Advance payment for non-pension customers 103-05040010
This document explains the qualification requirements for non-pension advance payments and how non-pension advance payment amounts are calculated. The advance payment is also known as the standard advance or $500 advance. There is no requirement for a customer to tell Services Australia how they intend to use the advance payment.
Select: Eligibility - to determine if customer is eligible for an advance
Then select:
- Assisted - Process Direct to use Advance Payments workflow or Manage Advances to process the advance request for the customer or change the date of the second instalment
- Assisted - Customer First to use the Advance payment workflow to process the advance request for the customer or change the date of the second instalment
Eligibility
Eligibility for an advance payment
Step |
Action |
1 |
Customer requests an advance payment + Read more ... This procedure does not apply to:
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2 |
Customers enquiring about an advance + Read more ... Customers applying for an advance, wishing to check their eligibility (see Background page for eligibility details), current balance or next available advance date should be strongly encouraged to use digital channels unless they:
Is the customer unable to use digital channels for these reasons?
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3 |
Customer should be strongly encouraged to use one of the following digital options + Read more ...
While customers are strongly encouraged to use digital options, some customers may have other barriers that prevent this and should be helped to claim an advance payment. The Resources page has online tutorials to assist customers with claiming an advance using digital channels, including Online services and Express Plus mobile apps. Procedure ends here. |
4 |
Assessing the advance + Read more ... Note: a partner or third party (who is not a correspondence nominee), although they may have permission to enquire, is not able to claim an advance payment on behalf of the customer. Does the customer have a nominee/third party arrangement?
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5 |
Customer has a nominee/third party arrangement + Read more ... For more details on advances and nominees, see Advances. Who has applied for the advance? Nominee + Read more ...
Customer + Read more ... If the customer has applied and they have a:
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6 |
Weekly payments + Read more ... Is the customer on weekly payments?
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7 |
Investigating an advance for weekly payment customers + Read more ... Weekly payment customers need a thorough investigation of their circumstances and ability to repay without placing themselves in financial hardship. If a recipient has a gambling, alcohol, other addiction or financial issues, consider other options such as:
Is the advance payment to be granted?
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8 |
Income managed customers + Read more ... Check the benefit status line for benefit type INM. Is the customer an income managed customer? Note: if the customer uses Enhanced Income Management (eIM), do not refer them to the eIM hotline for Centrelink business. This line is for Smartcard Support only and not for processing Advance payment.
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9 |
Income managed customers impacts + Read more ... When an income managed customer applies for an advance payment, the following message will show: 'This customer's payment is subject to Income Management (IM).' Tell the customer:
Advance repayments reduce the amount of funds credited into a customer's Income Management account. Service Officers are to check there are sufficient funds available to meet ongoing regular expenses. Go to the Expense Management Summary screen and view the percentage of the fortnightly unallocated funds available. If more than 100% is allocated, regular expenses will need to be reviewed and updated. For more details, see Determining a person's priority needs for Income Management. Note: when running the Advance Payments service for Income Managed customers, check the advance payment on the Payment Summary (PS) screen before finalising the activity. The Advance is identified as being income managed by the $0.00 amount in the $Net payment column. Funds will be credited with the nightly payment strip and available in the Income Management account the next day. This means customers who are granted an advance on a Friday can access these funds on the weekend using self service options to transfer to their BasicsCard. For more details see, Coding Income Management expenses and Transfer of funds between Income Management Account and BasicsCard online. |
10 |
Payment by instalment + Read more ... If the customer chooses to have the advance payment paid by instalments:
A future activity will be created on the FAL screen for the issuing of the second instalment. This activity must not be cancelled as it is required to ensure the payment is issued. |
11 |
Is the advance payment to be granted? + Read more ...
