Claiming and re-claiming Age Pension 065-03010000

Check the customer or nominee has a Centrelink online account linked to myGov. Organisation nominees must be registered for nominee organisation online services. Organisation nominees must log into Provider Digital Access (PRODA) to access nominee services. Nominees must select the person they wish to act for.

Advise the customer how they can create a myGov account and link Centrelink to it. This will also enable them to receive Centrelink mail online through the myGov Inbox.

If the customer is partnered, consider if the partner may also be eligible for Age Pension or another service offer. If the customer has permission to enquire on their partner’s behalf or their partner is present, discuss whether they would also like to lodge a claim.

Service centre staff can help customers with their online claim through self service terminals.

Customers can access the Payment and Service Finder on the website to check if Age Pension is an appropriate payment for them, and to start their claim.

Record the claim contact in a DOC and tell the customer:

• to start and submit a claim as soon as possible to be paid from the earliest possible date, and
• if they are having difficulty submitting the claim to contact Services Australia for help

Note: for customers in vulnerable circumstances, see Intent to claim for vulnerable customers.

Once the customer has a Centrelink online account linked to myGov, they must:

• sign into myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• from the menu, select My details > Personal and contact details > My profile to make updates:
  • My profile page shows information from their Centrelink record
  • select Update (relevant service name) in the sections such as Relationship or Interpreter details that need updating. Note: accommodation details are covered within the claim questions

Electronic Messaging

Customers who provide a mobile phone number or email address are advised they are automatically subscribed to Electronic Messaging (EM) services, unless they have previously declined EM. They are asked to nominate a preferred contact method (SMS or email) for electronic messages.

They are automatically subscribed to receive their Centrelink mail online in their myGov Inbox.

They can opt out of these services at any time.

To start a new claim:

• from the home page, select MENU > Payments and Claims > Claims > Make a claim
• in the Older Australians category, select Get started > Apply for Age Pension
• answer the pre-claim questions on the Eligibility Check page to check their eligibility for Age Pension, including details of circumstances to help the customer determine if they are in a crisis situation. The online claim will advise why they may not be eligible and refer them to the Payment and Service Finder or to contact Services Australia to discuss a more suitable payment. They can select Back to return to Make a claim page to begin another claim type
• after completing the streaming questions, select Continue

Customers must provide all required documents and verify their identity (if there is no Identify Confirmation (ICI) recorded) to submit their claim. Exceptions will be made for some vulnerable customers.

The Claim navigation page shows the sections of the claim the customer must complete. They must complete each section in order before they can start the next.

They select Start to access sections.

Each section contains modules with relevant questions. On each question page, the customer can select Previous to go back to the previous question.

Customers can select Launch the Digital Assistant for help with the questions on the current page.

After completing each section, the customer returns to the Claim navigation page to select the next section. They have the option to select Edit to correct answers to a previous section. They can then return to the Claim navigation page by selecting the arrow under the last dot on the side navigation and Continue.

Customers can use the dots on the side navigation of each page to go between pages in the online claim. If they answer a question incorrectly, a red cross will appear in the dots on the right of the page. They can select the red cross to go to the page with the error.

They do not need to complete the claim in one session. Customers can leave the Claim navigation page at any time and the responses will save for them to continue later.

All compulsory questions must be answered before the claim can be submitted.

Expired claims

An online claim will expire after 13 weeks if it has not been submitted. The customer must then submit a new claim. In some cases, the claim can be assessed from the original start date. For more information, see Circumstance Change Monitor. If further assistance is required refer to the Retirements Helpdesk.

To access their online claim, customers must:

• sign in to myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• select Payments and claims > Claims > My online claims from the menu

A list of all online claims started by the customer will display.

If the status of the claim is incomplete, the customer can choose to either:

• continue claim to display the next question set for completion, or
• cancel claim - page will display for them to confirm they want to do this. Once cancelled, the customer cannot view or continue the online claim. No claim information is recorded. The customer can start a new online claim at any time

Question sets include:

• Personal details - Identity, Address, Contact details, Relationship
• Contact Requirements - Permit to Enquire, Nominee
• Basic details about your Age Pension. Questions include:
  • How often do you wish to receive the minimum pension supplement amount?
  • Do you want to claim Age Pension as someone who is classified as permanently blind?
• Australian Residence
• Accommodation circumstances

This section allows the customer to supply or confirm information about their income and assets. The module includes questions about:

• payment instructions
• tax file number
• tax deductions
• savings
• investments including:
  • superannuation
  • income streams
  • shares
  • managed investments
  • funeral bonds
  • home equity conversion loans
  • gifting
• business, trusts and companies, real estate
• other assets
• income including:
  • employment income
  • other government payments
  • compensation
  • foreign pensions, income and assets
  • scholarships
  • other income

Existing income and asset information is displayed for the customer to update or confirm.

Employment details may be pre-filled through Single Touch Payroll (STP) in the online claim for the customer to confirm. This includes the employer name and ABN. Staff can recognise a STP employer has been presented if the question “Do you work for (employer)” is displayed in the claim slider. Further details can be seen on the STP Employer Update (EMCF) screen.

If a customer confirms the STP employer, STP pre-filled income may also present on the STP Employer Wage Items (EMGI) screen. Staff can accept the STP data on EMGI if the pay event date is after the customer grant date. Staff must contact the customer to confirm the amounts prior to accepting the STP data.

If a customer has previously confirmed an employer and advises they do not work for the employer anymore, the employer will still remain as confirmed on the EMCF screen.

A customer will automatically be placed on reporting if STP data is presented to the customer within the claim, regardless of the employer status.

