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Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers outside Australia 103-04020000

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This document outlines overseas payment process for Centrelink customers who either leave Australia long-term or are residing permanently in another country.

On this page:

Length of absence from Australia and payment arrangements

Payment method options for customers outside Australia

Coding Australian bank account details

Coding international bank account details

Bulk data collection

Rejected or returned payments

Payments not received

Cheques


Length of absence from Australia and payment arrangements

Table 1

Expand table

Step

Action

1
Customer advises they are leaving Australia

For customers receiving:

2
Family assistance payments

Customers receiving a family assistance payment, for example Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Parental Leave Pay (PPL), cannot be paid to an overseas bank account.

Family assistance payments will continue to issue to the customer's Australian bank account every 2 weeks.

The customer's record will remain in the home environment and the customer's usual service centre will remain responsible for payment.

The customer must arrange through their bank to access the money while outside Australia.

Procedure ends here.

3
Other payments

Is the customer leaving Australia for less than 12 months?

  • Yes:
    • the customer will continue to receive payments every 2 weeks into their Australian bank account
    • Note: if the customer is leaving Australia for more than 26 weeks and is payable and cannot receive their payments into their Australian account, they can transfer to an overseas account, go to Step 4
    • Procedure ends here
  • No, go to Step 4

4
Customer is leaving Australia for more than 12 months or permanently

Will this customer remain payable for a permanent or more than 12 month absence

  • Yes, and the customer:
    • is not partnered, has a partner receiving a Centrelink payment who is leaving Australia, or has a partner not receiving a Centrelink payment, they will generally have their customer record transferred to Environment I. Current and new Agreement customers living permanently outside Australia are also held in Environment I. Note: the Payment Destination Overseas (PAPO) screen can only be updated in Environment I. Follow the process in transferring a customer record to Environment. See Table 2 > Step 1
    • has a partner receiving a Centrelink payment and remaining in Australia, go to Step 5
    • requests payment to be suspended pending overseas bank account details
  • No, procedure ends here

5
Split case customers

If one member of a couple would like to receive their Centrelink payment to an overseas bank account, and their partner is also on a Centrelink payment and remaining in Australia, further discussion is needed with the customer and partner. This includes concession card impacts for the customer remaining in Australia.

It is not possible to have one member of a couple paid every 4 weeks and the other paid every 2 weeks.

The customer and their partner will need to decide if they are both to be paid:

  • every 4 weeks. This means:
    • customer and partner records will need to be transferred to Environment I
    • the customer will be able to be paid into an overseas bank account, and their partner will continue to be paid to their Australian bank account every 4 weeks
    • the customer will become a CIS customer. Update the Office Code (OC) screen to WTW. The partner's OC will remain unchanged
    • the customer in Australia needs to be made aware they will not be automatically issued a concession card when it expires. The customer must contact a service centre to get an interim card
  • every 2 weeks. This means:
    • customer and partner records will remain in their local environment
    • neither cannot be paid into an overseas bank account or by cheque to an overseas address. Both will continue to be paid every 2 weeks to their Australian bank account
    • the customer will become a CIS customer. Update the Office Code (OC) screen to WTW. The partner's OC will remain unchanged

Record discussion on a DOC.


Payment method options for customers outside Australia

Table 2

Expand table

Step

Action

1
CIS is responsible for coding overseas bank details and customer requests for cheque payment

Is the Service Officer in CIS?

  • Yes, and the customer has requested to be paid by:
  • No, and:
    • the customer is on the phone - warm transfer the call to the CIS call queue. Procedure ends here
    • an overseas bank document is received – (re)categorise in Work Optimiser using the update overseas bank work item: ZALL_INTL_BANK_UPD. Procedure ends here

2
Direct Deposit methods

There are 3 overseas direct deposit methods:

  • Automated Clearing House (ACH) is an electronic funds-transfer system that facilitates transactions between Citibank and the customer's bank
  • Legacy ACH is a funds transfer system between an account held by Services Australia and the customer's bank in the country of payment
  • Worldlink Wire (WWR) are electronic fund transfers sent through a correspondent bank or intermediary bank. It is processed manually by the receiving bank rather than sent automatically to the customer's bank account like the ACH payment method

Direct deposit is the default payment method for customers outside Australia. If the customer does not want to receive their payment into an overseas bank account, they can choose to be paid into an Australian bank account. The customer will continue to receive payments every 4 weeks (if in Environment I) and payment will be in Australian dollars.

Does the customer want their payment to be paid to an overseas bank account?

3
Check banking requirements for the country

The country’s banking requirements must be checked in OBAD before:

  • requesting the customer’s overseas banking details verbally and/or
  • coding overseas bank account details on the PAPO screen

Does the country exist in OBAD?

4
Country or information missing from Overseas Bank Account Details (OBAD)

Select the relevant option below.

Country is not in OBAD

If the country’s banking requirements do not appear in OBAD contact the CIS VSSO Hub:

  • provide any banking documentation or information customer has provided:
    • international Bank Account Details (AUS178) form, and/or
    • bank statement provided by the customer, and/or
    • verbal bank details (the customer must still provide written evidence of their overseas bank details as a follow up – see step 5)
  • request confirmation of the country banking requirements by Residence and International program to enable the recording of overseas bank details for that country
  • once the CIS VSSO has provided the country’s banking requirements confirmed by Residence and International program, go to Table 4 > Step 1
Different or missing intermediary bank details recorded in OBAD

If the customer or payment nominee’s USD or EUR intermediary bank details differ to what is recorded, or is missing, in OBAD contact the CIS VSSO Hub:

Note: banks may use 2 intermediary banks. If one of the 2 intermediary banks is correctly recorded in OBAD, there is no need to advise.

5
Methods for obtaining overseas bank account details from the customer

Select an option below.

How to initiate a written request for international bank account details

For a customer:

  • who is going long term overseas, issue an Information for customers going overseas (XOB075) letter
  • already living overseas and hasn’t got an overseas account set up yet:
  • Issue a Request for Information via Process Direct – Request Documents workflow
  • Select AUS178

Notes:

  • Print local must be used for printing letters/forms for international customers and the AUS178 form for the country the customer wants to be paid in attached with the letter
  • The request is made under section 63 Social Security (Admin) Act

Record actions on a DOC.

