Suspension of Age Pension 065-03080020

Have letters been returned 'return to sender - no longer at this address'?

• Yes, see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Has the customer contacted regarding a payment that has already suspended?

• Yes, see Step 3 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 3

Services Australia may suspend Age Pension if the customer is temporarily not qualified for payment or the payment is not payable because:

• changes in their circumstances
• failure to comply with the requirements for Age Pension, or
• information is required to ensure that correspondence or Age Pension payments are directed correctly (such as a valid address or bank account details)

Do not suspend Age Pension in order for a customer to use the employment income nil rate period.

See also Commencing or returning to work for Age Pension.

Is it appropriate to consider suspending payment?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, procedure ends here

Payments must not be suspended or cancelled if it is only suspected that a customer is no longer eligible for payment or if information is received (for example, a tip-off) which suggests a customer may not be eligible. Regardless of how significant the evidence is, the customer must be asked to provide information. An outcome cannot be determined without giving customer the opportunity to address adverse information.

If the customer has a correspondence nominee, copies of letters and notices must also be sent to the nominee. Payments must not be suspended if contact with the nominee has not been made or attempted.

If the address on the system is different to the one on the letter, go to Step 5.

Has the customer been issued with an appropriate request for information/action?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 5

Issue a written request for the required information. See Requesting information (CLK).

Procedure ends here until the information has been provided or the date of return of the request for information has matured.

Has the customer responded to the request for information or action within the reasonable timeframe allowed?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, and the:
• request was 'returned to sender', see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink. Procedure ends here
• request for information has matured without a response, go to Step 7

If the customer has not responded to the request for information, determine if special circumstances exist to warrant an extension of time to respond. See Identifying crisis situations, customer vulnerability and risk issues.

Review the original request for information and details available since the date of the request, and consider:

• delays in scanning of documentation, later customer contacts
• whether the request for information was needed, and
• if the customer has made contact since the original request

Do special circumstances exist?

• Yes. DOC reason for extension including special circumstances. Procedure ends here until response is received or new reasonable timeframe is reached
• No, the customer has failed to reply to correspondence, see Table 2

Update the customer's record with the information provided. If the customer's circumstances preclude payment, payment will be automatically suspended or cancelled. If income affects payments, rate of payment or Work Bonus balance may change.

Record a DOC on the customer's record. See Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs).

Reasons for suspension of Age Pension include:

• the financial institution returned a direct credit payment
• the customer failed to reply to correspondence
• the customer failed to attend an interview

Note: take care when a customer has a current Residential Care Assessments (RCA) record. They may be in an aged care facility and not able to notify change of address or circumstances.

When suspending customer's payment, check if partner's payment is to be suspended as well.

Does the customer have a current RCA record?

• Yes, customer may not be able to comply with request because of medical reasons or unable to supply details of a change of address. Go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

If the customer has a current RCA record on the benefit status line:

• Check the RCA Institution Summary (RIS) screen in the RCA system for:
• Care Type: Residential
• Admission Date: date of entry
• Confirm address of residential care provider using available online resources such as Google search
• Confirm current home address details on Address Details (ADS) screen
• Check for a current correspondence nominee
• Nominee details on the Nominee Relationship Summary (NOLS) screen

Does the customer’s address need to be updated to their current aged care home?

• Yes,
• update address, see Change of address to an aged care home, and
• re-send any request previously sent to customer
• Procedure ends here
• No,
• Requests were sent to the correct address, or
• customer is not at the address on the RIS screen
• proceed with the suspension of payments
• Go to Step 5

Does customer's address need updating?

• Yes, update address and re-send any request previously sent to customer. Procedure ends here
• No, if Services Australia sent requests to the correct address and Service Officers cannot establish a valid reason for customer not replying, proceed with suspension. Go to Step 5

As the suspension is an unfavourable decision, before finalising a suspension activity, in most cases Service Officers are required to make at least 2 genuine attempts to contact the customer (or their nominee) to advise of the decision.

In the customer's record, go to the BA screen and code the following fields:

• Svc Rsn: benefit type AGE
• Action: this will be SUS (suspend)
• Reason: see Cancellation, suspension and rejection codes for Age Pension
  Note: Service Officers must base a decision to suspend a customer's payment on reliable evidence.
• Press [Enter] and the date of effect will default. Alternatively, enter the date of effect of the suspension in the Effect Date: field. For more information see Suspension of payments (CLK)
• Complete footer details, Source: field and date of receipt in the DOR: field
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen:
• If the suspension code of Other ('OTH') was used, inhibit the automatic suspension letter in the Actions section before finalising the activity
• While in the activity, manually issue a Q134 (for CIS issue XOB999 letter) as part of the suspension activity
• Finalise the activity

Document the suspension by recording all relevant details using the Fast Note – select Auto Text, use Generic > SUS/CAN/RES > Suspend Cancel Reason

The Fast Note must contain the following:

• Decision made, payment type and Act/Guide reference upon which decision was based, see Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)
• Date of effect of decision
• Reasons for decision, including why the person was not qualified or why the payment is not payable for decisions made under section 80, or
• Details of the non-compliance with a notice for decisions made under section 81
• Follow up action required on contact
• If contact with assessing Service Officer is required before restoration can take place

Complete the Fast Note.

See Table 3.

If the system has not issued a letter following the suspension activity, a manual letter is required. A Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity will be generated, usually overnight, and allocated by Workload Manager (WLM) for action unless the letter action field was coded to inhibit within the suspension activity.

Has a manual suspension letter already been issued to the customer at the time of suspension?

• Yes, finalise the MFU and go to Step 2
• No, send a manual letter. Select the MFU from the Activity List (AL) screen and manually issue a Q134 letter (for CIS issue XOB999 letter) to the customer. The letter must include the following information:
• payment type
• decision
• date of effect of the suspension
• a clear explanation of the reason the payment has been suspended
• a clear explanation of what they must do to have their payment restored and the consequences for not doing this (that is, payment will be cancelled)
• a reasonable timeframe to take required action to avoid cancellation
• their review and appeal rights
• the relevant section of the legislation under which the decision was made

If the Service Officer has suspended Age Pension, check the Future Activity List (FAL) screen.

Where no review has been set, in Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: AGE
• Review Reason: SOR (Suspended Other Reasons)
• Due Date: 13 weeks from suspension date
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'AGE suspended xx/xx/xxxx. Check if the customer qualifies for the payment and the payment is payable. Return to OB 065-03080020 to action.'
• Keywords: SUSOTH
• 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.

Note: if a vulnerable or at risk customer remains without income support payment for a minimum of 6 weeks because of an automatic suspension or cancellation, the customer will need manual intervention. Customers who are overseas permanently are not eligible for this initiative. Cancel any MFUs generated for customers in this situation.

Reviews will allocate to appropriate staff on expiry.

Review date reached

If the activity has reached the review date and no action has been taken, review the person's qualification and payability for Age Pension. The criteria listed below are relevant to determining ongoing eligibility.

Customer contacts about the suspension

If a customer contacts about the suspension, check the DOC recorded with suspension details and find out if the customer:

• has already complied with the action required or whether they can do so now
• is not required to supply documentation and/or
• does not need to attend the service centre and the Service Officer can restore the Age Pension

Does the customer meet all of the above criteria and is eligible for payment?

• Yes, and there is no note on a DOC to prevent restoration, restore Age Pension
• No, advise the customer of the action required before Age Pension may be restored