Manual follow up (MFU) review of circumstances to identify vulnerability after payment suspension and cancellation 008-03130050

The system will create the ZIAM_VUL_CUS_SUS - Vulnerable Customer SUS/CAN work item with the SUSVULFU keyword when a customer:

• was in receipt of Age Pension, Carer Payment (CP) or Disability Support Pension (DSP)
• has their payment Suspended (SUS) or Cancelled (CAN). See the Resources page for a list of reasons that will create the MFU, and
• has had their payment SUS or CAN for a continuous period of 6 weeks

The MFU work item is created for staff to review a customer's circumstances after their payment has been suspended or cancelled. Staff need to contact the customer and determine if they may be experiencing or at risk of vulnerabilities, and if eligibility can be re-established, they will restore payment.

This MFU work item is generated for customers who:

• reside overseas, and/or
• have been suspended/cancelled due to failing to comply with Comparable Foreign Payment (CFP) claim requirements

Centrelink International Services (CIS) action these cases.

Customers may have trouble engaging with Services Australia if they:

• live in remote areas with little or no access to health services
• are homeless
• having an intellectual impairment
• showing behaviours which indicate a chronic mental health condition
• have just been released from prison
• have limited English proficiency
• have arrived in Australia on a refugee or humanitarian visa

For more details on how to identify a customer who may be at risk of, or experiencing vulnerability, see Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues.

Internal supports

Services Australia has a range of specialist staff who can support customers experiencing vulnerability, including those who are in crisis or needing special help. These include:

• Social Workers
• Community Engagement Officers (CEOs)
• Multicultural Service Officers (MSOs)
• Financial Information Service Officers
• Indigenous Service Officers
• Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Advisers
• Farm Household Case Officers
• Aged Care Specialist Officers
• Personalised Services
• Assessment Services

For more details, see Specialist officers and other internal supports for customers.

External referrals

External services available include:

• Community or welfare agencies, for example Salvation Army
• Local government or state government services

See Referral services on the Resources page in Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues.

If the customer's payment status changes after the MFU is created, investigation of the customer's circumstances is normally no longer required. The payment status may change because:

• the payment has been restored
• of cancellation after being suspended, or
• the customer is deceased

Staff will need to finalise the MFU if it has not been automatically cancelled and removed from the customer's record.