Child Override/Claim (CHOC) screen 102-05050140

The Child Override/Claim (CHOC) screen is used to insert, correct or delete details for a child for correct assessment of a customer's entitlement to payments and services in relation to a child.

A CLAIM or RECLAIM line must exist on the CHOC screen for some payments for the child to be assessed for that service reason.

Child eligibility may be overridden due to other child circumstance details, shared care, child ceasing to be an eligible child for the service reason.

Details on the CHOC screen are used to correctly assess the customer's:

• claim for family assistance payments
• rate of payment. For example, Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A is paid for each eligible FTB child
• concession card dependent child details
• principal carer status in some instances

A child must first be added/linked to the customer's record for the CHOC screen to be coded.

When a new claim activity is created, the system will automatically add claim details to the CHOC screen (if required) for each child selected from the Relations menu in Process Direct or the Child Selection (CHS) screen in Customer First for each service reason recorded when indexing the claim.

If an add child activity is created in Customer First, the system assumes a claim is made for all service reasons current, suspended or assessed, for the customer and where necessary, adds these claim details to the CHOC screen for the child being added.

Note: the relevant line should be deleted if the child is not to be included in the assessment for the service reason.

Except for Pension payments, the CHOC screen is included in the new claim screen flow and add child activities after selecting the child from the Relations menu in Process Direct or the CHS screen in Customer First.

In Customer First, an activity can be started from the CHOC screen once a child has been selected as above. This is a REAssessment activity.

Ensure the child is an eligible child for the service reason recorded, for example, an FTB child for family assistance.

If FTB is current, to restore FTB for a particular child, code a 'RCL' line on the CHOC screen from the date FTB was cancelled for that child.

A child may be included for a service reason on the CHOC screen but may not be assessed as a qualifying child of the customer due to other child circumstances such as shared care.

Assess principal carer status for income support customers.

NSS payments

If a person claiming JSP, YA (job seeker) or SpB, indicates in the claim they no longer have care of a child, this must be checked and updated before processing the claim. If the child has left the customer's care, see Child leaves customer's care/custody.

PPS payments

If the customer receives PPS for the child and the DOV coded on the SSA Shared Care (SSC) screen is prior to 2 March 2024, update the Child Override/Claim (CHOC) screen on the PPS customer's record:

• 'TOP' if the child is no longer a PP child of the customer
• 'OTN' if the child is not in the principal care of the customer but is still considered a dependent child of the customer. The child will be included in the customer's additional income free area if requirements are met (can include a child under 18 on YA)

If a previous ‘TOP’, ‘OTN’, ‘PCY’ or ‘PCN’ entry needs to be overridden, update the Child Override/Claim (CHOC) screen on the PPS customer's record with ‘EOV’.

If the E630PN or E559NM edits present, see E630PN or E559NM - Child is the dependant of another principal carer.

Note: CHOC screen coding must be actioned in Customer First if not being applied within a new claim transaction.

If these details are not correct, first check the CHOC screen to ensure a 'CLM' line exists for the relevant service reason (excluding pension payments such as PPS, Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) and Disability Support Pension (DSP)).

If details are not correct on the CHOC screen, update details according to the customer's current payment status.

Once CHOC screen details are correct, in Customer First:

• Code a 'refresh' on the Child Benefit Action (CHBA) screen
• Before finalising this activity, check the following screens to ensure dependent details have updated:
• AX screen for the service reason. For example, AXNSS screen for NSS payments
• Pensions Child Summary (PNKDS) screen for pension children
• PPP Child Summary (PGKDS) screen for pension PPP children, and
• Concession Dependant Summary (MCDS) screen

Have the child details been corrected?

• Yes, reissue the concession card
• No, in Customer First: code a 'refresh' on the Concession Benefit Action (MCBA) screen. Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen, then check:
• AX screen for the service reason. For example, AXNSS screen for NSS payments
• Pensions Child Summary (PNKDS) screen for pension children
• PPP Child Summary (PGKDS) screen for PPP children, and
• Concession Dependant Summary (MCDS) screen

If the child details are still not correct, raise an Incident via mySupport. See Resources page for a link to mySupport. If an incident has been raised previously, place activity back on hold. Once incident has been resolved, reissue the concession card.

On the first available blank line, code the following fields:

• Date:
• For claims, the date will default based on the date of receipt of the claim and the child's birth date. If the claim is backdated the date should reflect the grant date. Future dates are not permitted
• For FTB reassessments, code the date of receipt
• For reassessments, code the date of the event
• Svc Rsn:
• Reason: Use Field Help (?) to view Valid Values for Override and Conversion Codes

Code DOR: and Source: fields.

Press [Enter] to display the expanded literals.

Code 'C' next to the incorrect details and code correct details as above.

Code 'D' next to the incorrect details and then confirm the deletion.

Correcting or deleting an existing line will always result in a reassessment of the record and should only be completed if the information was coded incorrectly or was coded on the wrong customer's record. If an override exists and no longer applies, a new line should be inserted with the code 'EOV' to end the override from the date of change.

A CLM line cannot be corrected or deleted. Where a CLM line needs to be deleted, code a new line with the relevant code using the date of the original entry + 1 day.

Finalise activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen and record details on a DOC.

For each child linked to the customer, the Assessment Explanation (AX) screen displays:

• whether or not the child has been assessed as an eligible child for the payment or benefit (other than pensions, see Note below)
• if the child is not an eligible child, the reason

For information about accessing and viewing child eligibility details displayed for each service reason, see Viewing child eligibility details on the Assessment Explanation (AX) and Assessment Details (ASDT) screens.

Note: for pension customers the Pensions Child Summary (PNKDS) screen in Customer First displays a summary of dependent children. See Child refresh action for action to take if a child is not displaying as a dependent child on the PNKDS screen.

When a child leaves care, in addition to updating the required care screens, the CHOC screen may also need to be coded if this does not reassess the record correctly. If an existing child eligibility override should be ceased, refer to record child left customer's care.

If Family Tax Benefit (FTB) is paying for a period of ineligibility due to child residence requirements not met, the CHOC screen can be updated to override FTB payability for the child.

• Go to the child's CHOC screen and record a residence override of 'NRQ' in the Reason field from the appropriate care date. The 'NRQ' reason will result in the child being ineligible for FTB and DOP
• Where the child later becomes residentially qualified, the 'NRQ' override should be ended by coding 'EOV' in the Reason from date of event of residential qualification

Note: an FTB claim (CLM) line on the CHOC screen may need to be inserted initially to allow coding of the residence override.

The SSC screen/shared care table, ‘shared care percentage’ and ‘principal carer (PC) indicator’ is used to record principal carer status of a child for PPS, PPP, JSP, YA (job seeker) and SpB payments.

The following rules apply to the PC indicator on the SSC screen/shared care table to facilitate correct principal carer coding:

• Care percentage 55% and above must be coded with Y
• Care percentage 45% and below must be coded with N
• Care percentage 46% to 54% (equal care) can be coded with Y or N

If the principal carer status of a child needs to be overridden (this should only be coded in limited circumstances, for example where there are more than 2 carers):

• Date: The date the child is or no longer a principal carer child
• Svc Rsn:
• Reason:
• Principal Carer No (PCN)
• Principal Carer Yes (PCY)

Staff must document the record with the reasons why a principal care override is required.