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Assisted - Process Direct
On this tab:
Changing the second instalment date using Advance Payment workflow
Coding the advance request using Manage Advance
Changing instalment date using Manage Advance
Advance payment workflow
Table 1
Step |
Action |
1 |
Accessing the workflow + Read more ... Tell the customer how often they can be paid an advance, so they have a chance to change the amount before any advance being finalised. Note: customers who are paid in 'Env I' because they are permanently living overseas, are eligible to apply for an advance payment when visiting Australia. These customers cannot use self service options, so staff will need to process the request for them. Claims for advance payment can be processed in 'Env I'. This may take extra days to be received by the customer because of processing arrangements for international customers. International Services staff should process these requests only. Access Advance Payments workflow:
Does a warning show?
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2 |
Income managed customers + Read more ... When an income managed customer applies for an advance payment, the following message will show: 'This customer’s payment is subject to Income Management (IM).' Tell the customer:
If the customer wants to:
See the Resources page for a link to Welfare Quarantining Team. Procedure ends here. |
3 |
Automatic rejection and overriding the rejection + Read more ... A warning message shows advising the customer's circumstances have been checked and automatic rejection reasons have been identified. A rejection can only be overridden for the following rejection reason and circumstances.
Can be overridden when:
In Override rejection?: select Yes or No If:
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4 |
Check for nominees + Read more ... If the customer has a nominee, a warning message and details of the nominee arrangement show. Does the customer have a nominee or has the nominee contacted?
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5 |
Involuntary nominee arrangement + Read more ... With an Involuntary Nominee Arrangement, the nominee must be contacted and give approval before any advance being granted. See Customer has a nominee or third party arrangement. Has the nominee been contacted and approved the advance?
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6 |
Voluntary Nominee Arrangement + Read more ... Customers who have voluntary nominee arrangements are not prevented from applying for an advance payment but if the staff member considers the customer does not understand how having an advance will reduce their fortnightly payment, then contact nominee (if possible) before granting the advance. See Customer has a nominee or third party arrangement. If the customer is in receipt of payments via a group schedule, the customer should have authority from the organisation to be issued the advance. Does the customer understand the impact on their payment of having the advance?
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7 |
Contact nominee + Read more ... Has the nominee been contacted and approved the advance?
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8 |
Advance application: Affordability assessment + Read more ... The first assessment question determines if the customer can afford to repay the advance without being placed in financial hardship. Ask the customer to think about their current expenses to determine how much they can afford to repay for the next 13 fortnights (6 months). If the customer cannot afford to repay the minimum amount the claim will be rejected. Update the following fields on the Standard Advance Payment screen: 'Thinking about your current fortnightly income and expenses; how much do you have left to repay your advance at the end of every fortnight?:' enter the amount in the text field
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9 |
Advance application paid in instalments + Read more ... The next questions will ask if the customer wishes to have the advance paid in one amount or two instalments. Payment by instalment:
Ask the customer 'Do you wish to have the advance paid in instalments?'
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10 |
Continue task: customer declaration + Read more ... Read the following information and confirm the customer understands the details:
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11 |
Finalising the advance request + Read more ... Complete the following fields:
If the customer is in immediate need of the advance and any delay in accessing funds would severely disadvantage the customer, see Urgent payments due to exceptional and unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances, Procedure ends here. |
Changing the second instalment date using Advance Payment workflow
Table 2
Step |
Action |
1 |
Customer requests change to instalment date + Read more ...
From the Current advances table:
Procedure ends here. |
Coding the advance request using Manage Advance
Table 3
Step |
Action |
1 |
Customer is unable to apply for an advance payment via self service options + Read more ... Tell the customers how often they can be paid an advance, so they have a chance to change the amount before any advance being finalised. Note: customers who are paid in 'Env I' because they are permanently living overseas, are eligible to apply for an advance payment when visiting Australia. These customers cannot use self service options, so staff will need to process the request for them. Claims for advance payment can be processed in 'Env I'. This may take extra days to be received by the customer because of processing arrangements for international customers. International Services staff should process these requests only.
