Reissue a payment or cheque at a customer's request 103-04040010

If the customer has a nominee arrangement in place, see Background page for details to be aware of.

If the customer advises they have not received their cheque payment, see Table 4.

For all direct credit/priority direct credit payments, check the customer’s record to see if the payment has a status of undelivered, or has been rejected or returned by the financial institution.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS), Farm Household Allowance (FHA) and Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payments:

• show on the Payment List in Workspace
• can take up to 2 business days to show as returned on the Payment List
• returned payments will have a Return Reason in the Text: field

All other payments

• can be checked via the Payment Summary (PS) screen in Customer First:
• Undelivered payments will show UNDLVD IM or UNDLVD RI in the Delivery Date field
• Returned payments will show RTN (returned) in the Type field
• Rejected payments will show ‘Rejected payment’ instead of the payment destination details in the Sent to field

If the payment has a status of:

• undelivered (UNDLVD IM or UNDLVD RI), go to Step 2
• returned (RTN), see Reissue a payment returned from a financial institution – includes deceased customers. Procedure ends here
• rejected (REJ) payment, see Reissuing a rejected payment. Procedure ends here

If the payment does not meet the criteria above, go to Step 4.

If an immediate payment is showing as undelivered (UNDLVD IM or UNDLVD RI) on the Payment Summary (PS) screen, check if the payment is an undelivered Income Management expense issued from the GPY payment system.

Is the payment an undelivered Income Management expense?

• Yes, see Undelivered Income Management expenses and actioning Work Items. Procedure ends here
• No, do not reissue the payment as it may result in an overpayment to the customer, go to Step 3

For UNDLVD IM or UNDLVD RI payments, the system will automatically redeliver the payment when their next payment delivers. When the payment is redelivered, the delivery date for the payment will be updated correctly.

The payment will need to be escalated to Centrelink Payment Support Team (CPST) via mySupport form to have the payment redelivered sooner where the customer is:

• in financial hardship, or
• not expected to receive another payment, or
• requests the payment be issued earlier

Is the customer in hardship, not expected to receive another payment, or requests the payment delivered earlier?

• Yes,
• contact the Centrelink Payment Support Team (CPST) via mySupport. Note: there is no specific webform for undelivered payments. Select the appropriate webform for the payment type and specify in the title that an undelivered (UNDLVD IM or UNDLVD RI) payment is required to be redelivered
• Include in the webform:
  -date customer was expected to receive the payment
  -payment type and amount
  -reason why the payment needs to be re-delivered
• record the details on a DOC stating the reason and include the relevant Service Desk (SD) number
• No,
• explain to the customer that the payment will automatically be issued when their next payment is delivered
• DOC the record detailing what was explained to the customer
• Procedure ends here

Check payment destination against the BSB and account number provided by the customer:

Child Care Subsidy (CCS), Farm Household Allowance (FHA) and Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payments

• Payment destination details show on the Payment List via Workspace in Customer First

ABSTUDY and AIC payments

• Payments can be made to either customers or Third Parties (for example, applicants, educational institutions, secondary boarding schools or hostels)
• Payment destination details are not always coded on the Payment Destination Summary (PAS) screen

For staff who are not skilled in the relevant payment type, transfer customer to the relevant team for investigation:

• Requests to reissue ABSTUDY payments should be recorded in an open Fast Note - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY Action request
• Requests to reissue AIC payments should be recorded in an open Fast Note - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY and Apprentices > AIC > AIC rejected/returned payment
• Procedure ends here

For all other payments:

Payment destination details show on the Payment Details (PD) screen in Customer First.

If a payment has been returned by bank cheque, the coding of the return (RTN) may take longer.

Has the payment been issued to the correct account?

• Yes, and the account is:
• still open, go to Step 5
• now closed, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 6

Is the customer now deceased?

• Yes, see Requesting refunds and raising debts for deceased customer. Procedure ends here
• No, check whether a newsflash/NNU has been published advising of payment delays. If no delays have been reported, refer the customer to their financial institution for more information
• See the Resources page for common payment delay reasons
• Record the details on a DOC
• Procedure ends here

If the payment has been made to an account the customer has legal access to (either solely or jointly):

• the agency has met its payment delivery obligation, and
• the customer would not be entitled to have the payment reissued

In some cases, customers may still be able to access an account that they consider having closed. If the payment has not been returned to Services Australia, the customer should contact their financial institution for advice before going any further, to avoid a potential duplicate payment debt.

