Suspension of ABSTUDY payments 102-10030020

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 about a payment that has already been suspended?

• Yes, see Step 2 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 3

Payments may be suspended if a customer is temporarily not qualified for payment or the payment is not payable as a result of:

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

Is it appropriate to consider suspending payment?

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

Payments must not be suspended if it is merely suspected that a customer is no longer eligible for payment or if they have unverified information (for example, a tip-off) which suggests a customer may not be eligible. Regardless of how significant the evidence that may be available, the customer must be asked to provide information, because a definitive outcome cannot be determined without giving individuals 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.

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

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

Information must be requested from the customer via a notice under ABSTUDY Policy 1.5. Requests for information must include:

• details of the information/action required
• the timeframe for response (noting that this must be reasonable)
• the consequences of non-compliance, and
• the reference to the relevant Policy and/or Student Assistance Act under which the request has been made

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

If the customer has a correspondence nominee, copies of letters and notices must also be sent to the nominee.

Procedure ends here until the information has been provided and or the review for the return of information has matured.

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

• Yes, cancel the review for the return of information and go to Step 8
• No, and
• the request was 'returned to sender', see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink
• the review has matured without a response, go to Step 7

If the reasonable timeframe has elapsed and the customer has not responded to the request for information, determine if special circumstances (such as vulnerability indicators) exist to warrant an extension of time to respond.

Do special circumstances exist?

• Yes, resubmit the request for information. DOC reason for extension including special circumstances, etc. Set a new review date. Procedure ends here until response is received or new review date is reached
• No, the customer has failed to reply to correspondence, see Step 1 in 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 Income Bank balance may change.

Record the details on a DOC. For more information, see:

• Online Document Recording (ODR) Resources page for Act references
• Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)

Procedure ends here.

ABSTUDY payments may be suspended where, as a result of a change in circumstances:

• the student, Australian Apprentice or applicant is no longer qualified for ABSTUDY, or
• another payment is more advantageous to them

As a general principle, action to cancel or suspend ABSTUDY (including Schooling A and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement) may be taken by Smart Centre Call staff where:

• the customer advises a change in circumstances which affects their eligibility for ABSTUDY, or
• the customer voluntarily ceases payments

and

• the action does not require a complex assessment (for example, Cancellation/suspension of an ABSTUDY secondary school boarder record is complex)

Where the action cannot be resolved at the point of first contact and/or more information is required before a cancellation can be actioned. For example, the customer has advised they have ceased studies but cannot advise their last day of attendance. Smart Centre Call staff should suspend from DPT+1 and refer via the ABSTUDY Action request Fast Note to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team for follow-up.

• Create a Fast Note - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY action requests > Confirm
• Add the following details in the Fast Note:
• ABSTUDY has been suspended DPT+1: (SUS date)
• Reason payment has been suspended:
• Details of further investigation is required to determine entitlement end date: (for example, student unable to provide last day of attendance)
• Please investigate ABSTUDY entitlement end date

Is the decision to suspend ABSTUDY payments correct?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, this procedure does not apply. Record all relevant details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

Update the customer record with relevant information to enable the system to make an automatic determination where possible. Otherwise, manually suspend the payment:

Access the ABSTUDY system by keying 'ISS' in the Sys field and 'SVABY' in the Nxt field and press [Enter].

In the customer's record, go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen and code:

• Reason: suspension code relevant to the customer's circumstances
• Effect Date: key the date of effect for the suspension. See Suspension of payments (CLK)

A manual Q134 letter will be required if a suspension activity has been actioned manually. The Q134 letter must be completed within the manual suspension activity to prevent any unnecessary Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity generating.

The letter must include:

• reasons for suspension of the ABSTUDY payment
• date of effect
• relevant section of the ABSTUDY Policy, and
• customer's review and appeal rights

See Creating a Q134 letter for information on how to create a Q134, ensure the following text is used when generating the letter.

Free text required for Q134

When creating the Q134 letter the Service Officer must insert the following text into the free text field and update the correct Policy reference(s) for the suspension action:

• 'This suspension has been made under <1.5 and 2.4> of the ABSTUDY Policy Manual'

When prompted to select the reference to the relevant Act under which the decision was made the Service Officer must select:

• 'This decision has been made under the Student Assistance Act 1973'

If there is a negative adjustment on the AR screen, there may be an overpayment resulting from the suspension and the system will automatically code a ‘Y’ in the Go to ASC field. Press [Enter] to access the Assessment Consequences (ASC) screen.

Record details of decision including all relevant Policy references, on a DOC, ensuring that Online Document Recording (ODR) standards are met where applicable. For more information, see:

• Online Document Recording (ODR) Resources page for Act references
• Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)

Smart Centre staff that are not trained in debt raising should refer any resulting overpayments to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team for action via the ABSTUDY Action request Fast Note.

If restoring the student’s record, investigate whether the debt activity needs to be raised, depending on the circumstances and information supplied by the student.

• For more information, see Restoration of ABSTUDY payments
• For more information on debts, see:
• Explaining and actioning negative adjustments on the Assessment Results (AR) screen, and/or
• Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)

See Step 1 in Table 3.

• If the payment is suspended manually, in Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: ABY
• Review Reason: REV
• Due Date: 13 weeks after date of suspension
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'ABSTUDY suspended xx/xx/xxxx. Check if customer qualifies for the payment and the payment is payable. Return to OB 102-10030020 for action.'
• Keywords: ABYRES
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: ABS
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action
• Update the DOC on the customer record with the date the review falls due

Note: if a customer is experiencing vulnerability or risk issues, or remains without income support payment for a minimum of 6 weeks due to an automatic suspension or cancellation, the customer will require manual intervention. Customers who are overseas permanently are not eligible for this initiative. Cancel any MFUs generated for customers in this situation.

Procedure ends here.

If the review due date has been reached, review the person's qualification for and payability of the payment. The criteria below are relevant.

If a customer contacts regarding their suspension, check the DOC recorded with suspension and ascertain 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 that the payment is one which is able to be restored

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 payment
• No, to one or more of the above, advise customer of the action required. Procedure ends here

Note: reviews will be allocated to appropriate staff by Workload Manager (WLM) upon expiry.