Customer Management Approach (CMA) process 277-01100010

Contact by phone

When a customer or representative contacts Child Support by phone:

• Provide an effective introduction
• Conduct an identity check. Note: if the customer is managed by Personalised Services, cold transfer to the Personalised Services queue. Customer name and date of birth is sufficient to establish the correct customer, a full identity check is not required. See Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) > Personalised Services
• Check if the customer is managed by another area

If the customer has been delivered to the wrong business area, for example due to not entering their CSRN:

• Encourage them to enter their CSRN when prompted so they will be automatically directed to the appropriate area in future
• Tell them the call will be transferred to the appropriate area, and
• Cold transfer the call to the correct area using the routing tab in Services Australia Workspace, making sure the 'POI done' checkbox is selected

In some situations, a warm transfer may be more appropriate, examples are:

• Managing escalated customers
• Making sure customers are not repeatedly cold transferred between areas
• To prevent customers having to repeatedly explain the purpose of their call

For a call received in New Customers or Mainstream Services common activities should be completed where the call was received. See Common and specialised activities for Child Support staff

For more about what can be exchanged with an authorised representative, References has a link to the Guide 6.3.6: Authorised representatives.

Correspondence received

When a customer or representative sends written correspondence via fax, email or post, undertake the following:

• Review recent case events. Scrutinise the correspondence received checking it is correctly categorised. See Correspondence received in Child Support
• Contact the customer or representative if necessary to discuss or clarify issues they have raised. Re-categorise the correspondence if appropriate
• Address all matters raised in the correspondence. If a letter has not been issued as a result of the actions, contact the customer or representative to discuss further. See Contact with Child Support customers

Delete intray after all issues raised have been addressed.

Do not re categorise or delete correspondence received intrays inappropriately. Doing this may have a detrimental effect on customers and cause distress. It can result in financial impacts and cause delays in processes such as Change of Assessment (COA) and Part6A Objections.

Common and Specialised Issues

Identify why the customer has contacted Child Support. Use the list of Common and specialised activities to determine the issues to be managed or if referral to a specialist area is required. See Common and specialised activities for Child Support staff.

Issues must be managed at the point of entry wherever possible.

Where there are multiple issues, the appropriate approach depends on the combination of common and/or specialised issues:

• multiple common issues are managed at the point of entry
• combination of common and specialised issues:
• if the customer is already locked to a specialist area, the specialist area will manage all specialised and common issues, including Minimum Collection Activity
• if the customer is not locked to a specialist area, common issues will be managed at the point of entry, including Minimum Collection Activity. Referral to the appropriate specialist area can occur once common issues have been progressed as far as possible in real time
• specialist areas will take on outstanding common activities once a customer is locked to that area

Where a customer has multiple specialised issues, go to Step 4.

If a customer presents a non-child support related issue, consider if an external referral is appropriate. See available options in the Customer Support/Referral Guide. This may occur before or after the child support issues are addressed.

See Customer Risk Identification Model for conversational and administrative cues to help identify the most appropriate referral option.

Correspondence received

• Where alternative customer contact arrangements, special or preferred contact preferences has been provided update the Profile window
• When contact with the customer or representative is necessary to discuss or clarify issues they have raised, see Contact with Child Support customers
• If unable to contact customer, send MX1-1 Request for client to contact CSA Letter
• If customer wants written correspondence only, send a unique letter. See Step 2 Table 3 in Letters for Child Support customers

Do not re categorise or delete correspondence received intrays inappropriately. Doing this may have a detrimental effect on customers and cause distress. It can result in financial impacts and cause delays in processes such as COA and Part6A Objections.

Has an error been identified?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, see Table 2

When speaking with a customer there may be occasions where a Service Officer identifies an error, or that another Service Officer has not correctly followed the CMA. In these circumstances, the priority is to manage and resolve the customer issues at the point of entry wherever possible.

Where an error is identified the Service Officer will undertake the following:

• Apologise for any errors that have occurred
• If the customer wants to make a complaint, follow the guidelines in the Managing complaints and feedback
• Take all steps to progress and/or resolve the issue in real time wherever possible

Where the issue is unable to be resolved in real time:

• if the customer is already locked to another Service Officer, the Service Officer that identifies the error will take all necessary information and refer any follow up to the locked Service Officer for action
• if the customer is not locked to a Service Officer, the Service Officer will lock the customer and manage all outstanding issues, including resolution of any errors as per Correcting errors on Child Support cases. In this situation, customers will not be locked back to the previous Service Officer

Internal Feedback

Where it is considered that the previous Service Officer would benefit from receiving feedback, staff can choose to send using the feedback tool. Before sending feedback, consider how it will contribute to improved customer service into the future.