Check the:

• Document List (DL) screen for DOCs to see if there is a history of requestions to:
• reissue payments
• update payment destinations
• Debt List screen (OPDL) for debts with the reason code of DUP or DRA
• history of payment destination updates by going to the Bank Details Edit tab in Customer Details via CRN/BP, and checking against the customer’s payments on the:
• Payment List screen via Workspace for Customer First native payments (FHA/SRSS/CCS)
• Payment Summary (PS) screen for all other payments

If attempts to verify whether the customer has legal access to the account fail or are inconclusive, and there are no concerns about the validity of the request:

• benefit of the doubt should generally be given to the customer so that they are not placed in hardship
• the payment must be requested for refund before it can be reissued
• the customer must be warned that, as the original payment has not been returned to the agency, by issuing a replacement payment, the customer may be paid twice for the same period, and a debt will be raised

If there are concerns about the validity of the request or if the customer has a debt history due to requesting reissued payments:

• the customer should contact the financial institution and request a 'notice of no legal entitlement to account' that confirms they do not have legal access to the account in question
• The exact document provided will be at the financial institution's discretion and may not have this exact title. If the customer can provide an official notice/letter from the financial institution, it should not be rejected because the title differs
• If the customer advises they cannot provide any evidence from the financial institution, refer the request to the Fraud, Privacy and Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk
• The payment should not be reissued until the evidence has been provided or the referral has been reviewed and completed

Does the customer have legal access to the account (the customer’s name would normally be in the account title)?

• Yes, tell the customer that as the payment has been made to an account they have legal access to, they are not entitled to have the payment reissued. To change the payment destination for future payments, see Changing payment destination. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 7

Payment made to a payment nominee

• If the customer had a payment nominee arrangement in place when the payment was delivered, the customer is not entitled to have the payment reissued. To receive future payments, the customer must cancel the nominee arrangement unless it is an involuntary/court appointed arrangement which cannot be cancelled without the authority of the nominee
• If the payment nominee arrangement had already stopped and the payment has been incorrectly issued to the payment nominee's account, go to Step 8

Payment made to a parent

• If the customer is under 18 years of age, a dependent Youth Allowance (YA) or ABSTUDY customer and the payment was delivered to the parent, the customer would not be entitled to have the payment reissued if they have benefited from the payment. To receive payment into their own account, see Payments for students under 18 years paid to student, parent or a third party
• If the customer is over the age of 18 years and the payment was delivered to the parent, the customer would not be entitled to have the payment reissued if they have benefited from the payment. The payment destination may be changed for future payments

Payment made to a third party, such as rehabilitation centre, correctional centre trust account or respite nursing home

• If the customer was approved for an immediate payment and it was issued to a third party, with the consent of the customer or for their benefit, the customer would not be entitled to have the payment reissued
• If the customer has left the facility and did not benefit from the payment, go to Step 8
• If payment was made to a group payment organisation, see Reissue a group payment paid to an organisation in error

Payment made to a friend/relative without a nominee arrangement

• Payment legislation only allows the agency to request the return of a payment if the payment was delivered in error
• If the customer intentionally provided an account they do not have legal access to, and the account holder will not release the payment, this is a civil matter and Services Australia cannot assist
• Unreturned payments should not be reissued, as this will likely result in a duplicate payment debt for the customer
• The customer should update their payment destination for future payments
• Procedure ends here

Was the payment incorrectly paid to another person?

• Yes, and payment was made to an:
• incorrect recipient who is identified as an existing customer, go to Step 8
• unidentified incorrect recipient, go to Step 9
• No, but payment was made to:
• an invalid account (that is, the account number was incorrectly keyed), or
• a closed account that customer cannot access payment from, get correct payment destination, go to Step 10

If the payment was made to an incorrect recipient, make 2 attempts to contact the person by phone to make them aware that they have received a payment they were not entitled to receive.

