Social worker care situations – referrals and assessment of payment claims 003-12060020

Services Australia (the agency) has a zero tolerance approach to child abuse.

A staff member must act when they see or hear behaviour, which raises concern about a child or young person's safety. Follow the agency's Family and Domestic Violence Support Model when identifying and responding to child safety concerns. See Risk identification and management of threats to the safety or welfare of a child.

A social worker can provide information to help a delegate in making a decision about qualification for Carer Payment (CP) or Carer Allowance (CA). It is the delegate, not the social worker, who must make the decision about qualification. Service Officers must determine basic payment eligibility before making a referral to social work.

A social worker can provide information about:

• the care receiver's personal care or supervision needs in relation to their medical condition/s
• the level of care or supervision actually being provided by the carer
• if the carer has the physical and/or emotional capacity to manage the care receiver's care needs

When making a carer assessment, the social worker may need to contact multiple parties to gather sufficient information about the care situation. This may include, the current carer, other parties claiming to be caring, the care receiver and third party agencies or family members.

To help with the assessment, the social worker should refer to:

• Eligibility for Carer Payment (CP) when a care receiver is aged 16 years or over
• Social Security Guide, 1.1.C.310 Constant care (CP)
• Eligibility for Carer Allowance (CA) when the care receiver is aged 16 years or over
• Social Security Guide, 1.1.C.10 Care & attention (CA)

If the social worker is unclear on what information is needed to support the Service Officer, they should contact the referring Service Officer.

Carer Assessments are referred using a range of referral categories depending on the nature of the assessment needed. These assessments will present either in the national WLM layer, the zone layer or to social workers in the Carer Specialist Assessment Team (CSAT).

Referrals undertaken by social workers in the CSAT

• CSATs for child care receivers
• Child Terminal Reviews
• Carer Adjustment Payments

Referrals undertaken by social workers in service centres via Zone layer WLM

• Carers under the age of 18. A social work assessment must be completed before finalising a claim for CP and/or CA
• Care receiver at risk

Referrals undertaken by all social workers via National Layer WLM

• Carers 80 years of age or older
• Multiple and complex needs (following Service Officer investigation) could include:
• Multiple carers
• Capacity to care
• Disputed care
• Complex care situations requiring a professional assessment
• Complex grief and bereavement, including if the care receiver has passed away before the claim is finalised and the Service Officer identifies a need for social work support

Social Work reports are required for the following assessments:

• CSAT assessments for child care receivers - social workers generate a specialised report in Social Work Information System (SWIS) by selecting Carer Specialised Assessment as a social work intervention when creating the contact
• Under 18 carers - social workers complete the report template and upload to Document tools. See the Resources page
• Child Terminal Reviews - social workers generate a general report in SWIS
• Care Receiver at Risk - social workers complete the report template and upload it to SWIS on the care receivers record. See the Resources page
• Adverse recommendations and other complex circumstances - a general report may be written in a Word document and uploaded to Document Tools on the customers’ record for any decisions to cancel or reject CP/CA. Additionally record these reports in SWIS using a general report. Any particularly sensitive information should be recorded in SWIS only

If a report is not needed, social workers must make sure that documents on the customers’ record provide clear and sufficient information to help the Service Officer in making a decision. If the information provided by the social worker is not clear, the Service Officer must contact the social worker to discuss in the first instance. If it is not clear if a social work report is needed, consult a Social Work Support Manager or a social worker in the CSAT team for guidance.

Note: the delegate should update the carer's record to include the outcome/ recommendation of the social worker assessment.

Carer neglect is abuse within a carer/care receiver relationship and is a form of Family and Domestic Violence (FDV).

Where Services Australia receives allegations of or suspects there is carer neglect, from any source, staff must follow the FDV Support Model and report the allegation using the Report a Suspected Fraud application.

A referral to a social worker is required in most cases, with the primary focus on assessing safety and risk factors to both parties and considering appropriate supports. The social worker:

• can provide information to help the delegate make a decision about the carer’s ongoing eligibility to payment
• will complete a report template

Note: remember that the information in the tip-off is an allegation only. Do not share the details of the tip-off with either the carer and/or care receiver. If either the carer or the care receiver asks about the purpose of the contact, tell them a review is being conducted.