Written documentation received from the customer

International bank account details can be accepted in writing from an:

  • AUS178 (International bank form)
  • AUS140 (Claim for an Australian pension under a Social Security Agreement), and/or
  • bank statement or document which clearly show bank details, including bank account number and/or International Bank Account Number (IBAN), and the name(s) of the account holder(s), and currency of the account.
    • Note: Personal ID may be provided on the form, bank statement or as an attached document.
    • Note the AUS221 (Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf outside Australia form) is used to authorise a payment nominee arrangement and provide Australian bank account details

Service Officers must not record bank account details on PAPO if the overseas bank account details provided are:

  • not clear (for example, unable to determine if the account number contains the number 1 or 7) Any handwritten details should always be checked against bank documentation provided
  • missing information (for example, TAX ID or intermediary bank details have not been provided, when required)
  • incorrect (for example, account number contains more numbers than stated in OBAD).

Do not assume details.

Can all the banking details and personal ID (where required) be recorded on PAPO?

Verbally provided over the telephone

Advise the customer they must:

  • provide written document confirming their new payment details (for example, an official bank statement) as soon as possible to confirm the verbal details
  • confirm their bank account can accept payments in the currency their Centrelink payment is paid to their country
  • provide any non-banking information, when required (for example, TAX ID or passport number)

An IBAN must be validated by entering it into the IBAN Validation Tool.

An existing payment nominee can verbally provide updated bank account details if the bank account is solely in their name. Otherwise, a new nominee form must be completed. See Changing personal details of nominees

Record in the DOC the details were provided verbally and documentation not sighted.


Coding Australian bank account details

For Centrelink International Services (CIS) Staff.

Table 3

Expand table

Step

Action

1
Record the Australian bank account details

Make sure that the account is held in the name of the customer or their payment nominee only.

For Australian bank accounts held in the customer’s name, written confirmation of Australian bank account details is not required.

For payment nominees, ensure a completed and signed Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313 or AUS221) form is returned. See Adding or rejecting a nominee request.

Run the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script.

Is the script working?

  • Yes:
    • Enter the customer's details using the script
    • Confirm the bank details have been recorded accurately on PAPO screen and DOC recorded. Procedure ends here
  • No, go to Step 2

2
Manually record the Australian bank account details

Make sure that the account is held in the name of the customer or their payment nominee only.

Update the PAPO screen by coding:

  • AUS in Method of payment: field
  • the FI country: field as AU for Australia
  • the bank/branch BSB code in the FI identifier: field
  • the Account Number: field as given by the customer
  • the Account title (account holder name) in the Account Title: field
  • the Source: and DOR: fields

DOC the information recorded.

Procedure ends here.


Coding international bank account details

For Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff.

Table 4

Expand table

Step

Action

1
Record customer or payment nominee overseas bank account details

To accurately record bank account details given by the customer or the payment nominee, use:

  • the completed AUS178 or AUS140 form, and
  • any supporting bank documents (for example, bank statement)

Note: where a customer has provided a bank statement with their nominee AUS178 or AUS140 form, the details on the bank statement should be used as the primary bank document.

If the customer has completed the Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313 or AUS221) form:

  • the payment nominee must have their own CRN. For individuals, see Appointing Nominees and Nominee organisations for organisations
  • The payment nominee’s bank details must be coded on the customer’s PAPO screen and the payment nominee’s address details coded on their own record as type: HOM
    • Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer’s record with subject line: Pay NOM ADS. State customer has a payment nominee and record the payment nominee’s FULL address

For customers who indicate they have separated from their partner or ceasing their nominee arrangement, before updating their personal details such as address or payment destination, ensure the Separating safely - protecting personal details checks have been followed to protect the customer’s privacy.

2
Record the overseas bank account details in Customer Record using the script

Note: due to validation issues, overseas payment details should not be recorded in Process Direct.

A country’s banking requirements must be checked in OBAD before PAPO is coded.

Overseas bank account details must be recorded using the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script in Customer Record, when possible.

Note: the following countries are transitioning from USD to their local currency: Croatia and North Macedonia. Albania, Kosovo, Malaysia, Montenegro, Romania and Trinidad and Tobago are also earmarked. Due to script limitations, the customers using local currency must be coded manually.

Is the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script working?

3
Use the Script

Follow the directions given by the script.

  • Record the customer’s or payment nominee’s overseas bank account details exactly as written on any official documents provided
  • The account number must be keyed manually twice to confirm that the details are entered correctly
    • Note: The script won’t validate the number is correct, it only checks it’s in the correct format for the specific country, e.g. a 27-character IBAN has been provided for an Italian bank account
  • Do not copy and paste into the script except if the account number is an IBAN that has been validated by the IBAN Validation Tool
  • If the overseas financial institution details are not recorded on RDF, error E338PI - Match not found for FI Identifier will appear
    • Note: If an 11-character SWIFT is provided and includes last 3 characters as XXX, do not record the Xs. Instead, record as an 8-character SWIFT
  • Verify the bank details have been recorded accurately on the PAPO screen and on the DOC

Go to Step 5.

4
Manually record the overseas bank account details in Customer Record

Note: due to validation issues, overseas payment details should not be recorded in Process Direct.

The country’s banking requirements must be checked in OBAD before coding PAPO.

Customer or payment nominee’s overseas bank account can only be coded manually:

  • when the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script does not work, or
  • for countries that allow payment in 2 currencies and requires manual recording of overseas bank account as per instructions in OBAD

Extra care should be taken to ensure that all details, especially the account number/IBAN, must be coded as per the documentation received and validated using the tools available.

Coding PAPO

Refer to #OBAD Fields Explained for detailed explanations about the fields used on the PAPO screen.

