Processing Payment Reconciliation (PAYREC) DOCs 103-21041532

‘Payment reconciliation’ is an automated process that confirms payments delivered match the calculations of the customer’s entitlement.

Where the payment and entitlement do not match, and the system cannot identify why, a Payment Reconciliation DOC is created for manual review.

A Payment Reconciliation DOC does not mean the payment is incorrect. Service Officers must investigate the details within the DOC and the customer’s record to determine if the customer has been over or underpaid and action accordingly.

The Payment Reconciliation DOC includes the following information:

The first 2 lines confirm why the DOC has been created, and whether the investigation relates to a possible underpayment or overpayment.

Run number/Run ID: XXXX

Every Centrelink payment is allocated a unique code called a ‘Lodgement Reference Number (LRN)’. To view the LRN in Customer First:

• Go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• Record ‘L’ against the relevant payment, and
• Select [ENTER]

The last 4 characters of the LRN should match the Run number/Run ID in the DOC, however in some cases (e.g., the net payment is $0) the Run number/Run ID may differ or may not appear.

Recn Gross

This is the gross payment amount the system calculated the customer should have received, minus additional payments (for example, arrears or add-ons such as Energy Supplement or Rent Assistance).

Pay delivery

This is the gross amount the customer received, minus additional payments (e.g., arrears or add-ons).

Detm Gross

This is the customer’s regular gross payment amount, as calculated by the system. This should equal the individual components recorded at the bottom of the DOC.

Component breakdown

The DOC contains a list of components which, when combined should equal the Detm Gross amount.

Some payments may have more components than the DOC can display. This will display as ‘+++’ at the bottom of the DOC. To view the full component list in Customer First:

• Go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• 'S'elect the relevant payment, and
• Select [ENTER] twice

The Resources page includes an example of the Payment Reconciliation DOC.

Review the information contained in the DOC, and note the:

• Receipt Date of the DOC
• System the payment is for: NSS, PEN, PGA, FAO, etc., and
• Payment/Reconciliation amounts

Go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen and find the relevant payment:

• Depending on the payment type, the payment delivery date will generally be within one to 2 working days of the Receipt Date on the DOC.
  Note: delivery dates may be slightly later for customers paid internationally or over holiday processing periods
• The Gross amount should match the ‘Pay Delivery’ within the DOC, and
• The last 4 digits of the LRN should match the Run number/Run ID as per Step 2

Can you identify the relevant payment?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

Select the relevant payment and investigate the reason the DOC has been generated.

Payment Reconciliation DOCs are often generated when a payment:

• Was not issued 14 days after the last payment due to:
• Holiday processing
• Late reporting/stimulating of the payment
• Change of EPED
• Customer is paid weekly, or
• International customer is paid monthly
• Amounts did not match 14 days entitlement due to:
• Suspension of payment within entitlement period
• Delivery of a one-off payment (e.g., quarterly supplements)
• Reissued payments
• Arrears payments, or
• Debt repayments

See Resources for more detailed explanations of the above common reasons.

Can you identify the cause of the discrepancy?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 5

If the relevant payment or cause of the discrepancy are unable to be determined, escalate the DOC following the Technical Support Model for further investigation.

Where LPS cannot identify the relevant payment or discrepancy, they must Hold the work item to user (HTU) until an SSO is assigned to assist.

Where the SSO cannot identify the relevant payment or discrepancy, they must:

• raise an incident to the appropriate team via mySupport
• annotate the DOC advising it has been escalated for further investigation, including the Service Desk (SD) number, and
• Hold the work item to user (HTU) pending an outcome

See Resources for a list of relevant mySupport forms.

Note: an incident should only be raised where SSO cannot identify which payment the DOC relates to, or why the DOC has been generated. ICT cannot assist with verifying or calculating entitlement.

Once the payment and discrepancy have been correctly identified, go to Step 6.

Once the relevant payment and reason for the DOC have been identified, the payment must be reviewed to confirm the customer has received their correct entitlement.

Identify the customer's payment(s) and calculate the entitlement minus any deductions (Centrepay, withholdings, debts etc.).

To assist in payment rates and calculations, see:

• Rates and Thresholds. Note: these rates are the maximum rate for each individual payment, so each customer’s individual circumstances need to be considered
• Payment verification resources contains helpful links to assist in calculating and verifying payment rates

If entitlement cannot be confirmed, escalate the DOC following the Technical Support Model for further assistance.

Where entitlement is confirmed, and the customer has:

• been underpaid/overpaid, go to Step 7
• received the correct entitlement, go to Step 8

If the discrepancy can be clearly identified and the customer has been:

• Overpaid:
• Refer the overpayment to the Debt raising team as per Debt identification
• Do not create the Fast Note within the Payment Reconciliation DOC activity
• Underpaid:
• Refer the underpayment to SSO who will investigate and, where confirmed, manually adjust the payment via PYAJ

Go to Step 8.

Annotate the DOC, confirming:

• payment reconciliation has been completed
• why the DOC was generated (e.g., late stimulus, manually calculated, one off payment etc.)
• whether the payment was correct, and if any action was required (e.g., debt referral, payment adjustment)

Complete the DOC.

Procedure ends here.