were received
• Finished: key 'Y'

Procedure ends here.