Code all fields on the PAPO screen with the details needed for the applicable country:

  • Method of payment: one of the following:
  • DIR for an ACH country
  • LWR for a Legacy ACH country
  • WWR for a WWR country
  • FI country: the country in which the bank account is held in. For example, US for United States, GB for United Kingdom
    • Note: some FI international country codes differ from the country codes used by Centrelink. Examples: DE for Germany, HR for Croatia. See the list in #OBAD Fields Explained
  • FI identifier: if the country needs an FI identifier, code the bank/branch code according to the requirement for that country. Otherwise, leave blank
  • If the overseas financial institution details are not recorded on RDF, error E338PI - Match not found for FI Identifier will appear
  • FI SWIFT/BIC: if the country needs a SWIFT code to be recorded, code the 8 or 11 character SWIFT code. Otherwise, leave blank
    • If an 11-character SWIFT is provided and includes last 3 characters as XXX, do not record the Xs. Instead, record as an 8-character SWIFT
  • Account Number: enter the account number or IBAN according to the requirement for that country. Check the country's banking requirements in OBAD. If the account number is an IBAN, the IBAN must be validated by entering it into the IBAN Validation Tool
  • Account Type: key for US customers only
  • Account Title: record the account holder’s name
  • Make sure the account is held in the name of the customer or their payment nominee only
  • Record the account holder’s name exactly as provided on the official documentation. The name may differ to the name the customer is primarily known by on their Centrelink record. See Aliases and other names (legal, preferred, sex and gender diverse customers, cultural considerations etc)
  • Do not add a title (Mr/Mrs/Ms or similar) if not explicitly stated on the bank statement
  • Do not abbreviate the customer’s name, unless specifically stated in the country task card in OBAD. If the customer’s name is too long, record as much of the name the field allows - even if it’s recorded truncated and not in it’s entirely
  • IBAN: is a display only field
    • This field is left blank where the IBAN is recorded as the country’s primary account number in the Account Number: field
    • Where an IBAN and account number is required, the account number may be recorded in this field
    • Where a traditional account number is recorded as the country’s primary account number in the Account Number: field, but an IBAN exists for that country and has been provided by the customer, the IBAN is recorded here
    • By recording the IBAN in this field for countries that use a traditional account number, if a country changes their banking requirement and mandates the use of an IBAN, the IBAN can be quickly moved from this field to the Account Number: field. No customer contact or follow up will be needed
  • Phone number: leave blank
  • PayDtl: record any non-account country specific ID information. For example, payments to Bangladesh needs the payee's date of birth, telephone number and TAX ID
  • Intermediary Details section – FI Country: field and either the FI Identifier: or FI SWIFT/BIC: field need to be recorded for those countries if the currency paid differs to the local currency. For example, payments to Chile are made in US Dollars, not in local currency Chilean Peso. Therefore, US intermediary details needs to be recorded in this section

Source: and DOR: fields are to be coded accordingly.

Record a DOC.

PAPO DOC

It is very important to record a PAPO DOC. The PAPO screen does not have a history screen. If the information is lost, there will be no record on the system if a DOC is not properly recorded.

Record a DOC with the following details:

Ext Details: PAPO Update

Txt: PAPO screen has been updated manually based on overseas

bank details provided by <choose: customer/payment nominee>

Details have been provided <choose: in writing/by phone>.

Bank details provided:

Method of payment: <record DIR, LWR or WWR>

FI Country: <record 2-letter country code>

FI Identifier: <record the SWIFT code or FI ID coded>

Account Number: <record the account number or IBAN coded>

Account Title: <record the name of account holder as coded on PAPO>

Extra Information: <section to record any extra information, if required for example, customer verbally confirmed currency of account is Euro or personal ID provided, etc>

<END OF DOC>

5
Non-PAPO coding

Code any other non-PAPO coding as referenced in OBAD.

Code address and telephone for all countries using the country format outlined in OBAD:

  • If the customer’s home address held with their bank is different to their HOM address on the Address Details (AD) screen, code the bank address as the HOM type and re-code the customer’s address as POS type. The HOM address type needs to match with what their bank holds to avoid payment rejection
  • For payment delivery, address cannot be a PO Box otherwise payment will reject
  • Do not code the correspondence nominee’s address as the customer’s address, unless it is actually the customer’s address

For a payment nominee:

  • Code the payment nominee’s address on their own record as Type: HOM
  • Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer's record, stating that the payment nominee's bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen, due to system limitations
    • Record the payment nominee’s FULL address on the (DOA) DOC

This coding must be done immediately after PAPO is recorded by the script. This is critical to ensuring payment is successfully delivered to the customer

If the customer's payment is:

  • suspended, see Restoration of payments (CLK)
    • If the suspension was an administrative suspension to prevent a payment rejection due to outdated bank details (i.e. SUS-OTH), the customer is entitled to full arrears (assuming they have remained otherwise qualified/payable)
  • being paid to a Special Banking Option (NZ) account, go to Step 6
  • otherwise, procedure ends here

6
New Zealand Special Banking Option (SBO)

For customers paid into an SBO account, staff must send a Liquid Office liaison to Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) when payment destination updates are made to advise:

Staff who do not have the skills to use Liquid Office are to:

  • complete the PAPO updates
  • use the WLM Technical Assistance Webform to request the Liquid Office be allocated to a suitably skilled staff member

To access the Webform, go to Workload Management intranet page, then select 'Workload Management - Technical Support' in the Related links

Procedure ends here.


Bulk data collection

For Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff

Table 5

Expand table

Step

Action

1
Global impacts to customers overseas

Staff may be notified of a change which affects a group of customers whose payments are made to a certain country or bank.

This can include a:

  • country:
    • placed under international financial sanctions
    • experiencing economic or political turmoil not allowing its citizens to withdraw money from their bank account
    • banking regulator or central bank changing banking requirements
    • that has a currency change
  • bank:
    • advising of a sale to another bank (merger) causing the customers’ existing bank details to be invalid
    • collapsing and customers no longer able to access their funds from this bank
    • no longer accepting payments in the currency in which Centrelink pays customers
  • ISO 20022 global banking changes:
    • may require additional data to be obtained from customers to meet ISO pay file standards for certain countries.

When this occurs:

  • there may only be a limited time before customers' bank details do become invalid
  • issuing a payment to a sanctioned country or bank account where details are no longer valid will cause a rejected payment with the following adverse impacts:
    • Services Australia incurs a fee for every rejected payment
    • reconciliation of rejected payments is a time-consuming process, resulting in delays in payment delivery to the customer
    • customers can face potential financial hardship

Known banking impacts are recorded on OSDD News. See the Resources page for a link to Resources and International program.

Customer advises of general banking impact

A customer may advise in writing or verbally of a bank merger, or currency issues, which could affect numerous customers. It is important that staff recognise this and escalate immediately, if the details are not already on OSDD News.

  • Forward details relating to any widespread banking impact directly to Residence and International program for investigation via email
  • Include as much information as possible as well as any correspondence from the bank the customer can provide.

Residence and International program will investigate and, if appropriate, co-ordinate appropriate actions.