• Use extreme care to protect the identity and privacy of the customer and the incorrect recipient (who may also be a customer)
• Tell the incorrect recipient to leave the funds in the bank account, as the funds will be automatically returned to the agency within the next 28 days. If no funds or only part of the payment is returned, a debt will be raised against the incorrect recipient to recover the remainder of the funds
• Record a DOC on the incorrect recipient's record (if known to the agency)
• If this incorrect payment has occurred due to an Intertwined record, report case to Data Quality Unit via Intertwined referral form. See Resources for a link to the form
• Record the details on a DOC

Go to Step 10.

Investigate why the unknown recipient’s payment destination details have been recorded on the customer’s record (for example, staff or customer have mistyped the details, or the customer is a victim of fraud, and an unauthorised update has been made to the customer’s payment destination).

Were the unknown recipient’s payment destination details recorded as a result of unauthorised access to the customer’s account?

• Yes:
• Tell the customer that their online access will be suspended pending resolution of the security breach. See Centrelink self service - access status, locking and unlocking for more details
• Staff must escalate all cases of suspected identity fraud. See Table 2 of Identity Fraud for more information
• Record details on a DOC
• Go to Step 10
• No, go to Step 10

• Payment destination must be updated before the payment can be reissued
• The customer must provide an account they have legal access to (either solely or jointly)
• If the customer is not present, make 2 genuine attempts to contact the customer by phone to get their correct payment destination details. If unsuccessful, send a Request for payment destination details (Q092) to the customer
• If the customer does not wish to supply new account details and no longer wants their payment reissued, record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

Update the customer's payment destination. See Changing payment destination.

Go to Step 11.

Payments incorrectly paid to an account the customer does not have legal access to, must be requested for refund before going any further.

Note: payment legislation does not allow requests for refund be sent where the customer cannot access a payment they intentionally directed to a third party account.

For payments made outside Australia:

• See Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers outside Australia
• Procedure ends here

For Child Care Subsidy, see Table 2.

For all other payments:

• If the request for refund is appropriate but not yet completed, it must be actioned per Request the return of a payment made to an incorrect recipient
• Once the request has been processed see Table 2.

Investigate the customer's record for any reason as to why the customer may not be entitled immediately to a reissued payment.

If an advance payment has been made to the incorrect account, confirm whether the customer wants the advance before going any further. See Advance payments obtained fraudulently without customer consent for more information, before continuing below.

• If the customer has a debt history of requesting reissued payments, request the customer to provide a letter from their financial institution to confirm they do not have access to this payment. To confirm debt history, check the DL screen and OPDL screen for debt reason code ‘DUP’ or ‘DRA’. Procedure ends here
• If the customer is not entitled to the payment, the payment must be blocked to prevent it being reissued, go to Step 2
• For Child Care Subsidy (CCS) customers affected by Potential fraudulent completion of Not Required to Lodge (NRTL) advice, see Table 2 > Step 5 in Customer enquires about Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation outcome for additional steps
• If the customer is entitled to the payment or entitled to a part payment of Family Tax Benefit (FTB)/Child Care Subsidy (CCS), go to Step 3

Create a detailed DOC on the customer's record explaining why the payment is not to be reissued.

Note: this is mandatory for audit purposes. The ICT Service Desk are not able to action any request until the DOC has been completed.

The DOC must include:

• Title: Block payment – not entitled to reissue
• Payment type/delivery date/payment amount
• The reason the payment is not to be reissued
  Note: recording 'customer not entitled' is not sufficient. The DOC must fully explain why the customer is not entitled

If the payment is FTB/CCS, the payment must be excluded from the reconciliation result. See Returned payments and their effect on family assistance reconciliation.

Escalate to ICT Service Desk

Once the DOC has been completed, escalate to ICT Service Desk via mySupport.

The Resources page contains a link to mySupport.