Undertake a collaborative approach to customer management which involves:

• Determining customer ownership, go to Step 5
• Transferring customer ownership to relevant specialised areas, go to Step 6
• Providing a holistic service, go to Step 7

Where there are multiple specialised issues, the following areas will generally retain ownership due to the nature of the issue or circumstances of the customer. In priority order these areas are:

Business Area

• Deceased Customer Management - payee and/or payer parent will stay locked
• Personalised Services - payee and/or payer will stay locked
• Litigation - payee and payer will stay locked
• Departure Prohibition Order Team - payer will stay locked
• Intensive Collection Services - payer will stay locked
• New Customers (pending registration) - payee and payer will stay locked
• Integrated Care (disputed care on new registrations and restarts) – lock payee and payer

If none of the above areas need to retain ownership, the customer should be locked to the area where the first specialised issue was received.

Disputed care on new registrations and restarts

• Complex Care Service Officers (CCSOs) will lock customers whilst managing Disputed Care but will not complete any registration activities
• Pluto application for assessment (AFA) work items will remain with the Service Officer managing the registration
• CCSOs will warm transfer the call to the Service Officer managing the registration if the customer needs to discuss the registration in progress.
• When the care decision has been finalised and care recorded in dual systems, CCSO will return the registration to the Service Officer managing the registration for finalisation
• The CCSO will lock the customer to the Service Officer who is assigned to the Pluto AFA work item and route the ASSMNT IN PROGRESS intray to them
• These registrations will need to be actioned in Cuba (not Pluto) due to care being recorded in Cuba

Ownership can also be transferred by agreement if this is likely to result in a better service and/or customer outcome. Consider the following when determining whether to transfer ownership:

• Amount of contact the issues are likely to generate - where 1 specialised issue is likely to generate significant customer contact, consider locking the customer(s) to the specialist area responsible for that issue, to minimise the number of call transfers required when the customer contacts Child Support
• Length of time the issues will take to resolve - where 1 issue is likely to take a longer period of time to resolve, consider locking the customer to the specialist area responsible for that issue, to minimise changes in ownership as other issues arise and are finalised

Where it is in the best interest of the customer to be locked to another specialist area, contact the other area, by phone wherever possible, to determine who will retain customer ownership. This can be done at any time. If agreement about customer ownership cannot be reached, escalate the issue to the Team Leader.

Note: customers must not be advised of, or involved in, discussions about ownership.

When retaining customer ownership and a second (or subsequent) specialised issue arises, tell the customers:

• They may need to be referred to another area with specialised skills and knowledge to address the other issue. This means they may deal with more than 1 person to provide the best possible service
• When they call in future they will be directed to the same area if their CSRN is entered

Review the customer's circumstances and if any related or underlying issues are identified consult with the other specialist area to determine the best way to manage the customer.

Note: where a customer is managed by Personalised Services (PS), PS will always co-ordinate the liaison with other business areas to determine the best way to manage the customer issue.

During every interaction, check income, payments, and any debts to be repaid up front to determine if the right amount of child support is being paid. Promote digital self service through MyGov, CS Online, Child Support Express Plus app and Infoserv services where applicable.

Complete Minimum Collection Activity in all situations where:

• income is unreliable, and/or
• there is a debt (child support or payee overpayment) with no payment arrangement

Use the Collection and debt macro when discussing collection.

Minimum Collection Activity includes:

• Discussing the importance of a correct assessment and updating incomes when circumstances change, and
• Negotiating debt repayment when amounts are unpaid
• Encouraging parents entitled to receive child support to:
• Use self-service options to monitor for payments and
• Tell us about any new collection information that will assist us recover unpaid amounts faster

This is the Minimum Collection Activity that all staff complete in real time or by simple follow-up action.

Some staff may undertake more than Minimum Collection Activity in certain situations, for example as part of pro-active collection work.

Check the customer income to determine if it is reliable. A reliable income is defined as any ATO issued income.

If the income is reliable, go to Step 3.

If the income is not reliable, discuss the:

• income being used for the assessment
• importance of a reliable income including:
• making sure the right amount of child support is paid/received, and
• consequences of not lodging tax returns on time, such as not being eligible to lodge an income estimate when circumstances change and the inability to backdate a lower income, possible over/under payment from higher incomes

Gain a commitment from the customer to lodge their tax return.

Update the income in Cuba, or if possible, ask the customer to use self-service to lodge their income/evidence. See Income processing for Child Support customers

Note: where the customer has called specifically to address incomes, take action to resolve the issue.

Follow the process in Debt repayment (CS) if the customer has a child support debt or overpayment, where:

• there is no current payment arrangement in place, or
• the customer is not complying with the current payment arrangement, or
• the customer’s income has changed since the payment arrangement was previously entered into and requires review based on the new income

For overpaid child support, follow the process in Information for payers about child support overpayments

If customer is owed Child Support and enquiring about collection action:

• Encourage the customer to use self-service options to check payments
• Gather any new collection information using the Collection and debt macro

If new collection information is available, and:

• likely to lead to a collection outcome
• Record the information
• Lock the payer and undertake appropriate investigation and actions, or
• If already locked to another Service Officer, create a New Collection Information intray
• unlikely to result in a collection outcome
• Record the response
• No further action is required

For a:

• payer, go to Step 4
• payee, go to Step 5

Manage customer expectations regarding the outcome of Minimum Collection Activity

Always use the Collection and debt macro.