2
Mandatory data collection for ISO pay file
  • make 2 genuine call attempts

In all cases, confirm the payee's telephone and address details their bank holds. If they have a different home address for their Centrelink mail, ensure this is also recorded.

Code address and telephone for all countries using the country format outlined in OBAD:

  • If the customer’s home address held with their bank is different to their HOM address on the Address Details (AD) screen, code the bank address as the HOM type and re-code the customer’s address as POS type. The HOM address type needs to match with what their bank holds to avoid payment rejection
  • If the customer has a payment nominee, ensure the nominee’s address (as held by the bank) is recorded on their own record as Type: HOM on AD screen
    • Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer’s record with subject line: Pay NOM ADS. State customer has a payment nominee and record the payment nominee’s FULL address
  • For payment delivery, address cannot be a PO Box otherwise payment will reject
  • Do not code the correspondence nominee’s address as the customer’s address, unless it is actually the customer’s address
  • Code their home phone number as HOM type and mobile phone number as MOB type on the Telephone Details (TD) screen

Depending on the country there may be additional information needed:

ID required

Request the required ID, such as the foreign Tax ID. Refer to OBAD

Currency of account check

For Albania, Croatia (USD customers), Kosovo, Malaysia, Montenegro, North Macedonia (USD customers), Romania and Trinidad and Tobago.

  • Advise the customer payment will be made in their local currency instead of USD

Can the customer’s current account on PAPO screen accept local currency?

  • Yes:
    • No further data collection required
    • Refer to intermediary bank detail coding in country task card in OBAD
  • No:
    • Request local currency bank account details
    • Refer to intermediary bank detail coding in country task card in OBAD

Payment arrangement review

If the bank:

  • account title is in customer’s name, payment nominee review is not required.
  • account title is not in the customer’s name – or name showing on CPDS (e.g. MDN name), check there is a valid payment nominee arrangement
    • Check for a valid AUS221 or SS313 form or POA document on the customer’s record
    • If bank account belongs solely to the customer’s partner (not a joint account), payment nominee arrangement must be arranged

Valid payment nominee exists:

  • Confirm the nominee’s telephone and address details their bank holds
  • Code the payment nominee’s address on their own records as Type: HOM
  • Code the payment nominee’s telephone on the customer’s record on TD (Telephone Details) screen as a Type: CON and add ‘Nominee’ to comments
  • Check if country also has additional ID requirements. Request the nominee’s ID, as required
  • Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer's record, stating that the payment nominee's bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen, due to system limitations
    • Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer’s record with subject line: Pay NOM ADS. State customer has a payment nominee and record the payment nominee’s FULL address

Payment nominee confirmation is missing:

  • contact the customer to advise a valid nominee arrangement must be in place to continue to be paid to the account listed.
  • If the customer wants to be paid to their own account, collect updated bank details verbally and request customer to provide confirmation of bank account details in writing
  • If the customer wants a payment nominee, issue both the AUS221 and AUS178 forms using the Request Documents workflow in Process Direct. Print local must be used for printing letters/forms for international customers.
  • Go to step 4

Record actions on a DOC.

If contact unsuccessful, go to Step 3

3
Unsuccessful contact by phone

Issue letter to request the required details.

Run the Multi-Lingual Letters Script and select the PMT003 letter. See Resources for the Approved text for the PMT003 letter if required.

Include an International Bank Account Details (AUS178) form for the country the customer’s or payment nominee’s account is in.

Record actions on a DOC.

4
Create a review

If the Process Direct RFI was used a review is automatically set.

If the PMT003 was used, in Customer Record, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

  • Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
  • Review Reason: ACC (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
  • Due Date: <date is 44 days from today>
  • Source: INT
  • Date of Receipt: <today's date>
  • Notes: 'Customer to provide updated overseas bank account details <insert today's date> under Section 63 SS (Admin) Act. If not provided, suspend payment as per OB 103-04020000 – Table 6 > Step 6'
  • Keywords: BAY4 and RGNWTW
  • Workgroup: leave blank
  • Position: leave blank
  • Transfer to Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity

When the review comes due, go to Table 6, Step 9.


Rejected or returned payments

For Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff.

Table 6: steps to identify and follow up rejected or returned payments.

Expand table

Step

Action

1
Overseas payment is rejected

Overseas payments may be rejected at different stages by:

  • Centrelink's system
  • the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
  • Citibank
  • intermediary or correspondent bank (if applicable)
  • the beneficiary's bank

It is important to investigate the reason for the rejection and take appropriate action to stop future rejections.

Payments rejected by Centrelink’s system:

  • are identified by the reason Rejected payment showing next to the payment on the Payment Summary (PS) screen
  • do not have a payment ID allocated to them. the payment ID can be viewed either on the Payment Detail (PD) screen, or the Payment List (PAYSLIST) screen

Was the payment rejected by Centrelink’s system?

2
Payment is rejected by the Centrelink system

Payments rejected by Centrelink's system are not stripped and sent to the RBA. These payments do not leave the agency. Payments rejected at this stage indicates they have not met minimum Centrelink payment requirements. Reasons include:

  • Arrears above the system limit
    • A maximum amount of A$25,000 can be issued in Environment I at one time. Any payment above this limit will automatically reject and needs to be reissued
    • Any payment rejected because of the Centrelink system limit can be reissued by the CIS Service Officer. The system will automatically reissue the amount in separate smaller instalments below the system limit as part of the reissue process. Do not attempt to reissue large payments more than the Centrelink system limit via the PYAJ screen. Follow Reissuing a rejected payment process
    • Note: arrears embargoed to New Zealand from an Australian claim are third party payments and are reissued via the Third Party Payment Details (PDD) screen
  • Overseas Financial code is not valid
    • Error THIS PAYMENT HAS BEEN REJECTED-O/S FI Table – FI SWIFT/ID code invalid will appear on the Payment Details (PD) screen
    • Applies to direct deposit payments if the overseas bank code is not recorded or has been suspended in the overseas FI table (OFS) in RDF
    • RDF needs to be checked to ensure the bank details are current (active or suspended). Customer may need to provide updated bank account details
  • Payment is to a Group payment schedule
    • Payments cannot be made by group payment from a customer record in Environment I
    • If the customer needs payment by group payment to an organisation in Australia, their record must remain in the local environment and payment will be made every 2 weeks. Otherwise, get the overseas payment details from the customer and update the PAPO screen

Correct the problem and follow the process to reissue the payment. Go to Step 10.

