Suspension of Parenting Payment (PP) 102-10030120

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 3

Has the customer contacted about a payment that has already been suspended?

• Yes, go to Step 3 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 or details and the change means they are no longer qualified
• 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)
• failure to respond to request for action, information or documentation within the specified period

Is it appropriate to consider suspending payment?

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

Is suspension being considered because the customer has employment income that may result in a nil rate payable?

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

Updating employment income allows eligible customers to utilise Working Credits or the Work Bonus and access 12 fortnights at the nil rate before their payment is cancelled:

• If under Age Pension age Working Credits may enable the customer to keep some of their income support payment while they are working
• If over Age Pension age and in receipt of a pension (excluding Parenting Payment Single (PPS)) they may be entitled to the Work Bonus
• If the customer's income reduces their fortnightly rate to nil and some of that income is employment income, the customer's payment may remain current at nil rate for up to 12 fortnights

If the customer is entitled to the employment nil rate period, the system will be automatically updated when the employment income is recorded on the customer's record. Payments are automatically restored if employment income reduces and the customer is again eligible for payment.

Customers retain their entitlement to the Pension Concession Card (PCC) in the nil rate period.

• Update the customer's employment income using the Earnings and Reporting workflow. Note: if the workflow is not working, code the employment income manually on Employment Income Details (EAN) screen. For assistance, see Recording and correcting employment income details
• For customers receiving family assistance, check their annual income estimate is reasonable and request a revised estimate, if necessary
• Record details on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

Payments must not be suspended or cancelled if it is merely suspected that a customer is no longer eligible for payment or if they have unverified information (e.g. a tip-off) which suggests a customer may not be eligible. Regardless of how significant the available evidence is, the customer must be asked to provide information, because a definitive outcome cannot be determined without giving customers the opportunity to address adverse information. See Genuine attempts to contact by phone.

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 notice for information/action?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 7

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

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 10
• 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 9

If a manual review activity falls due 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, place the activity back on hold and extend the review date. DOC reason for extension including special circumstances, etc. Procedure ends here until response is received or new review date 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 Working Credit 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 (Fast Note, Callbacks, ACTDOCs and DOA DOCs)

Procedure ends here.

Payments must only be suspended when:

• there is sufficient evidence that the customer is not qualified for the payment or the payment is not payable
• the period of ineligibility is expected to be for a short time or where there is reason to believe non-compliance with any legislative issues will be resolved
• failure to comply with the requirements for payment (such as attend interview, meet requirements for a participation plan/Job Plan or meet reporting requirements)
• failure to respond to notice or request for action, provide information or documentation within a specified period (this may be after a notice has been issued requesting customer to provide written documentation about a change in circumstance or other request for information)

Note: if the customer correspondence has been 'returned to sender' or 'no longer at this address', see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink.

As the suspension is an adverse 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. Note: access staff must advise customers of an unfavourable decision at point of contact.

On Benefit Action (BA) screen, code:

• Benefit type: field - system payment code
• Action: field - 'SUS'pend
• Reason: field - see Cancellation, suspension and rejection codes for Parenting Payment (PP)
• Effect date: Enter the date of effect of the suspension. See Suspension of payments (CLK) for assistance
• Source: field and Receipt Date: field with the date the information was recorded (DOR)
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity

DOC the suspension by recording all relevant details using a Fast Note. Use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > SUS/CAN/RES > Suspend Cancel Reason.

The Fast Note must contain:

• decision made, payment type and Act/Guide reference upon which decision was based
• 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 of the SSA Act or
• details of the non-compliance with a notice, for decisions made under section 81 of the SSA Act
• follow up action required before restoration can take place
• if contact with the assessing Service Officer is required before restoration can take place

Complete the Fast Note.

As soon as PP is suspended, an estimate should be provided for Family Tax Benefit (FTB)/Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

The system will automatically issue a request for an estimate. Estimates may be given verbally. Customers should provide a reasonable estimate as soon as possible to reduce the risk of overpayment.

If a manual Q134 or Q999 letter is required following the suspension activity, a Manual Follow Up (MFU) activity will be generated, usually overnight, and allocated by Workload Manager (WLM) for action.

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 or, for Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC), create a Q999 letter to the customer
  The letter must include the following information:
• payment type
• decision
• date of effect of the decision
• a clear explanation of the reason for the decision
• a clear explanation of what they must do to have their payment restored and the consequences for not doing this (i.e. 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

Note: Q999 letter written without approved free text must only be drafted by a Local Peer Support (LPS), Service Support Officer (SSO) or Team Leader.

• 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: PPP or PPS
• Review Reason: FUT (Future Review)
• Due Date: 13 weeks from suspension date
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today’s date
• Notes: 'PPP or PPS suspended xx/xx/xxxx. Check if the customer qualifies for the payment and the payment is payable. Return to OB 102-10030120 to action.'
• Keywords: @PPP or @PPS
• 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
• Update the DOC on the customer record with the date the review falls due

If a vulnerable or at risk customer 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, or
• is not required to supply documentation

Any contacts about a suspension for DNA participation appointment or activity (APA) are to be referred to the Participation Solutions Team (PST). PST will restore the customer's payment, if appropriate.

Does the customer meet any of the above criteria and are they eligible for payment?

• Yes, and there is no note on a DOC to prevent restoration, restore PP. Procedure ends here
• No, tell the customer of the action required. Procedure ends here

Reviews will be allocated to appropriate staff by Workload Manager (WLM) upon expiry.