Assessing independence when a customer is in State care 001-04060070

If the customer is claiming Disability Support Pension (DSP) or Youth Allowance (YA), check the claim to see if the customer has indicated they are in State or Territory care.

DSP

On the:

• Claim for Disability Support Pension (SA466), check Question 154
• Claim for a Disability Support Pension for a Terminal Illness (SA494), check Question 98
• Disability Support Pension Claim at age 16 (SA439), check Question 23

YA

For a YA claim, check responses to the Independence question sets.

If the customer states they are in State care, documentary verification must be obtained from the State or Territory welfare authority, such as a court order or letter. Verbal verification is not sufficient. See the Resources page for a list of State/Territory welfare agencies.

Is the customer under 18 and still in State care, or no longer in State care because of their age (18 years or older)?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, the customer is not independent on these grounds. Go to Step 10

Is the customer living with their parent?

• Yes, they are not independent on these grounds, even if they are in the care and protection of a State or Territory welfare authority. Go to Step 10
• No, the customer is independent, go to Step 3

If the customer is in State care and not living with parents, check whether the State or Territory welfare authority is providing support to the customer, or customer's foster family, that is considered upkeep. See the References page for a link to this Policy.

This support would usually be:

• payment of a foster care allowance to a care provider or supported residential program
• payment for the provision of accommodation, food, clothing, etc.

Customers receiving NSW Independent Living Allowance (ILA) are deemed to be independent and in supported care. See Rate of Youth Allowance (YA) when customer is in State care.

Written evidence is required to confirm that the State or Territory welfare authority is providing support and the nature of that support.

If the State or Territory:

• is providing support in the form of upkeep, the customer will be regarded as being in supported State care, and will be paid the at home rate
• is not providing support in the form of upkeep, the customer will be regarded as being in unsupported State care, and will be paid the away from home rate

Note: a young person in State care, who is responsible for paying their own accommodation, food and other expenses, is considered to be in unsupported State care. This is irrespective of whether the accommodation is offered at a reduced or subsidised rate or if the care organisation is in receipt of government funding (if that funding is not provided directly for the support of the customer).

Is the customer considered to be in unsupported State care?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 6

Young people who are subject to care and protection orders must be referred to a social worker if they are not in long term stable or residential care.

The social worker is required to conduct an interview to decide what further involvement the State or Territory Welfare Authority has regarding the young person's current circumstances (for example, unsatisfactory living arrangements or concerns of exploitation).

A social worker appointment is for a wellbeing check and therefore does not delay the processing of independence and establishing the rate of payment for a young person as supported or unsupported due to State care.

Is the customer under 18 years, and not in long term stable foster care or residential care?

• Yes, a social worker interview is required to ensure the customer has no other support needs:
• If the customer is under 16 years of age, refer them to the social worker at their local service centre. Check local procedures in Office Locator
• If local procedures are not available, and contact with the office cannot be made via phone, complete the Refer to Social Work guided procedure, then go to Step 6
• If the customer is 16 or 17, complete the Refer to Social Work guided procedure in Customer First, then go to Step 5
• No, a social work interview is not required for claim assessment, however, discretionary consideration should be applied. Go to Step 6

Is the young person under 16 years of age, and either above the minimum school leaving age for the state or territory in which they live, or formally exempt from attending school?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, independent customers under 16 should claim Special Benefit if they are below the minimum school leaving age and do not have a formal exemption from attending school. Go to Step 9

For independent:

• DSP customers, go to Step 7
• YA customers:
• aged under 18, go to Step 8
• aged 18 or older, see Rate of Youth Allowance (YA) when customer is in State care

To pay the independent rate:

• go to the Pensions Disability Information (PDI) screen
• update the Independent Living Code field:
• 'PSF' in State care or ward - supported by guardian(s), or
• 'PSU' in State care or ward - not supported by guardian(s)
• in the Event Date field: key the commencement date for independence

Note: this does not affect the rate of DSP. If a DSP customer is considered independent due to being in State care (supported or unsupported), they are eligible for the higher rate.

For more information, see Assessing payment rates and independence for Disability Support Pension customers under 21 years.

Go to Step 10.

For YA claims, complete coding in Process Direct using Super Key and entering NIH (Independent/Homeless/Away from Home).

For YA reassessments, select the Independence link in Customer First workspace (under the Youth heading) or the Independent/Homeless/Away From Home (NIH) screen in Customer First, and key the following fields:

• Act: key 'IND'
• Start date: for a new claim key the grant/reject date. Otherwise key the later of the date the customer:
• requested an assessment of independence, or
• became independent
• Start/Reject Reason: key as one of the following:
• 'PSF' in State care or ward - supported by guardian(s), or
• 'PSU' in State care or ward - not supported by guardian(s)

See Commencement, cessation and coding of the away from home rate of Youth Allowance (YA).

For YA customers aged 18 and over with code PSF, see Rate of Youth Allowance (YA) when customer is in State care.

YA customers under 18 years of age with code PSF

Tell the customer to notify Services Australia within 14 days if support arrangements change.