3
Payment is rejected by the RBA

The RBA’s system may reject upfront when certain payment requirements are not adhered to:

  • Payment limits are not met
  • IBAN does not start with the correct country code
Rejected ACH/Legacy ACH arrears of A$18,000 or more

ACH and legacy ACH payments are subject to a maximum limit of 12,500 Euro (approx. A$18,000) limit.

Payments above this limit are rejected by the RBA’s system. This applies to every transaction.

The payment will be returned to Centrelink. A DOC will advise payment has been rejected and request for reissuing payments in smaller amounts.

Due to the limited access to the Payment Adjustment (PYAJ) screen, staff in the CIS VSSO Hub will be required to action these cases. Residence and International team will contact CIS VSSO Hub to split the amount and process via the PYAJ screen.

There is no minimum limit on ACH payments.

WWR payments have a minimum limit of A$35 for arrears and regular payments

WWR payments are subject to a minimum limit of US$25 (approx. A$35) per transaction.

There is no maximum limit on WWR payments.

Manual action is required to inhibit payments under the minimum limit and attach to the next payment (to make a larger amount.

Arrears of A$35 or less

Where a customer is receiving their Australian payment via the WWR payment method, arrears are to be inhibited when the customer:

  • has arrears are $35 or less AND
  • is in receipt of a regular payment

, Arrears will be paid together with the next regular payment.

Before finalising an activity with arrears less than $35, on the Assessment Results (AR) screen:

  • Type ‘Z’ beside the ASC/Z field
  • Press [Enter]
  • The Assessment Consequences (ASC) screen will appear
  • On the ASC screen, the Imm Arr field will be defaulted to Y
  • Change the Y to N:
    • Arrears are now inhibited and will be issued with the next regular payment
  • Press [Enter] until the AR screen appears again

Activity can now be finalised. Clearly DOC that arrears have been inhibited and will be paid with the next regular payment.

For final payments (for example, the customer has voluntarily withdrawn their Australian payment), the payment will need to be issued to an Australian bank account that belongs to the customer or their payment nominee. They cannot be issued as a one-off payment because payments are issued via the same WWR payment method.

Regular payment of A$35 or less

Where the customer’s regular Australian payment every 4 weeks is under the $35 limit, the customer will need to be paid periodically – either every 6 months or 12 months. The period will depend on the amount of Australian payment the customer would be issued for that period. Allowing a payment of $35 or lower to be issued will cause the payment to reject resulting in a delay to the customer receiving their payment, cost to the agency and re-work for staff.

If the customer has not been previously contacted about their 6 or 12 monthly payment frequency, contact the customer, and advise them of the change to their payment frequency.

Where the customer’s 4-weekly payment is A$35 or less AND the total amount for 6 month is:

  • greater than A$35 - customer is to be paid every 6 months
  • equal to or less than A$35 - customer is to be paid every 12 months

DOC the conversation with the customer.

Suspend the customer’s payment for reason OTH from Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1) for 6 or 12 months (as per above) to avoid future or any further payments rejecting. Inhibit the auto advice to the customer.

Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer’s record with subject: WWR payment limit.

State why customer is to receive 6 or 12 monthly payments and that a new manual review must be recorded every 6 or 12 months to ensure the payment is issued to the customer. Once the periodic payment is issued, the record should be suspended. This procedure can be reviewed if the customer’s rate changes.

In Customer Record, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

    • Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
    • Review Reason: ACC (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
    • Due Date: 26 week or 52 weeks minus 2 weeks before following pay strip
    • Source: INT
    • Date of Receipt: <today's date>
    • Notes: 'Customer paid via WWR to <insert country>. Amount is under US$25 every 4 weeks. Customer to be paid every <6 or 12> months. Customer’s payment is due to be issued <insert pay strip date>. Please SUS/OTH. Refer to OB: 103-04020000.'
    • Keywords: BAY4 and RGNWTW
    • Workgroup: leave blank
    • Position: leave blank
    • Transfer to Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity.

When the review is due, and the customer is entitled to their payment:

  • Restore the customer's payment
  • Place a new review on the RVR screen to suspend the customer’s payment soon after the payment has been issued. In Customer First, create a manual review and complete the fields as follows:
    • Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
    • Review Reason: ACC (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
    • Due Date: <insert 5 business days after pay strip>
    • Source: INT
    • Date of Receipt: <today's date>
    • Notes: 'Customer paid via WWR to <insert country>. Amount is under US$25 every 4 weeks. Customer to be paid every 6 or 12> months. Customer to be paid <insert strip date>. Please SUS/OTH. Refer to OB: 103-04020000. (WWR Payment Limit)'
    • Keywords: BAY4 and RGNWTW
    • Workgroup: leave blank
    • Position: leave blank
    • Transfer to Region: leave blank

4
Payments rejected by other financial institutions

Investigate the customer’s record, including digital documents, for any reason to indicate why the payment may have rejected/returned.

Check:

  • if the reason has been recorded by Residence and International or Finance Tasmania team on a DOC, see payment rejection reasons.
  • OSDD News for details of any known bank mergers or global bank changes.
  • if the bank account details recorded on PAPO are correct (for example, traditional bank account number has been recorded instead of an IBAN or the name of the account holder is recorded exactly as per the official bank document provided by the customer)
  • where applicable, any non-PAPO updates have been correctly coded

If payment was rejected by an Australian bank, see Reissue a payment returned from a financial institution.

Has the reason for rejection been established and bank details corrected?

5
Information required – unclear of incomplete details

Customers may experience financial hardship (and re-work to be undertaken by staff) when payments are re-issued with incorrect bank account details. It generally takes weeks even months before a payment is rejected/returned by an overseas bank. That is why it is important to ensure preventative measures are taken before issuing payments to an overseas bank account.

Where the customer’s overseas bank account details:

  • are unclear or incomplete
  • have changed and the agency is aware future payment will be rejected (for example, due to a bank closure/merger), or
  • additional data (e.g. ID) is required

Contact the customer and request details.