Manages Advances will open with the Overview screen. The Overview screen will give the following options:
Note: when an income managed customer applies for an advance payment, the following message will show: 'As your payments are income managed your Advance Payment will be paid into your income management account. Do you want to continue?' Service Officers are to read the relevant information to the customer, before proceeding with the workflow. There is also a Claims tab. The application will automatically reject if the person is not qualified. Note: this may happen at the beginning of the assessment or during progress through the questions. Does the customer wish to proceed with applying for an advance payment?
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2 |
Applying for an advance + Read more ... Under the Claims tab:
The Advance Details screen will show. Does the customer have a nominee?
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3 |
Customer has a nominee + Read more ... If the customer has a nominee, the following questions (A, B and C) will show:
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4 |
Eligibility for advance payment + Read more ... Is customer eligible for an advance payment?
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5 |
Advance Details screen - Automatic rejection + Read more ... If customer is ineligible the following information will show:
Overriding the rejection A rejection can only be overridden for the following rejection reason and circumstances.
Can be overridden when:
Is rejection to be overridden?
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6 |
Continue workflow: Affordability assessment + Read more ... The first assessment question will determine if the customer can afford to repay the advance without being placed in financial hardship. Ask the customer to think about their current expenses to determine how much they can afford to repay for the next 13 fortnights (6 months). If the customer cannot afford the repayments for the minimum advance amount, the claim will be rejected. By answering the affordability question, the system will advise the minimum and maximum amount available. The customer then needs to advise the amount they wish to apply for. |
7 |
Continue workflow: payment by instalment + Read more ... The Manage Advances action will also show the payment options available (that is, one-off payment or via instalments). Payment by instalment
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8 |
Continue workflow: customer declaration + Read more ... Read the following information and confirm the customer understands:
If the customer answers 'Yes' to all the above statements, select Submit. |
9 |
Workflow ends: Record Note and advise customer of outcome + Read more ... Tell the customer the decision and the details of their advance payment. If the customer requests a receipt number, this will need to be issued via Customer First, see Issuing and viewing receipt numbers. Grant letters are no longer sent to customers with the exception of customers with a nominee, under 18 years of age or who is income managed. Payment should be issued to the customer’s payment destination on the next business/working day. Payments are not credit to accounts on weekends and public holidays. A Note must be manually recorded to provide details of the grant. If nominee arrangements are in place, include in the Note:
If the customer is in immediate need of the advance and any delay in accessing funds would severely disadvantage the customer, see Urgent payments due to exceptional and unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances. Are the customer's payments income managed?
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10 |
Income managed customer impacts + Read more ... Advance repayments reduce the amount of funds credited into a customer's Income Management account. Service Officers are to check there are sufficient funds available to meet ongoing regular expenses. Go to the Expense Management Summary screen and view the percentage of the fortnightly unallocated funds available. If more than 100% is allocated, regular expenses will need to be reviewed and updated. For more details, see Determining a person's priority needs for Income Management. Note: after running the Manage Advances action for Income Management customers, check the advance payment on the Payment Summary (PS) screen. The Advance is identified as being income managed by the $0.00 amount in the $Net payment column. Funds will be credited with the nightly payment strip and available in the Income Management account the next day. This means, customers who are granted an advance on a Friday can access these funds on the weekend, using self-service options to transfer to their BasicsCard. For more details, see, Coding Income Management expenses and Transfer of funds between Income Management Account and BasicsCard online. |
Changing instalment date using Manage Advance
Table 4
Step |
Action |
1 |
Customer requests change to instalment date + Read more ... Run the Manage Advances action in Process Direct:
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2 |
Update instalment date + Read more ... To update the instalment date, complete the following fields:
Finalise activity and confirm payment instalment date with customer. Manually create a separate Note advising date change and reason. |
Assisted - Customer First
On this tab
Assessing an advance payment using Customer First
Changing the second instalment date using Customer First
Assessing an advance payment using Customer First
Table 1
Step |
Action |
1 |
Customer is unable to apply for an advance payment via self service options + Read more ... If the customer is unable to use self service options, claims for the standard advance payment are to be processed using the Advance Payments workflow. Tell the customer how often they can be paid an advance, so they have a chance to change the amount before any advance being finalised.