If the customer has a child support debt, explain:

• They need to continue to pay their child support in full and on time
• The requirement to enter a payment arrangement details for their ongoing liability and any debt
• Consequences of not paying their child support on time (LPP and possible enforcement actions)
• Any follow up required on their part, and
• They must contact Child Support if they change employer, their income decreases or their capacity to pay changes
• They should use self-service to manage, lodge or provide information online about changes to contact details, bank account, collection, care, income, NAPs, OBJ, COA, etc.
• If they overpaid child support, follow the process in Information for payers about child support overpayments

Go to Step 6

Manage customer expectations regarding the outcome of Minimum Collection Activity.

If a customer is owed child support, explain Child Support's commitment to:

• collect their child support
• take collection action on new information and likely timeframes that may apply
• monitor for new information and take action if possible
• stop collection action due to no new information
• any follow up required on their part, for example, an income update or calling back
• request they use self-service to manage, lodge or provide information online about changes to contact details, bank account, collection, care, income, NAPs, OBJ, COA, etc

If a customer owes an overpayment debt, explain the following:

• If they have an ongoing entitlement to receive child support, we will automatically recover the overpaid amount from that entitlement
• If they do not have an ongoing entitlement, the requirement to enter a payment arrangement
• Consequences of not paying, as we will use enforcement powers to collect overpayments
• Any follow up required on their part, for example, an income update or calling back
• They use self-service to manage, lodge or provide information online about changes to contact details, bank account, collection, care, income, NAPs, OBJ, COA, etc

Document the outcome of Minimum Collection in the Collection Window.

• Category: Level 1
• Action:
• CS Debt - Payer Contact
• CS Debt - Payee Contact
• OVP - Payer Contact
• OVP - Payee Contact
• Outcome:
• Customer Successfully Contacted
• Other Customer Successfully Contacted

If a payment arrangement is negotiated, record:

• Category: Level 1
• Action: Payment arrangement
• Outcome:
• EWA
• Voluntary
• The outcomes redirect to the Payment Arrangement window to record the payment arrangement
• Other payment arrangement outcome options require other Operational Blueprint processes

Document the detail of any other actions taken in the relevant Cuba windows, for example Level 1 searches, income updates.

See Documenting Child Support information.

Progress the customer's issues in line with the relevant Blueprint document.

Real time management

Real time management is when an issue is progressed and/or completed while the customer is on the phone. Address customer issues in real time wherever possible.

If the issues:

• can be addressed in real time, see the Finalise issues table
• cannot be addressed in real time, go to Step 8

If an issue cannot be resolved in real time, progress the issue as much as possible, then:

• Lock the customer, or
• If already locked:
• Clearly document the relevant information and action required
• Create an appropriate intray to refer follow up action to the locked Service Officer

If the issue requires interaction with both customers to make a decision, make sure both customers are locked to the same Service Officer.

If the issue needs to be managed by a specialist area, refer the customer(s) to another business area as appropriate. See Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) - Child Support.

Locking where customers belong to different business areas

If both parents need to be locked for the same issue and one party is already locked to a specialist area, the issue will be managed by that specialist area. Where there is more than one specialist area, collaborative customer management applies.

See the Table 3 .

Before a customer issue is finalised, make sure:

• Minimum Collection Activity has been completed
• All the presenting issues within the Service Officer's scope have been finalised
• All appropriate referrals to external providers have been provided, and
• Any decisions made have been verbally explained to all impacted customers

If a customer does not agree with the decision, discuss appropriate options relevant to the decision, which may include:

• New decision if the customer’s circumstances have changed since the original decision
• Change of Assessment (COA), if the customer has special circumstances. See Change of assessment – Initial discussion macro. COA cannot change care levels
• Error correction, simple factual errors and some more complex errors can be fixed without the need for an objection. See Correcting errors on Child Support cases
• Complaint, if the customer is unhappy with the service provided rather than the actual decision. See Managing complaints and feedback
• Objection to a decision, if certain this is the best option for the customer. See Child Support objections

Finalise all issues within scope, according to the relevant Blueprint document and/or the Finalisation Guidelines for the Service Officers particular business area.

If there are other specialised issues outstanding:

• Contact the Service Officer in the other specialist area by phone to explain that the customer will be transferred and to discuss any in progress actions, and
• Lock the customer(s) to the Service Officer managing the outstanding specialised issue

If the customer is locked, unlock as follows:

• If the decision has been verbally explained, unlock using Ownership Rules. See Transfer or lock a customer Cuba Process Help
• If the decision has not been verbally explained and appropriate contact attempts have been made:
• confirm that a letter has been sent to all impacted customers advising of the decision, and
• auto-unlock to allow time for the customers to contact Services Australia to discuss the decision

See Contact with Child Support customers.