  • Call the customer to discuss why their payment has rejected or why additional data is required to meet the banking regulations for their country and get the new bank account details
  • Make 2 genuine call attempts
  • DOC the call attempts on the customer's record

Successful contact

If customer contact is successful:

  • provide explanation as to why bank account or other ID data is required (e.g. payment has rejected, or payment may be unable to be delivered)
  • request updated details, when required

If the customer:

  • provides bank details over the phone record the details (see Table 3 for Australian accounts and Table 4 for overseas accounts) and go to Step 10
  • is unable to provide bank details over the phone, go to Step 6

Unsuccessful contact by phone

Go to Step 6.

6
Suspend payment and issue letter

Future payments will need to be held (suspended) pending updated bank details, otherwise payments will continue to go to an invalid account and reject.

Suspend the customer's payment for reason OTH from Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1).

  • Check Payment Summary (PS) screen and payment schedule (on Resources) carefully to ensure DLP+1 is correctly coded.
    • Incorrect coding will cause part payments to be issued to an invalid account
    • FUT OFF PAY Paid to date should not be used as the suspension date

Inhibit the auto advice to the customer. A separate request for new bank details must be issued.

Check for any mailing issues for customers outside Australia. If postal services are:

  • open to the country, issue letter via post
  • suspended and the customer is not registered for my Gov letters but does has an email address on EMA screen, scan a copy of the letter. Forward a scanned copy of the letter to the CIS VSSO Hub. They will coordinate an email reply
  • suspended and the customer is not registered for myGov letters and does not have an email address, go to Step 8

Issue letter to request bank details. The letter should advise their payment will be held pending updated bank details with 28 days to provide the information. Include an International Bank Account Details (AUS178) form for the country the customer’s or payment nominee's account is in.

  • Run the Multi-Lingual Letters Script and select the PMT001 letter for bank merger/invalid account scenarios or PMT002 where additional data is required. Select the appropriate option and specific information required
  • Record actions on a DOC
  • Create a manual review. Go to Step 8

7
Postal service is closed to their country

Customers who cannot receive letters via post, myGov or email, will still need their payment held to prevent rejection of payment.

Suspend the customer's payment for reason OTH from Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1) weeks to avoid further payments rejecting.

    • DOC the record. Document that updated bank account details are still needed but a letter cannot be sent because of postal service closure and customer does not have an email address recorded
    • Create a manual review for 44 days to check if mailing delays still apply

8
Create a review

In Customer Record, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

  • Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
  • Review Reason: ACC (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
  • Due Date: <date is 44 days from today>
  • Source: INT
  • Date of Receipt: <today's date>
    • Notes: 'Customer to provide updated overseas bank account details <insert today's date> under Section 63 SS (Admin) Act. Payment is held pending return.'
    • Where letter could not be sent include additional information ‘letter unable to be sent, check for opening of postal services to issue a letter if customer has not made contact’
  • Keywords: BAY4 and RGNWTW
  • Workgroup: leave blank
  • Position: leave blank
  • Transfer to Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity.

9
Review comes due

If the customer has provided new bank details, update record (see Table 3 for Australian accounts and Table 4 for overseas accounts).

If the customer has not provided relevant details:

  • Attempt to call the customer
  • If contact unsuccessful, update suspension reason to SUS/FRC under section 81 of the Social Security Act (SSA) 1991.
  • Do not inhibit the advice to the customer
  • Procedure ends here

10
Reissue a returned payment

Payments rejected by:

  • Centrelink’s system can be reissued as soon as the reason for the rejection is resolved
  • The RBA – can be reissued immediately
  • any other financial institution - generally only reissued to a customer after the payment has been returned to the agency

Returned payments are generally identified in 2 ways:

  • on the PS screen with the code 'RTN' and/or
  • a rejection DOC recorded by Residence and International program or Finance Tasmania team explaining the return and that staff can reissue payments if appropriate

Note: where a rejection DOC is recorded by Residence and International program, staff do not need to wait for the PS screen to be recorded with RTN before reissuing.

In limited circumstances, payments can be reissued to customers who are in financial hardship before advice of their return or return action on the system. However, the customer must be advised that in the event the funds are not returned to the agency a debt will be raised, to recover the issued funds.

11
Reissue process

To reissue the funds:

  • Record the decision to reissue on a DOC
  • In Customer Record, run the Payment Suite - International script

Is the script working?


Payment not received

For Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff.

Table 7

Expand table

Step

Action

1
Customer advises payment not received

If the customer advises they have not received their payment, investigate their record. Check if:

  • enough time has passed for the payment to be delivered. Advise the customer the delivery timeframe
    • For overseas direct deposit allow 2 to 6 business days from the issue date of the payment
    • The delivery date showing on the PS screen is the date most direct deposit payments would be delivered by. The date is 7 days after the issue of the payment
    • See Overseas Payment Schedule for strip and issue dates for payments outside Australia. For cheque payments allow 4 weeks from the issue date of the payment
  • an in-country disruption has delayed the customer receiving their payment (for example, a public holiday in the country customer is being paid to)
    • Advise the customer to contact again if payment still not received once timeframe for disruption is factored in
  • the customer is entitled to the payment (for example, their payment has not been suspended or cancelled)
    • Advise the customer what they needed to do to be restored
  • the payment has been rejected by the Centrelink system or financial institution. See Payment rejection reasons
  • payment has been issued to an open bank account owned by the customer, but they cannot access that account
    • If the customer is unable to retrieve the payment from their open overseas bank account, Centrelink is unable to request a recall of a payment issued to the correct bank account. The customer needs to contact their bank directly
  • the payment has been issued to an account that belongs to another person, go to Step 3
  • If PAPO details are correct and all country details has been met as per OBAD, but customer states they have not received payment within an acceptable timeframe, go to Step 2

2
Requesting a trace of a direct deposit payment

Note: Centrelink is unable to request a recall of a payment issued to the correct bank account. If a customer cannot access their open overseas bank account, they need to contact their bank directly.

Before a trace can be undertaken, the customer will first need to contact their bank to confirm payment(s) has not been received.

Give the customer the following details to help their bank in tracing the missing payment(s):

  • Date payment was issued
  • Expected time frame for delivery to the bank
  • The AUD amount
  • The foreign currency amount issued
    • See OBAD for the currency paid to the country
    • See Resources page for exchange rates used for overseas direct deposit payments
  • 16-digit Payment ID/TRN of the missing payment(s)

The customer will need to provide a copy of their bank statement showing all transactions for the last 3 months before and at least one month after the expected payment.

If the payment is to a bank account in the Czech Republic or Turkey, contact the Finance Tasmania team to check if the payment has been returned to Services Australia Citibank account, but not yet identified.