• For Child Care Subsidy (CCS):
• Use the ‘Child Care Subsidy and Additional Child Care Subsidy Issues’ form
• Enter ‘BLOCK PAYMENT’ under the 'title' and 'What function is being attempted when the issue occurred?’ fields
• For Farm Household Allowance (FHA):
• Use the ‘Farm Household Allowance (FHA) Issues form
• Select 'Block Payment' option under 'What is the issue?'
• For Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS):
• Use the ‘Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) Issues form
• Select ‘Block Payment’ option under ‘What is the issue being reported?’
• For all other payment types:
• Use the ‘Stop Customer Payment’ form

Note: blocking payments and stopping payments are different processes. Ensure all references in the DOC and mySupport correctly reference blocking the payment.

Annotate the DOC to include the relevant Service Desk (SD) number.

Procedure ends here.

The customer must be advised that since the original payment has not yet been returned to the agency by the financial institution, reissuing the payment could result in them being paid twice for the same period.

If the funds are not returned within 28 days, a Duplicate Instalment debt will be raised and recovered.

Income managed customers requesting that their Income Management (GPY) payment be reissued must also be warned that as the payment has not yet been returned to the agency, they may receive the payment twice. If the funds are not returned within 28 days, an Income Management debt may be raised and recovered.

If the customer received or benefited from the original payment, they will be liable for the debt.

If someone other than the customer (for example, incorrect recipient) received or benefited from the original payment, then any debt raised may be against them, if the funds are not returned.

Customers concerned at potential debts can opt to wait until the original payment has returned before it is reissued.

Does the customer wish to proceed with the payment reissue?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, tell the customer:
• Services Australia will contact the customer if the original payment is recovered
• If the customer’s circumstances change before this happens, they can contact back at any time to arrange reissue, but the risk of a duplicate instalment debt remains
• Initiate a request for refund on the payment
• Record details on a DOC of advice given to the customer and that they withdrew their request for the payment to be reissued
• Procedure ends here

Check the Payment Summary (PS) screen for details.

Is the customer on Income Management?

• Yes, and the payment:
• was issued from the GPY system, go to Step 5
• to be reissued is from another system (PEN, NSS etc), go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 6

Determine if reissuing an Income Management payment is appropriate before funds have been returned from the financial institution. Consideration should be given, but not limited to:

• Does the customer have any unallocated Income Management balance that can be used pending the return of funds?
• Does the customer have a history of requesting immediate re-credits or reissued payments?
• Was the error due to an administration error (for example, Service Officer did not update payment destination details before issuing payment)?

Staff not trained in Income Management are to warm transfer the customer to the Income Management line, via Services Australia Workspace.

Service Officers not trained in Income Management should seek assistance from:

• a specialised Service Officer (if available) or Service Support Officer (SSO), or
• the Technical Support Line (select Income Management option 7). Specialised staff will assist Service Officers to complete the customer's enquiry or update

When it is determined a payment reissue is appropriate:

• Service Officers are to make sure the payment destination details have been updated for Service Reason GPY. See Changing payment destination for more details
• Service Officers are to send an email to Income Management Policy Helpdesk requesting an Account Adjustment be processed and the payment reissued to the customer's correct payment destination. If the request is urgent, Service Officers should ring the helpdesk after sending the email
• Service Officers are to record details of discussion with the customer on a DOC, including:
• confirmation of customer being advised that as the original payment has not been returned to the agency, by reissuing a payment the customer may be paid twice and a duplicate payment debt may be raised, and
• why the reissue was requested and deemed appropriate
• The Income Management helpdesk will:
• action the Account Adjustment and reissue the funds within 24 hours of receiving the request, if appropriate
• if the funds are due to be returned due to the account being closed, monitor the record for the return of funds and if not returned within 48 hours, follow the process to request a refund of payment from the financial institution

Procedure ends here.

• For the reissue of a family assistance payment (excluding CCS), go to Step 7
• For all other payments, see Table 3 > Step 1

If reissuing a partial family assistance payment, see Returned payments and their effect on family assistance reconciliation.

Check if there are any indications that the customer is overseas by looking for:

• Portability script DOC
• Immigration data match DOC, and
• change of address

Is the customer overseas?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, see Table 3 > Step 1

Family assistance payments (for example FTB) can only be deposited into an Australian account every 2 weeks no matter which payment method is chosen by the customer.

If a former family assistance customer is entitled to arrears (for example, when reconciliation occurs) but has moved overseas and closed their Australian account, International Services (CIS) staff can issue a one-off cheque payment to an overseas address by a one-off payment.

