Actioning Approved Care Organisation (ACO) advice of transfer, discharge or absence of a young person 102-05050030

An ACO admission, transfer or discharge spreadsheet is to be used by the ACO to notify of a child’s discharge. Payment of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and, where applicable, Double Orphan Pension (DOP) is cancelled on receipt of this advice.

The ACO should advise Services Australia immediately of the discharge.

Where the young person has been transferred from another ACO, a check is made to ensure that the losing ACO has recorded the discharge on the spreadsheet and that payment to the losing ACO in respect of that young person will be stopped.

The dates of admission and discharge must agree otherwise follow up action for admission and discharge must be taken.

Family Tax Benefit (FTB) must not be commenced to an ACO solely on advice received from the losing ACO. The gaining ACO must complete the ACO admission, transfer or discharge spreadsheet and email it to the ACO Smart Centre Processing team.

Difficulty can be experienced in identifying the young person for whom FTB is being claimed (e.g. Interstate transfers, insufficient information given, no previous young person record etc.). It is the responsibility of the ACO processing officer to then make further inquiries of the ACO, the Clerk of Petty sessions, the child’s previous guardian or other appropriate persons, to ascertain to whom Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for that young person is being paid.

Only in rare circumstances will it be found that there is no previous claim for a young person other than a newly born baby or a young person newly arrived in Australia. The child’s date of birth should be verified from existing agency records. Where no previous record exists, the child’s birth should be verified in the usual manner from the Registrar-General’s records. If the search at the Registrar-General’s office reveals that the names of the parents of the young person have been shown incorrectly by the ACO, the agency records for the young person should be amended and a further search made to see if a claim has been lodged under the amended name. If not, the correct names of the parents should be documented.

Where the young person is an abandoned infant or an orphan and it is impossible, after full inquiry, to obtain particulars of the date of birth, a date of birth should be deduced which is as near as possible to the apparent age of the young person. Where possible, confirm the details of the young person, including whether they are an Australian resident.

Generally, temporary absences of a young person from an ACO, such as admission to hospital, need not be advised providing that the young person is still a client of the ACO.

Where a young person has absconded, or is missing from an ACO, Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Double Orphan Pension (DOP) are not payable to the ACO. The Child out of care without consent (paying FTB for up to 14 weeks) - rule does not apply.

Where an ACO is receiving Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for a young person, payments will continue to the ACO during short periods of leave that the young person spends with the parent or guardian, providing that the young person is still a client of the ACO.

The parent or guardian has no eligibility for FTB, unless the ACO officially discharges the young person into their care.

Where a young person is temporarily between ACOs, a determination needs to be made as to which ACO has care and control of the young person at that point in time, regardless of the length of time they are expected be in the new ACO’s care. Once the young person returns to the previous ACO, a new determination would need to be completed.

Where a young person is in shared care between an individual and an ACO, the ACO will not be able to be paid any Family Tax Benefit (FTB). The individual carer can receive their entitlement based on their percentage of care.