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Changes to Income Management priority needs 103-01040020

This document explains when a customer requests a review of their priority needs or they have had a change in their circumstances.

Income Management priority needs assessment

This table describes what actions to take for changes to a customer's Income Management priority needs.

Step	Action
1	A priority needs assessment must be completed in the following circumstances: + Read more ... there has been a change in the customer's circumstances, for example a change of address when a Work Item has been raised that indicates a customer's Income Management should be reviewed due to a change in circumstances, or at the customer's request, or a State or Territory Child Protection Authority requests a review of priority needs
2	Service Officers not trained in Income Management + Read more ... Priority needs assessments should be conducted by Service Officers trained in Income Management. Is the Service Officer Income Management trained? Yes, go to Step 3 No, transfer the customer to Income Management for a priority needs assessment. Process ends here
3	Viewing Priority Needs discussions + Read more ... A customer's most recent and historical priority needs discussions can be viewed from the Income Management menu by selecting: Income Management Summary screen. Under the Expenses block open the Priority needs expenses twisty to display the most recent discussion details. Select the Priority needs expenses history hyperlink to view details of all previously recorded discussions, or Manage Expenses then Expense management summary screen. Select the Priority Needs hyperlink from the History menu. This will display the Priority Needs Expenses screen pre-populated with the most recent discussion details. Historical discussions can be viewed by selecting the relevant radio button from the Priority Needs Discussion History list
4	Discussing priority needs with customers + Read more ... While a customer and their family's circumstances will differ, Service Officers are to consider how the following basic items are to be paid: School Meals Programs (if applicable) food, including basic personal hygiene and basic household items housing, for example rent, loan repayments utilities, for example electricity, gas, water, sewerage clothing and footwear medical needs If children are involved, it is generally appropriate for at least part of a person's income managed funds to be used for food, including School Meals Program (if available). If a regular allocation has not been established for any of the priority needs listed above, Service Officers should determine from the customer if the priority need is relevant to their circumstances and if so how the priority need is being met. The onus is on the customer to demonstrate to the Service Officer how their and their dependents' priority needs are being met. Other priority items should be considered after the basic items are being met. When determining if a person's priority needs are being met, Service Officers are to take into account information readily available on the customer's record (for example accommodation details, children in care, age of children). When completing a review of priority needs, Service Officers should also review any voluntary deductions (that is, Centrepay and Rent Deduction Scheme payments). The customer may choose to change the voluntary deductions to Income Management expenses or maintain/vary/stop the deductions. Note: Service Officers are to take into consideration the ranking of priority needs by a State or Territory Child Protection Authority or social worker, but do not need to comply with the recommendation. However, Service Officers are to document how these needs will be met when conducting an assessment or review of priority needs. For more information on priority needs, see Determining a person's priority needs for Income Management.
5	Completing the Priority Needs Expenses workflow + Read more ... If a priority needs review has been conducted with the customer, record the outcome on the Priority Needs Expenses workflow. From the Expense Management Summary screen select the 'Priority Needs' link to record the details in the Priority Needs Expenses workflow. The screen displays a list of all historical occurrences of discussions held with the customer. The latest occurrence is displayed first, and if selected the details will be presented, and can be updated if needed. If another occurrence is selected the details are presented also, but protected. If it is the first discussion being held, an answer 'Yes' or 'No' must be given to each of the Priority Needs types. If priority needs have been recorded via this workflow previously, two questions will be displayed e.g. 'Is a discussion being held?' only appears if the latest occurrence has been selected under the 'Priority Needs Discussion History' list 'Are there changes?' will present if the answer to the above question is 'Yes'. If the answer is 'No' then select 'No' and use either the 'Back' or 'Continue' button to exit the screen. If the answer is 'Yes' then a change must be made to either the priority expense/s need/s and/or how the expense/s is/are being met Customer Response - This field records how the customer will or will not meet the priority need. The field appears only after 'Yes' or 'No' is selected against the priority expense type, and appears against each expense type field when selected. When the field appears, a payment method type must be selected. If 'Yes' is selected the acceptable values are: Income Managed expense Combination IM and Discretionary Discretionary Income Regular manual payment Centrepay Housing authority deduction BasicsCard Partner Other family member Other person If 'No' is selected the acceptable values are: Not applicable to customer Not met Additional CP Expense - This field appears only if the customer is income managed under the Child Protection measure. It is an optional free text field, and can be used if the referring Child Protection Authority has identified another priority need applicable to the customer. Child Protection Priority Needs List - Only appears if the customer is income managed under the Child Protection measure and a priority needs list exists. The ranking of priority needs as recommended by the relevant Child Protection Authority will be displayed. If additional free text information exists, this will also display. Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipients Priority Needs List - Only appears if the customer was referred for Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient Income Management by a social worker and a priority needs list exists. The ranking of priority needs as determined by a social worker will be displayed. If additional free text information exists, this will also display. Once all updates are completed, click 'continue' and finalise the activity on the Income Management Summary page. Procedure ends here.