A one-off payment can also be used to issue payments to overseas estates and for certain other payments where no alternative option is available.

See Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers while outside Australia.

Is there an overseas address recorded or can it be obtained by contacting the customer overseas or a nominee?

• Yes, see Issuing a one-off payment or arrears to a Centrelink beneficiary outside Australia
• No, payment cannot be reissued. Record details on a DOC including why the payment cannot be reissued. For example, customer has closed account, is overseas and overseas contact details are unknown. Procedure ends here

To reissue:

• Child Care Subsidy (CCS), Farm Household Allowance (FHA), or Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payments, go to Step 2
• A payment that was combined with a fraudulent advance pending investigation/deletion, the payment must be reissued via the PYAJ screen. Note: this payment can be issued via NPP provided the customer meets the immediate payment guidelines. Procedure ends here
• All other payment types, go to Step 4

• If an FHA or SRSS payment has been returned or rejected, see Reissue a payment returned from a Financial Institution – includes deceased customers. Procedure ends here
• If a CCS payment has been returned or rejected, see Child Care Subsidy (CCS) payments and adjustments
• If the payment has not been returned from the Financial Institution, these payments must be returned before the payment can be reissued to the customer:
• For CCS payments, go to Step 3
• For FHA and SRSS payments, escalate to ICT via mySupport. The Resources page has a link to mySupport. Procedure ends here

Issue a manual Q062 CCS Payment Recall letter to the financial institution:

• Go to Payment List screen via Workspace in Customer First and note screen details for payment to be returned, including the Bank Number, Account and Document Number

To locate the Financial Institution (FI) postal address for the Q062 letter, go to the Financial Institutions Details (RFI) screen in Customer First:

• Type the BSB in the FI Code: field and select Continue
• If the FI has a Processing Centre Code recorded, find the correct address in Table 1 on the Resources page of Request the return of a payment made to an incorrect recipient
• Otherwise, use the address provided on the RFI screen
• Seek LPS support as needed, see Tier 0 technical support - self-sufficiency

On the Review Registration (RVR) screen, set a review for 21 days, add:

• Service Reason: FTB
• Review Reason: Other
• Due Date: 21 days
• Keyword: Return
• Notes: 'CCS return payment requested - Q062 issued [date], see 103-04040010 > Table 3 > Step 3.'

Record all action completed in a DOC.

Do not give customers a timeframe for the payment when the request is sent.

A Service Officer will be assigned the manual review when 21 days have passed:

• Review DOC on record
• Go to Payment List screen via Workspace in Customer First and confirm the full payment has been paid/not paid to the customer
• Check Documents to confirm if a response from financial institution has been received

If payment not returned within 21 days:

• Send an email to Families and Child Care – Business Process and Design Branch:
• Include subject title 'CCS returned payment not received after 21 days CRN (please provide CRN)'
• The following information must be included in the email:
  - Customers full name and CRN
  - Payment amount and date issued
  - Incorrect BSB, Account number and name payment was issued to (if available)
  - Confirmed with the customer they do not have legal access to this account Y/N
  - Correct BSB, Account number and name as it appears on the account (confirmed by the customer) for ongoing CCS payments
  - Correct payment destination details updated on PAS Y/N
  - Does the customer have a payment nominee either for the payment made or the ongoing payments Y/N (provide any relevant information)
  - Q062 issue date and confirmation no response from financial institution or financial institution has responded and information provided
• DOC the record and finalise the review
• If it has previously been identified that the customer was a victim of fraud or an unauthorised update was made to the customer’s payment destination:
• Ensure all updates are completed on the record including additional security and Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk referral as per Identity fraud
• When investigation/corrective action are completed by Families and Child Care - Business Process and Design Branch and Level 3 Programme, the referring Service Officer will receive a response. The response will outline any other action required:
• DOC the record with additional action completed
• Procedure ends here

If the payment has been returned:

• If the correct payment destination details have been updated, the payment will automatically reissue in the next payment strip
• No more action is needed
• DOC the record and finalise the review
• Procedure ends here

Before attempting to reissue the payment, make sure the correct payment system is selected (for example, Age Pension payments can only be reissued in the PEN system).

