Commencing or returning to work or self-employment Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) 102-07030090

Determine whether the customer and/or their partner is considered self-employed or a sole trader. Note: calculating self-employment/sole trader income is different to calculating regular employment income.

See:

• Factors to determine self-employment
• How to identify a sole trader

Has the customer and/or partner commenced or returned to self-employment or sole trader business?

• Yes, see Documents required to assess a sole trader business. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Has the customer specifically asked for their PPP to be cancelled?

• Yes,
• Ensure the customer understands the benefits of employment income nil rate period and using their Working Credit balance
• If known, code the employment income
• Code the cancellation via the Benefit Action (BA) screen using reason CLR (Withdrawn/Voluntary Surrender) with the correct date of effect (DOE), which is the Entitlement Period Start Day (EPSD) of the period the customer has requested their payment to stop. For more details, see Cancellation of Parenting Payment (PP)
• Record details on a DOC on the customer's record detailing all action taken. Clearly state:
  - customer has been advised of possible entitlement to employment income nil rate period but insisted on cancellation, and
  - reason for decision to cancel
• Complete the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen. See Step 6 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 3

Is the customer advising income on or after their reporting date?

• Yes, and the Recording and correcting employment income details is:
• available, go to Step 5
• not available, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 4

If a PPP customer contacts about the commencement of employment, refer them to self-service to complete their update online or via the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

Is the customer able to complete the update via self-service?

• Yes, procedure ends here
• No, place the customer onto statement reporting, if not already required to report:
• Tell the customer they must report their employment income on their next Entitlement Period End Day (EPED) before their next payment can be made
• record details on a DOC
• see Step 4 in Table 2

Run the Recording and correcting employment income details to record employment income and update reporting requirements.

The customer's Families Estimate may need updating if income has changed since the last estimate was provided. It must include employment income, income support payments and other income.

Does the customer agree to update Family Estimate now?'

• Yes, the workflow will launch the Family Income and Choices workflow
• No, the Service Officer must select a response from the following options:
• customer advised estimate is correct
• customer did not have sufficient information to update estimate at this contact
• FTB/CCS payee not present and customer unable to provide estimate
• estimate was not discussed with customer - other reasons

The Family Estimate will:

• display as an overall total, and
• flag whether any components exist other than normal taxable income such as net rental income or non-taxable pension with a value greater than zero. If this information is available, then it will enable a user to access this component detail, for example, via a twisty

See Step 4 in Table 2.

Employment income details are updated on the:

• Employment Income Summary (EANS) screen, or
• Employment Income Paid Details (EAPP) screen
• See Employment income coding on the Customer First tab

If the Earnings and Reporting workflow is unavailable, manually update all details as in Table 2.

Obtain employment details from customer

• employer's ABN, name, address and phone number
• date first paid and gross amount
• ongoing gross employment income per week/fortnight
• period of employment, if known

DOC minimum standards

These only require the collection and recording of enough details about the employer to allow:

• income assessment (for example, contact name and address or phone number), and
• contact with the employer if necessary

Contact may be necessary for verification of the income details provided, or for conducting reviews resulting from Data Matching with the Australian Taxation Office.

Some customers (for example, those who work in sensitive areas like women's refuges) may not want all employment details (for example, business name) recorded on a DOC. This does not affect the requirement to collect sufficient details for assessment or review purposes.

Have all the employment details been provided?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 2

Place the customer onto statement reporting. Ask them to provide actual employment income, date of commencement and/or employer details when first paid. Tell the customer an overpayment may occur if employment details are not advised within 14 days of being paid.

See Requesting information (CLK) to:

• send a written request to the customer for employment income
• request payslips, or
• issue a Request for Information - Employment Details (Q146) directly to the employer

If after 14 days employment income details have not been provided:

• Suspend payments via the Benefit Action (BA) screen, reason INP - Income not provided
• The Effect Date - date of suspension should be the date the determination is made. This is the date it is determined that the customer has failed to comply with the notice and provide information to Services Australia (15 days after the issue of notice)
• Record a DOC on customer's record detailing all action taken and reason for decision to suspend

If the customer and/or their partner have been paid employment income, including when it was paid in a previous entitlement period (EPED), ask for the hours worked (if required) within the entitlement period that the work commenced and all income details from the date they were first paid.

For assessment and coding details on EANS / EAPP screens, see Recording and correcting employment income details.

Tell the customer of their entitlement to Working Credits.

• Customers with reporting requirements will generally need to report each fortnight via self-managed service channels (online account, Express Plus Centrelink mobile app or phone self service), in person or in writing (SU19)
• Customers with employment income must be updated to statement reporting and report on their Entitlement Period End Day (EPED) each fortnight to stimulate their payment. If they are paid their employment income at a frequency other than weekly or fortnightly, they must still report each fortnight

Partner

If the customer's partner reports each fortnight via self-managed service channels (online account, Express Plus Centrelink mobile app or phone self service), in person or in writing (SU19), the partner must include the customer's employment income in their report.

If their partner is on JobSeeker Payment (JSP)/Youth Allowance (YA) on variable reporting, or not required to report, the partner is now required to report each fortnight. Update reporting frequency.

Employment income nil rate period

Working Credit

Income test

Is the customer entitled to an employment income nil rate period?

• Yes,
• Tell the customer - due to current limitations for PPP the system will not always cancel PPP automatically when the employment nil rate period is finished
• In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
  Service Reason: PPP
  Review Reason: FUT (Future Review)
  Due Date: date after the 12 full fortnights at nil rate from the first affected entitlement period (it can be between 169 to 181 days due to income that is partly or fully from employment)
  Source: INT
  Date of Receipt: today's date
  Notes: 'Check customer has had 12 full fortnights of PPP at nil rate and cancel PPP if appropriate.'
  Keywords: @PPP
  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
• The customer will need to update their income estimate for payment of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) to continue. See Effect of income support entitlement on Family Tax Benefit (FTB). Go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 6

If not already done, use the Family Income and Choices workflow to discuss/ update the customer's:

• annual income estimate
• FTB/Child Care Subsidy (CCS) payment choice
• return to work details for FTB Part B quarantine

For help, see Updating income estimates for the current financial year.

Check the customer's CCS activity test details and update if necessary. See Activity Test for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).