Trace process

A trace can be put on a payment to a Worldlink Wire, ACH or Legacy ACH country when the customer declares they have not received a direct deposit payment into their bank account but the money has not been returned to Centrelink over at least a 2 or 3 month period.

Once bank statements have been provided by the customer, give the following information to the Finance Tasmania team:

  • Customer's CRN
  • Date of issue of payment to be traced
  • The AUD amount
  • The foreign currency amount issued
    • See OBAD for the currency paid to the country
    • See Resources page for exchange rates used for overseas direct deposit payments
  • 16-digit Payment ID/TRN of the missing payment(s)

Record all information on a DOC.

When the results of the trace are known, the Finance Tasmania team will contact the Service Officer with the outcome.

Procedure ends here.

3
Payment issued to incorrect bank account

Was the payment incorrectly paid to another person?

  • Yes, and the recipient is:
  • No, but payment was made to a payment nominee with whom the customer:
    • has a voluntary payment nominee arrangement in place when the payment was delivered. The customer cannot have the payment replaced. The customer will need to contact their former payment nominee and request the payment themselves. Procedure ends here
    • has an involuntary payment nominee arrangement
      Payment details cannot be cancelled without the authority of the nominee. See Cancelling a nominee arrangement. Procedure ends here
    • has stopped the nominee arrangement but the payment has been incorrectly issued to the former payment nominee's account, go to Step 4

4
Payment was made to an incorrect recipient who is an existing customer

Overseas bank account details belonging to a customer may have been incorrectly recorded on another customer’s record. The recipient who owns the bank account details may be a customer or payment nominee and be:

  • in receipt of 2 Centrelink payments – based on bank account details recorded on their record as well as on the incorrect customer’s record
  • suspended, pending updated bank account details - bank details were incorrectly recorded on a record belonging to another customer who also had stopped receiving payments

If the incorrect recipient is known and it is not a case of suspected fraud, the bank account holder, regardless of whether they are a customer or payment nominee must be contacted by phone (where applicable) to make them aware that they have received payment(s) they were not entitled to.

Use extreme care to protect the identity and privacy of the correct recipient.

As the payment has been successfully credited to a valid bank account, the overseas financial institution will not consider the return of the funds without the recipient being informed and permission sought.

Is the incorrect recipient able to return the amount owed to Services Australia?

  • Yes:
    • Advise the incorrect recipient to contact their bank and request payment is returned to the agency within the next 28 calendar days. Customers should send payments to:
      Bank: Reserve Bank of Australia
      Address of bank: GPO Box 3947, Sydney NSW 2001 AUSTRALIA
      Account Number: 318778 (Note: Australia does not use IBANs)
      Name on account: CSDA Official Collectors Receipts Account
      SWIFT: RSBKAU2S
      BSB: 093003
      The incorrect recipient must include their CRN, or if payment nominee, the CRN of the customer on whose behalf they are receiving payments, in the comments/description section of the wire. The CRN is required to help identify the customer
    • If no funds or only part of the payment is returned, a debt will need to be raised on the incorrect recipient (customer), regardless of whether they or their payment nominee are the recipient, to recover the remainder of the funds. See Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
      If incorrect recipient is a payment nominee, Service Officer must review nominee arrangements
    • Record a DOC on the incorrect recipient’s record providing date, time and method of contact as well as what was discussed, agreed to (return funds or raise debt) and any other action taken
  • No:
    • Advise the incorrect recipient that a debt will be raised, regardless of whether they or their payment nominee are the recipient to recover the remainder of the funds
    • Raise a debt against the incorrect recipient. See Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
    • If incorrect recipient is a payment nominee, Service Officer must review nominee arrangements
    • Record a DOC on the incorrect recipient’s record providing date, time and method of contact as well as what was discussed and agreed to (return funds or raise debt) and any other actions taken

For the customer who did not receive payments they were entitled to due to administrative error:

  • Update PAPO with the customer’s correct overseas bank account details. Go to Step 7
  • Issue (reissue) all payments owed to the customer. Go to Table 6 > Step 11
    • If payments are unable to be reissued via the PS screen, PYAJ may need to be used is there are issues reissuing via the PS screen
  • Ensure the customer has been contacted (preferably by phone) to advise them what has occurred and action taken
    • Do not disclose any details of the incorrect recipient
  • Record a DOC on the customer’s record advising what has occurred and what action has been taken
  • Do not record the incorrect recipient’s CRN or name in the DOC

Procedure ends here.

5
Payment was made to an incorrect recipient who is not a Centrelink customer

Overseas payment details may have been provided to Services Australia that:

  • contain incorrect account details (for example, Incorrect digit in the account number or IBAN) provided by the customer or payment nominee
  • have been incorrectly recorded on PAPO by a Service Australia officer

Confirm the customer's correct account details and make sure PAPO screen is updated accordingly. Go to Step 7.

Before considering reissuing payment(s) to the customer, the bank must be contacted and refund requested.

Refund from the financial institution

Request a refund of payment directly from the bank:

  • Send an XOB999 letter to the financial institution. Use the following approved text:

Payment(s) for the amount of <amount in foreign currency> issued <insert date/s> from Services Australia has been incorrectly paid to a person who is not our customer. Payment was issued to - Name of account holder: <insert full name of non-customer OR unknown> holds account number <insert non-customer’s account number or IBAN> via SWIFT/FI ID <insert non-customer’s SWIFT of FI ID>.

As we do not have any contact details, we are unable to contact this person. Please advise the account holder they have incorrectly received payment from Services Australia and arrange the refund of amount issued.

Please contact the Reserve Bank of Australia (SWIFT: RSBKAU2S) for further payment details or to confirm refund. Quote: INC RCP <insert customer’s CRN> in your SWIFT message to the bank.

Note: if there is a scenario that requires different text, refer to CIS VSSO hub as per the free letter text guidelines.

Reissuing payment(s)

If the customer provided incorrect bank account details:

  • ensure correct bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen. Go to Step 7
  • if the customer is experiencing financial hardship, the payment can be reissued before the outcome of the request for a refund. However:
    • the customer must be advised that a debt will be raised against them in 28 calendar days to recover the funds issued to the incorrect account. To raise a debt against the customer, see General debt raising information. If funds are successfully returned to Services Australia within 28 calendar days, no debt will be recorded against the customer. Once the customer has repaid their debt in part or full, arrears will be issued to the customer. See How to manually calculate arrears

If an administrative error was made by a Services Australia Officer:

  • ensure correct bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen
  • issue (reissue) payment(s) owed to the customer. Go to Table 6 > Step 11
    • if payments are unable to be reissued via the PS screen, PYAJ may need to be used
  • for any debt relating to an administrative error, see Administrative error waivers

Record details on a DOC.