For payments in the ISS system, the correct subsystem must also be selected. For details on how to access the ISS subsystem, see Customer First navigation, common screens and functions.

• Go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• Select the payment that has not been received by typing ‘R’ next to the payment line and press [Enter]
• The Issue Payment Select (IPPRE) screen will show
• The system will automatically 'S'elect the Re-deliver Unreturned Payment: field and the Default Destination Type: field will automatically default to ‘Direct Credit’
• Press [Enter] and the Re-Deliver Payment (RDP) or Re-Deliver Component (RDC) screen will show:
• The RDP screen will show for Income Support Payment
• The RDC screen will show for FTB payments

Note: if an IPI deduction exists, relating to a fraudulent immediate payment, on the payment to be reissued and the customer is in hardship or due for payment, a mySupport webform, Stop Customer Payment - Fraud request. should be completed to have the deduction removed before the payment is reissued.

For FTB payments, go to Step 5.

For all other payment types, go to Step 6.

• On the RDC screen, code the following fields:
• Select the components of the payment to be reissued, or Reissue All if all components are to be reissued
• Selected Amt: This will populate with the total of the payment components to be reissued
• Reason: 'DNR'
• Finished (Y/Q/N): 'Y'
• Notes: The reason for the reissue of the payment
• Source: and DOR:
• Press [Enter] to complete the activity
• Make sure the Request for Refund (RFR) activity automatically generates on the Future Activity List (FAL) screen for 14 days. These activities will normally not show until daily driver (DDR) has run on the record. Key ‘DDR’ in Next and select [Enter]
• If the activity has been selected by Quality On Line (QOL), checking the future activity may not generate immediately. In these cases:
• note the Customer Reference Number (CRN), and
• check the FAL screen the next day
• record details on a DOC

Note: when reissuing family assistance payments, which have not been received, choose:

• either Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A or Part B, or
• both, by selecting 'reissue all' and answer 'Y

Due to the number of FTB components, the 'reissue all' option and the ability to finalise may appear on the second page.

FTB payments cannot be issued as an Urgent Payment. Procedure ends here.

• On the RDP screen, code the following fields:
• Reason: DNR
• Finished (Y/Q/N): Y
• Notes: the reason for the reissue of the payment
• Source: and DOR:
• Press [Enter] to complete the activity
• Make sure the Request for Refund (RFR) activity has been automatically generated on the Future Activity List (FAL) screen for 14 days. These activities will normally not show until daily driver (DDR) has run on the record. Key ‘DDR’ in Next and select [Enter]
• If the activity has been selected by Quality On Line (QOL), checking the future activity may not generate immediately. In these cases:
• note the Customer Reference Number (CRN), and
• check the FAL screen the next day
• record details on a DOC

Does the customer require the funds immediately?

• Yes, reissue the new payment via the New Payments Platform (NPP). Procedure ends here
• No, procedure ends here

Note: where the term customer is used, follow the steps below if a request is received from a nominee or third party.

Services Australia has not issued Centrelink payments by cheque since January 2016 (except for international customers).

If the payment destination on the Payment Summary (PS) screen shows a cheque, the customer has not been issued this payment. They must supply direct credit (financial institution) account or payment nominee details to reissue this payment.

If direct credit details are not supplied within 28 days of coding the direct credit exemption, the payment will suspend.

If the customer:

• advises they have not received their cheque payment, go to Step 3
• is returning a cheque to Centrelink, go to Step 2

The cheque is now a stale cheque, as it is more than 15 months old.

See:

• Official Cheques link on the Finance Quick Guides
• Follow the Reissue of Stale Cheques procedure in the ‘Banking, Cheques and Cash Management Quick Guide’
• For confirmation of stale cheques older than 15 months that have been issued via SAP, contact the Treasury Helpdesk via email with the following details: Cheque Number, issued date, amount and the Payee name

The Resources page contains a link to the Finance Quick Guide and the Treasury Helpdesk page. Procedure ends here.

If the customer is an international customer, see Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers outside Australia.

Tell the customer the agency has not issued payments by cheque since January 2016.

Check the customer's Payment Destination screen to see how the payment has been issued.