In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: YAL
• Review Reason: MAN (Manual Assessment Entitlement)
• Due Date:
• customer's 18th birthday, or
• date before the customer's 18 birthday on which the customer expects to leave State care
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes:
• for 18th birthday reviews: 'Review PSF code. The young person may stop receiving any support from the State once they turn 18, and the code may need to be changed to PSU.'
• for customers leaving State care before turning 18: 'Review PSF code. Customer may no longer be in supported State care. Contact the customer to review their circumstances and update NIH screen, if appropriate.'
• Keywords:
• students, add STCREREV
• apprentices, add STCREAPT
• job seekers, add STCREJSK
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action.

Is the customer undertaking an approved scholarship course?

• Yes, key 'Y' in the To update regional classification details, go to RLD field. Go to Step 9
• No, for all other customers, finalise the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Go to Step 10

Note: tell the customer of their obligation to notify the agency within 14 days of any change to their circumstances (for example, living with parents).

To code the Regional Location Details (RLD) screen, see Relocation Scholarship (RS) payment and coding.

If rejecting:

• consider other grounds for independence. See:
• Independence for Youth Allowance (YA) customers
• Assessing payment rates and independence for Disability Support Pension customers under 21 years
• customers who are under 16, below the minimum school leaving age and do not have a formal exemption from attending school, see Special Benefit

If a determination is made in the new claim activity, a separate DOC is not required as the assessment information must be included within the grant/reject DOC/Note.

• create a Fast Note - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > IND Granted/Rejected
• Select Confirm
• Complete the DOC outlining the reasons for Grant/REJ. Include details of any independence manual review created

Note: if a customer received a Crisis Payment in the period the change is applied, a manual reassessment of Crisis Payment may be required. For more information, see Reviewing and reassessing Crisis Payment (CrP).

Support arrangements for people in State care vary from State to State. Some State or Territory welfare agencies stop providing financial support when a young person turns 18. For a list of State/Territory welfare agencies, see the Resources page.

If support has ceased, the 'PSU' in State care or ward - not supported by guardian(s) rate is payable.

Youth Allowance (YA) customers granted 'PSF' in State care or ward - supported by guardian(s) will have a 'PSF code needs to be reviewed' manual review created to mature on their 18th birthday, or an earlier date if care arrangements are expected to change before that. Go to Step 2

When allocated a manual review, check the customer's circumstances. This check should include, but not be limited to:

• Benefit status, for any changes to their payment:
• If payment was cancelled with a date of event before the review date, complete the review and add a Display on Access (DOA) DOC to the customer's record advising the review must be actioned if payment is claimed again. Procedure ends here
• If payment was suspended within the previous 13 weeks, complete the review and add a DOA DOC to the customer's record advising the review must be actioned if payment is restored. Procedure ends here
• Address Details (AD)/Accommodation Details (AC) screens, to ensure the customer has not returned to live with their parent/s
• Independent/Homeless/Away From Home Summary (NIHS) screen, for any changes to independence. If the customer has been granted another independence criterion with a date of event before the review date and is receiving the away from home rate, complete the review. Procedure ends here
• Document List (DL) screen, for previous discussion about the supported/unsupported rate
• Documents/Document Tools, for any evidence about support arrangements already supplied. Evidence must come from the State or Territory welfare agency and must specify that:
• support has ceased, and
• the date support ceased plus
• no other support will be paid to the customer, such as independent living allowance or aftercare allowance. If there is further support, it needs to state what type of support and include the date it will commence

See the Resources page for evidence examples.

Is there evidence on the customer's record that support has ceased?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

Make 2 genuine attempts to contact the customer.

To ensure the customer is receiving the correct rate based on their circumstances, evidence is required from the State welfare authority advising:

• the customer is/is not receiving continued support from the State
• the nature of the support (For example. assistance with housing, or study/training assistance, independent living allowance or aftercare allowance)
• the date the support ceased (if applicable)

Some young people may not be aware of their support arrangements. Invite them to discuss this with their carer or caseworker and supply evidence where support has ceased.

Whether contact was successful or not:

• Create a Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > Update > IND state care rate
• Send a Q888 letter to the customer and if applicable, their correspondence nominee. See the Resources page for approved letter text
• Complete the manual review

Procedure ends here until evidence is supplied.

If evidence was supplied:

• within 14 days of support ceasing, the PSU grant date is the date support ceased
• more than 14 days after support ceased, check the History Summary (HS) screen and the Archive and Culling Engine for any rate letter issued to the customer on or around the date support ceased. Accept evidence as a request for a secretary initiated review of rate if supplied within 13 weeks of a rate letter. The PSU grant date will be:
• the date of the rate letter, if support had already ceased on that date, or
• the date support ceased, if this was after the date of the letter

Go to Step 5.

Update the Independent/Homeless/Away From Home (NIH) screen to pay the unsupported rate.

• Update the existing PSF line and complete the following fields:
• End date: the day before PSU grant date
• End reason: NLE – no longer eligible
• Source/DOR: as appropriate
• Go to the NIH screen to add a new row and complete the following fields:
• Action: IND - Independent
• Start/Reject Reason: PSU in State care or ward - not supported by guardian(s)
• Start date: PSU grant date
• Source/DOR: as appropriate
• Check any arrears are correct
• Finalise activity
• Create a Fast Note - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > IND Granted/Rejected
• Select Confirm
• Complete the DOC, deleting unnecessary text and recording the reasons for the update
• Complete the manual review