Suspension of Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and ABSTUDY PES 102-10030140

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, go to 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 or cancelled 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 the appropriate section of the Social Security (Administration) Act; section 63, 67, 68, or part 5, division 1, or 1.5 of ABSTUDY Policy. 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 Act/Policy under which the request has been made

Issue a written request for the required information and reassess after reasonable timeframe has expired. 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 a request for information activity falls due and the customer has not responded, 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. 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 Working Credit balance may change.

Record a DOC on the customer's record as per Getting it Right (GIR) Minimum Standards.

Procedure ends here.

PES or ABSTUDY PES can be suspended if it is determined that the customer no longer qualifies for payment. Payments should only be suspended if the period of ineligibility is expected to be only for a short time or where there is reason to believe non-compliance with any legislative/policy issues will be resolved.

Most suspensions will be initiated by staff in consolidated processing teams for issues such as failing to provide requested documents, verifying information for overpayments, payments returned or whereabouts unknown.

Undertake an investigation if a PES or ABSTUDY PES customer:

• has changed course, institutions or reduced study load and
• there is doubt about continuing qualification for PES or ABSTUDY PES

Is the Service Officer skilled in PES or ABSTUDY PES processing?

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

Scan documents onto the customer's record and return any original documentation to the customer.

• PES can only be suspended by the PES Smart Centre Processing Service or staff with the appropriate PES skill tag in Service Delivery
• A PES Suspended required Fast Note is sent to the PES Smart Centre Processing team. Select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > PES Suspension required > Confirm
• ABSTUDY PES can be restored by telephony and processing Service Officers within the ABSTUDY Smart Centre
• An ABSTUDY action request Fast Note including any relevant documentation is sent to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team. Select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY Restoration Action Required > Confirm

Procedure ends here.

To access the PES screens, code 'ISS' in the Sys: field and in the Next: field type SVPES and press [Enter]

Code the suspension by updating the following fields on the Benefit Action (BA) screen:

• Svc Rsn: field - code either:
• 'EPA' for ABSTUDY PES, or
• 'EPF' for PES
• Action: field - code 'SUS'
• Reason: field - code the appropriate suspension reason. For a list of suspension codes, see:
• Cancellation, suspension and rejection codes for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), or
• use field help (?) to view options
• Effect Date: field - code the date of effect of the suspension. See Suspension of payments (CLK)
• Notes: field - Optional field. Include any additional information relevant to this customer's circumstances in this field
• Source:, Date of Receipt: and Action: fields

A manual letter will be required if a suspension activity has been actioned manually. Where a manual suspension with a reason of OTH (other) is required, the correct letter (Q134) is required to be issued within the suspension activity to prevent an unnecessary Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity generating.

When creating the Q134 letter for an ABSTUDY suspension, 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'

Finalise the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen and record details of decision and any action taken on a DOC.

See Step 1 in Table 3.

Where a manual 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 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 (that is, 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 or Policy under which the decision was made

Note: 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.

Reviews will allocated to skilled staff upon expiry.

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.