Assuree makes a claim for an Assurance of Support (AoS) recoverable payment 005-03050020

An AoS is an agreement to provide financial support to an assuree during an AoS period by an:

• Australian permanent resident or citizen,
• eligible New Zealand citizen or
• organisation

The AoS period can be for 12 months, 2 years, 4 years or 10 years.

By agreeing to provide an AoS the assurer(s) is making a legal commitment to support the assuree so that the assuree should not require access to social security income support.

An assuree is able to claim an income support payment during the AoS period. This is subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for the payment being claimed.

If granted an AoS recoverable payment, every 3 months both the assurer and assuree will receive an AoS review form to confirm their current circumstances. See Assurance of Support (AoS) reviews.

If an assuree receives a social security payment that is an AoS recoverable payment from Services Australia during the AoS period, those payments are raised as a debt to the assurer(s).

Approximately every 12 months, an AoS debt status will be determined and the assurer(s) will receive a statement outlining the total debt amount due and their repayment options. Voluntary repayments may be made at any time after the debt is raised.

If an Assurance of Support (AoS) bank guarantee and term deposit has been provided, the debt will initially be recovered from the term deposit funds. If the debt is more than the amount in the bank guarantee secured by a term deposit, those monies will be recovered directly from the assurer(s). The AoS recoverable payment is a debt to the Commonwealth.

If a claim for an AoS recoverable payment is lodged by an assuree, both the assurer(s) and the claimant (assuree) must be interviewed before granting any payment. This process serves 3 purposes:

• It establishes whether the assurer(s) is willing and able to provide adequate support
• If the assuree is refusing support offered by the assurer(s), and if this refusal is reasonable (for example, in cases of family and domestic violence)
• It ensures that both parties understand that any AoS recoverable payment made to the assuree while the AoS is effective will become a debt to the assurer(s) approximately every 12 months

The only time assurer(s) should not be immediately contacted about their responsibilities under the AoS is if contact may endanger the assuree, for example Family and Domestic Violence/Elder Abuse. If this is likely, a social worker must be involved, and they may recommend that contact with the assurer(s) be delayed.