Some question sets require additional paper forms to be completed. If required, these will be included at Next steps:

• Private Trust (MOD PT)
• Special Disability Trust (MOD SDT)
• Private Company (MOD PC)
• Business details (MOD F)

Customers can upload their supporting documents for income and assets by using the Upload document service.

Note: if the customer indicates at any question they are unable to provide details, this will be identified at Review and Confirm and must be provided before the claim can be submitted.

If the customer is eligible, they will be presented with an option to claim 'just for myself' or 'for both myself and (their partner’s name)' as an Age Pension combined partner claim.

The option to submit a combined partner online claim will only appear where the following criteria is met:

• claim is being submitted by the customer, not a Nominee (Correspondence or Third Party Organisation)
• customer does not indicate they are in crisis (domestic violence, humanitarian visa entrant, natural disaster and recent prison release) in the claim
• partner is already linked in the system before starting the claim
• customer does not change current relationship status within the claim. The customer must not be single or in a relationship where they are unable to live together.
• both customer and partner are subscribed to electronic messaging before starting the claim
• partner is eligible to lodge a claim for Age Pension
• partner is not already receiving an Income Support Payment
• the customer has answered yes to the question 'Can you provide accurate information regarding your partner's circumstances to support your claim?'
• customer and partner are not applying as Age Pension Blind claimants
• neither customer or partner are registered for Pension Bonus Scheme (PDB/REG)
• partner has a payment destination account in their name either jointly or solely
• partner does not have a draft Age Pension claim.

It is recommended online claims should be submitted within 12 weeks of the date a claim is started. Submissions after this may not allow enough time (3 days) for partner tasks to be completed.

If eligible for a combined partner claim, the partner must complete and confirm the claim task within 3 days of being notified, otherwise the claim will revert to an individual Age Pension claim for the customer only.

Outstanding items

This section will display if the customer has selected 'Provide details later' in any of the previous sections of the claim. The items can be selected, and the customer will go back to the relevant section of the claim to make the update.

Confirm details

A summary of all the information provided by the customer is displayed so they can check what they have entered is correct.

If changes are required, the customer can select the Update button relevant to the answers requiring change. This will take them back to the relevant section of the claim to review/update the particular claim questions and responses.

Declaration

Once all information is correct, the customer must accept the declaration by ticking the box. Completing the declaration means a signed claim form is not required.

Acknowledgement

The customer must accept the acknowledgement by ticking the box. Completing the acknowledgement means the customer understands and agrees to the terms of their claim.

Confirm Information

The customer must select the Confirm Information button to save all the information provided in the claim. Answers in the claim cannot be changed once this button is selected.

The partner will receive a notification via either SMS or email to advise that the customer would like to submit a claim on behalf of both customer and partner.

The partner will need to:

• sign into myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• select Task for Age Pension combined partner claim on the homepage
• give permission for their partner to claim on their behalf
• answer questions about their payment destination and tax deduction preferences
• review the claim answers that the customer completed on the partner’s behalf (no changes can be made)
• confirm, accept and declare the information to be true and correct

Note: the partner task must be completed and confirmed within 3 days of being notified of the task, or it will disappear and the claim will revert to an individual Age Pension claim for the customer only. If partner still wants to claim, they will need to submit their own claim within 14 days to ensure the same start date of payment if eligible.

The Next steps page advises the customer of any further information or documentation required for them to submit their claim.

Customers must provide all required documents and verify their identity (when a Confirmed Identify status has not been achieved) to submit their claim. Exceptions will be made for some vulnerable customers.

To be assessed from the earliest possible date, customers need to provide all required information and supporting documents and submit the claim as soon as possible. The date the claim has been submitted will generally determine the claim start date. Customers can access their saved claim for 13 weeks. After 13 weeks the claim will expire.

Customers can access their started online claim using their Centrelink online account or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app to upload the required documents to submit their claim.

In the Next steps section, there is an Upload button next to most listed tasks, that will launch the Upload documents service and change the Task status to ‘Done’ once documents have been provided or actions completed.

If necessary, Service Officers can:

• scan the documents and upload to the customer’s record
• mark as ‘provided’ using the Manage Draft Claim Tasks workflow in Process Direct or Request and Manage Customer Tasks guided procedure in Customer First. See Circumstance Change Monitor (CCM) for managing tasks

If the customer uploaded or provided documents before starting the online claim the document displays as Required on the Next steps section. The customer can either:

• re-upload the document on the Next steps section
• contact by phone or in person to have the status updated from Required to Provided. Use the Manage Draft Claim Tasks workflow in Process Direct or Request and Manage Customer Tasks guided procedure in Customer First. See Circumstance Change Monitor (CCM) for managing tasks

To submit their claim, customers must:

• answer all mandatory questions
• provide all their required documents
• verify their identity (when a confirmed Identity Confirmation status has not been achieved)

Exceptions may apply for vulnerable customers to submit their claim without providing all documents.

The claim cannot be submitted if the Required tasks are not completed.

Once the relevant tasks are completed, the Submit button will become available so the customer can submit their claim.

Claims not submitted within 13 weeks will expire. See the Online claim or ACC expired after 13 weeks table for more information.

Note: it is recommended online claims should be submitted within 12 weeks of the date claim started. Submissions after this may not allow enough time (3 days) for partner tasks to be completed.

'Channel hopping' allows:

• the customer to start a claim online and have it continued by a Service Officer, or
• a Service Officer to help a customer with starting a claim, which would then be completed by the customer online (a Centrelink online account linked to myGov is required)

Online claims and ACCs can also be started and submitted by customers or their nominees.

Note: nominees acting on behalf of their principals cannot submit an Age Pension combined partner online claim.

For more information, see Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) table in the Assisted subtab.