Farm Financial Assessments (FFA) 002-02070010

An FFA is an assessment of the financial position of the farm enterprise, the customer, and their partner. The customer completes the FFA with their financial assessor. The assessment forms part of a customer's mutual obligations for Farm Household Allowance (FHA) and may result in FHA not being paid if not provided.

The Farm Household Case Officer (FHCO) reviews the FFA and uses the details and recommendations from the FFA to negotiate a Financial Improvement Agreement (FIA) with the customer.

Customers must obtain an FFA if they are:

• claiming Farm Household Allowance (FHA) for the first time
• reclaiming FHA after a significant break in payment, and there has been a change in circumstances for the customer and/or farm enterprise
• receiving FHA and there has been a significant change in circumstances for the customer or farm enterprise.

If there are family and domestic violence indicators, see Family and domestic violence.

A previous FFA may be used if the details have not changed significantly since its completion.

If a customer and their partner are claiming FHA, they can complete a single FFA if they agree to link their FFA.

Note: a customer's decision not to link their FFA with their partner may have other impacts. When a:

• customer and partner choose to complete a single linked FFA, the:
• FFA cannot be unlinked
• completed FFA replicates to the partner's record when submitted
• partner can view the FFA details through their online services (FFA Dashboard) when submitted
• Farm Financial Update (FFU) links to the FFA. The customer and partner can choose to link the FFU task
• customer and partner choose to have separate FFAs, the:
• FFAs cannot be linked at a later date, and
• customer and partner must complete separate annual FFUs

When the partner of a FHA current customer with a current FFA is granted, the:

• FFA must be linked by ICT, or
• partner must have a separate FFA

New claims

After the grant of the new claim and any applicable waiting periods served, the customer will be allocated to a Farm Household Case Officer (FHCO). Customers reclaiming Farm Household Allowance (FHA) after a break in payment may need to complete a new FFA.

Second FFA

A Second FFA may be requested for customers receiving FHA in instances:

• where the farm enterprise has had significant changes, and
• continued entitlement to FHA has not been determined

Changes to the farm enterprise may include:

• significant increase or decrease in size or scale of operations
• change in business structure, or
• change to commodities farmed

FHCO's determine if the existing FFA is still appropriate by applying a case by case approach. Where entitlement:

• to FHA from a subsequent claim is in doubt, a review of circumstances is to be undertaken first
• is lost, a second FFA is not to be requested

FHCO's can refer the file to the processing team using the Notification in change of circumstances Fast Note.

When discussing the requirement to enter into an FFA and to help the customer complete Part A, the FHCO must explain what related businesses are to the customer.

Where a FFA cannot be completed for an extended period (for example 2 months), FHCO's manually initiate the customers first Financial Improvement Agreement (FIA). In these circumstances, the FFA is not waived but included as an activity in their FIA.

The FFA request is generated by the FHCO after a new claim is granted. A letter is sent telling the customer a FFA is needed.

This letter includes:

• Details on how to complete the FFA
• FFA supplement voucher for up to $1,500 (GST inclusive) to meet the cost of completing the FFA
• One Time Access Code (OTAC) for their financial assessor to access the FFA through the Farm Information Portal on the Services Australia website

Unless the FHCO identifies any vulnerabilities or special circumstances during the initial or subsequent contact, the FFA will be completed and returned to Services Australia within one month of the customer being assigned to the FHCO.

If the customer experiences difficulty obtaining the FFA by the due date, they should contact their FHCO or the Farmer Assistance hotline 132 316.

The FHCO:

• may grant one extension
• decides the timeframe for the extension based on the customer's circumstances

See Farm Household Case Officer (FHCO) cases.

Failure to provide the FFA may result in their FHA payments being suspended or cancelled.

The FFA request can be withdrawn:

• in extraordinary circumstances, and
• an extension of time to submit the FFA is not appropriate for the situation

FHCOs can make the decision to withdraw the FFA request in extraordinary circumstances. Withdrawing the FFA will initiate the customer's FIA. The FFA must be included in the customer's FIA, to be completed when the customer can comply with the request.

When requested to provide an FFA, the customer must:

• access their Centrelink online account to complete the About you section (referred to as Part A) of the FFA. See:
• How users create a myGov account and link services, and
• Using myGov accounts:
  Online menu option: Payments and Claims > Farm Financial Assessment
• identify a service provider who meets the definition of a financial assessor, for the purpose of completing the FFA
• get a quote from a financial assessor for the cost of completing the FFA and make an appointment. The FFA supplement covers the cost up to $1,500 inclusive of GST
• attend the appointment with the financial assessor to discuss their financial position and suggestions for improvement. The customer must take the following documents to the appointment:
• their FFA request letter and voucher
• copies of tax returns and financial statements for the last 3 years
• any current or recent business, agronomy, or financial plans
• details of their current income (including Centrelink payments, off-farm employment income, rental income), any superannuation payments, annuities, and other income
• details of their assets and investments
• details of any personal or business debts
• details of planned expenditure such as child/ren's education and maintenance expenses
• any additional financial details they provided for their FHA claim

The Process page contains details for customers that do not have reliable internet access.

After completing the FFA, the financial assessor may prepare an invoice. The customer must submit the following to Services Australia:

• the invoice with their FFA supplement voucher
• evidence of the financial assessor's qualifications, and current membership of a professional body

Service Officers must help Financial assessors with their enquiries as they have 'Implied Authority'. The Resources page contains details for Service Officers.

During the FFA appointment, the financial assessor:

• discusses the financial position, including strengths and weaknesses for the:
• customer
• partner
• farm enterprise
• gives suggestions for improving the financial position of the farm business
• completes the following Farm Information sections of the FFA:
• Part B - Farm Information
• Part C - Farm Performance
• Part D - Assessment. The Process page contains more details
• Declaration
• submits the FFA for review and acceptance by the Farm Household Case Officer (FHCO)

The financial assessor's assessment includes:

• a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis
• statement of their professional opinion, and
• an overall report of the potential financial position and long term viability of the farm

The financial assessor is expected to:

• discuss their assessment with the customer
• provide customers with a copy of the completed FFA, and
• prepare an invoice for the cost of completing the FFA (if applicable). The customer must return the invoice to Service Australia

For payment of the supplement, the customer must submit the vouchers from the financial assessor within 2 months of the day they receive the invoice for the activity. This may not match the date on the document.

For claims lodged more than 2 months from the date on the invoice or statement, Service Officers must follow the correct process. See Table 2 > Step 2 in Farm Financial Assessment (FFA) supplement and voucher.

After the customer submits all parts of the FFA, the Farm Household Case Officer (FHCO) must review it before being accepted. For payments to continue, the details in the FFA must support the customer's eligibility for FHA. Accept the FFA if the details supports the customer's grant of FHA.

The file gets referred to the processing team for review when the FFA does not support eligibility for FHA. See Change of circumstance for FHA.

Incomplete or inadequate FFA's

If the FHCO finds the submitted FFA is incomplete or lacks details, the FHCO escalates the FFA to FHCO National Support. This team will give advice to accept, reject or follow up the FFA on a case by case basis.

A customer can ask for a copy of their FFA at any time. The Farm Household Case Officer (FHCO) can supply a copy, including when the FFA is prepared by a financial assessor.

Because of privacy restrictions, FFAs must not be emailed under any circumstances.

The Process page contains more details.