Procedure ends here.

6
Payment information requested from the overseas financial institution

Residence and International Program may require a Service Officer to complete payment information in the Payment refund request template for the overseas bank to action a refund.

Completing the template

The following details must be provided for every payment:

  • Payment period. Payment period is located on the Payment Details (PD) screen
  • Payment ID/TRN
  • AUD amount. The Australian dollar amount issued
  • Foreign Exchange rate. The foreign exchange rate used for that payment. See:
    • OBAD for the currency paid to the country
    • Resources page for a list of exchange rates applied to 4 weekly payments outside Australia
  • Foreign currency amount issued. The amount in the correct foreign currency amount for the country (to derive this, multiple the AUD amount with the Foreign Exchange rate)
  • Payment issued. Date payment was issued
    • See Resources page for Overseas Payment Schedule
  • Comments. Any comments, if required (for example, part payment owed)

Staff are to provide these details via email to Residence and International program.

Record all information requested on a DOC.

7
Request the correct payment details from the customer

The customer must provide bank account details for an account they have legal access to (either solely or jointly).

Note: not every country has joint bank account facilities. The name on the bank account must include the name of the customer or payment nominee.

A customer can give their overseas payment destination details verbally. Make sure that all details are provided and/or confirmed. This includes:

  • confirming the currency of the account
  • confirming the exact name of the account holders
  • for IBAN, ensuring it is validated by entering it into the IBAN Validation Tool. Refer to OBAD for country specific requirements

Ask the customer to provide verification of their new payment details as soon as possible, for example, an official bank statement.


Cheques

For Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff

Table 8

Expand table

Step

Action

1
Cheque payment method

Cheques cannot be paid to:

  • payment nominees
  • countries where cheques have been decommissioned
  • sanctioned countries

For other scenarios, a discussion must be held with the customer regarding the reason they need to be paid by cheque and clearly documented in a DOC. The customer must be advised:

  • many banks no longer accept or cash cheques
  • cheques are sent by post, which causes a delay in the customer receiving their payment and may even be lost
  • there is more of a chance of fraud and identity theft
  • stale cheque timeframes exist for cashing cheques
  • the cashing fee may be high

Exceptional reason to be provided:

An exceptional reason must be provided by the customer for cheque payment to be considered instead of direct deposit. Listed are examples of scenarios where payment by cheque is not acceptable:

  • Customer advises that their bank account has been hacked
    • Customer should be advised to open an account with another bank and provide updated bank account details
  • Customer cannot understand the payment requirements for their country
    • An appropriate AUS178 form should be sent to the customer. The customer should be advised to take the form to their bank to be completed

Tell the customer that approval must be given before they can be paid by cheque.

2
Cheque approval process

Email the CIS VSSO Hub with reasons why the customer wants to be paid by cheque. The VSSOs will request Residence and International program seek approval. An email response (approval or rejection) will be provided.

Has Residence and International program given approval for the customer to be paid by cheque?

  • Yes, go to Step 3
  • No, the service officer must contact the customer and discuss direct deposit payment options

3
Cheque coding exemption

In Customer Record code PAPO:

  • FI Country: code the country being paid to
  • Method of Payment: Cheque
  • DCR Exemption: Code the exemption reason
  • Code Source: and DOR: fields

Record a DOC.

4
Stale or returned cheque

Cheques become stale within a certain timeframe if not cashed, generally within 6 months from date of issue.

Cheques may also be returned and scanned to the customer's record.

If the cheque has been returned or uncashed due to death of customer:

  • See Requesting refunds and raising debt for payments made after death of customer
  • Do not issue a new cheque to the customer
  • Either:
    • make 2 genuine call attempts to contact the customer to discuss and encourage moving to a direct deposit method or
    • issue a XOB999 to advise cheque has been returned /is stale and offer payment by direct deposit. Updated bank account details are required within 28 days, under section 52 of the Social Security (Administration Act 1999). Include an international Bank Account Details (AUS178) form for the customer's country

5
Stop cheque request

A stop cheque needs to be requested before a replacement cheque can be issued. This process will confirm that the cheque issued to the customer has not been cashed.

The customer must be advised not to cash the original cheque if it is delivered after the 'stop request' is placed, as this may result in their bank charging dishonour fees.

  • In Customer Record, run the Payment Suite - International script
  • Complete the customer details, following the directions given on the screen. Respond to any messages encountered
  • The script will record 2 DOCs:
    • The first is a Data DOC that is automatically allocated to the Finance Tasmania team to action.
    • The second is a Stop DOC that has the information in a readable format. This DOC needs to be placed on hold by the actioning officer for 7 business days pending Finance Tasmania team's outcome. If an outcome has not been received within this time frame, follow up with this team

The Finance Tasmania team will confirm if the cheque has/has not been cashed. It may take as little as one week before a Results DOC is placed on the customer's record with the outcome to this request.

Cheque stop is successful

Only if the cheque stop is successful can a replacement cheque be issued. See Table 6 > Step 11.

Cashed Cheque

If the stop cheque request outcome shows that the cheque has been cashed:

  • contact the customer to advise the result
  • ask the customer if they cashed the cheque or if they believe it has been fraudulently negotiated
    • If the stop cheque was legally cashed, procedure ends here
Fraudulently cashed cheque

If the customer advises the cheque has been fraudulently negotiated:

  • the customer will need to provide:
    • 4 samples of their usual signature
    • signed affidavit confirming they were never in possession of the cheque nor did they cash it
  • contact the Finance Tasmania team to tell them of possible fraudulent activity. They will investigate and advise of results to the actioning Service Officer. This will take at least 4 weeks

If the investigation confirms the cheque was:

  • fraudulently cashed:
    • issue a replacement payment only once a signed affidavit is received. Go to Step 11
  • cashed by the customer:
    • Finance Tasmania team will provide a copy of the cashed cheque to be forwarded to the customer
    • advise the customer a replacement cheque will not be issued