Note: when an income managed customer applies for an advance payment, a message will show. Service Officers are to read the relevant information to the customer, before proceeding with the workflow. Does the customer have a nominee?
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2 |
Customer has a nominee + Read more ... If the customer has a nominee, the first question will be: 'This customer has a nominee, or the applicant may be the nominee. Have you checked if there are any restrictions preventing the issue of an Advance before continuing?' Select the correct radio button:
The information message advises staff should offer to mail an application form to the customer. This is incorrect as there is no longer an application form. Select OK to close the message. To reject the application, select Continue. Advance will be rejected – Claim withdrawn. For more details on Advances and nominees, see Advances. |
3 |
Continue action: Affordability assessment + Read more ... The first assessment question will determine if the customer can afford to repay the advance without being placed in financial hardship. Ask the customer to think about their current expenses to determine how much they can afford to repay for the next 13 fortnights (6 months). If the customer cannot afford the repayments for the minimum advance amount, the claim will be rejected. Note: the workflow shows the amount range the customer may apply for. This could change depending on the fortnightly amount entered. If the customer wants to know how much the repayments would be for a specific amount a Ready Reckoner is available within the workflow. At the end of the Basic Eligibility Criteria section, Rejection and Override Decision buttons may appear. The rejection reason 'POD' - Person has an overpayment/debt - can be overridden when:
Select the relevant button and follow the instructions to enable grant of the advance payment or allow the workflow to process the rejection. If the application is successful, the workflow will make the payment to the customer via their regular method of payment. Payment of advance under a nominee arrangement is to the usual account. |
4 |
Continue action: payment options and DOC + Read more ... The workflow will:
Payment by instalment
If nominee arrangements are in place, annotate the DOC as follows:
Note: when actioning advance payments for Income Management customers, check the advance payment on the Payment Summary (PS) screen before finalising the activity. The Advance is identified as being income managed by the $0.00 amount in the $Net payment column. Funds will be credited with the nightly payment strip and available in the Income Management account the next day. This means customers who are granted an advance on a Friday can access these funds on the weekend using self-service options to transfer to their BasicsCard. For more details see, Coding Income Management expenses and Transfer of funds between Income Management Account and BasicsCard online. |
5 |
Workflow ends: Issue receipt number + Read more ... The system will offer a printed receipt with a receipt number and details about the decision made. If requested, issue a verbal receipt number. Give the customer the choice of receiving an immediate printed receipt (face to face contact only). Grant letters are no longer sent to customers with the exception of customers with a nominee, under 18 years of age or who is Income Managed. If the customer is in immediate need of the advance and any delay in accessing funds would severely disadvantage the customer, see Urgent payments due to exceptional and unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances. Are the customer's payments income managed?
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6 |
Income managed customer impacts + Read more ... Advance repayments reduce the amount of funds credited into a customer's Income Management account. Service Officers are to check there are sufficient funds available to meet ongoing regular expenses. Go to the Expense Management Summary screen and view the percentage of the fortnightly unallocated funds available. If more than 100% is allocated, regular expenses will need to be reviewed and updated. For more details, see Determining a person's priority needs for Income Management. |
Changing the second instalment date using Customer First
Table 2
Step |
Action |
1 |
Customer requests change to instalment date + Read more ... Check the instalment date, by selecting the Advance date hyperlink. The instalment date will show on the Advance Details screen. |
2 |
Update instalment date + Read more ... To update the instalment date, complete the following fields:
Finalise activity and confirm payment instalment date with customer. Annotate DOC with the updated instalment date and reason for change. Procedure ends here. |