Immediate payment by payment method Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card 003-10030020

If the customer is assessed as eligible for an immediate payment by EBT, for:

• an urgent payment, and the customer is:
• on the phone, go to Step 2
• in a service centre, go to Step 3
• a Crisis Payment (CrP), go to Step 4

If the customer is on the phone and is has been approved for an EBT card, Service Officers must tell the customer:

• to attend their nearest service centre and present at reception:
• by the end of the business day
• during the preferred walk-in times (as shown in Office Locator. See Resources for a link)
• if they do not attend a service centre on the day of the urgent payment approval, the customer will need to reapply for another urgent payment on a day that they can attend
• at the service centre they must:
• provide identity documents, including at least one photo identity document, and/or
• answer questions from details on their customer record to verify Proof of Record Ownership (PORO). See Authenticating a customer
• if they cannot confirm their identity or prove PORO, the service centre will not issue the EBT card

Procedure ends here.

For service centre Service Officers only

Authenticate the customer. See Authenticating a customer.

Collect the EBT card and PIN mailer from the secure storage location. Complete the 'daily EBT register' to sign out the EBT card.

In Process Direct:

• In the customer's record, review the Note/DOC that explains the pre-approval for the EBT and the approved amount
• Key START in the Super Key and select the Immediate Payment workflow from the Task Selector
• In the Immediate Payment workflow:
• Select Issue EBT Card
• In the EBT Card Number field, key the EBT card number. Get this from the physical card
• Record notes as necessary
• Select Generate SS292 to auto populate the approved claim details onto the Record of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Card issue (SS292) form. The form acknowledges the customer has received the EBT card and PIN:
• Select Preview SS292
• Select Print and collect the SS292
• Ask the customer to read and sign the SS292
• Scan the SS292 to the customer's record, see Table 3 in Scanning Centrelink documents using an MFD
• Provide the original signed SS292 to the customer
• Select Finish to activate the EBT card
• When the EBT card is activated, give it to the customer immediately
• Issue the PIN with the EBT card. To reveal the PIN for the EBT card, the customer scratches away the latex covering on the PIN slip. Service Officers must not reveal the PIN (i.e. must not scratch away the covering)
• Print and give the customer a 'How to use your Electronic Benefits Transfer Card' (13240) factsheet. See the Resources page for a link

Procedure ends here.

For service centre Service Officers only

Service Offers can manually activate an EBT card for a Crisis Payment (CrP).

Authenticate the customer. See Authenticating a customer.

Collect an EBT card and PIN mailer from the secure storage location. Complete the 'daily EBT register' to sign out the EBT card.

In Customer First:

• go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• key 'R' next to the payment line to be actioned, then press [Enter]
• the Issue Payment Select (IPPRE) screen will display
• on the IPPRE screen, select the appropriate payment from the list of options displayed, for example:
• 'S'elect Early payment from current pay period for a Crisis payment
• for the destination type, 'S'elect EBT and select Continue
• the Issue Future Payment (IFP) screen will display

Note: if deductions exist, the system will take these from the remaining amount.

Discuss with the customer the amount of funds they require to meet their immediate need/s, and confirm they have the funds available.

Complete Record of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Card issue (SS292):

• Print the SS292 form from the Resource page, and complete the fields
• Ask the customer to read and sign the SS292
• Scan the signed SS292 to the customer's record, see Table 3 in Scanning Centrelink documents using an MFD
• Give the SS292 to the customer

Code the following fields on the IFP screen:

• Issue Amount: add the full amount of the payment to be delivered to the EBT card. Note: this cannot exceed the Available Amt. The maximum amount that can be delivered to the EBT card is $1,000
• Reason: key CRI - Crisis Payment
• Finished (Y/Q/N): key 'Y'
• When the EBT card is activated, give it to the customer immediately
• Issue the PIN with the EBT card. To reveal the PIN for the EBT card, the customer scratches away the latex covering on the PIN slip. Service Officers must not reveal the PIN (i.e. must not scratch away the covering)
• Print and give the customer a 'How to use your Electronic Benefits Transfer Card' (13240) factsheet. See the Resources page for a link
• Record details on a DOC

Procedure ends here.