Notification of change in child support care levels 277-03040010

Customers, their representatives or third parties can notify Child Support of a potential change in the care percentage:

• by telephone
• in writing
• electronically through:
• Child Support online account
• Express Plus Child Support mobile app, or
• fax
• as part of another process such as within a Centrelink claim or a child support objection
• through an overseas Central Authority, see Central Authority Address Listing for Child Support International customers

Customers experiencing vulnerability

Changes in care arrangements can be a very emotional life event, especially if there is a disagreement about care, or it is not occurring in line with a written care arrangement. Be considerate and sensitive to the customer’s experience when discussing and explaining care changes.

Anyone can be at risk of vulnerability. It is not linked to a specific customer group or characteristic. Everyone experiences vulnerability differently. People experiencing vulnerability may require additional support or assistance to access payments and services.

Extra contact with the notifying customer may be needed in the following circumstances:

• If there are family and domestic violence indicators or the customer has advised they are experiencing family and domestic violence. See Family and domestic violence
• Notifying customer is affected by an emergency event
• Child Support debt with no payment arrangement
• Notifying customer is identified as:
• Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)
• Indigenous, or
• Remote
• Other risks or assessment impacts indicate additional contact is needed to support the customer

See the Resources page in Social worker and other service referrals for Child Support customers to help these customers.

Has the notification of a care change been received through an online channel?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

When lodged online:

• the 'PENDING CARE DECISION' intray/s are routed to a holding position
• a single 'CS ONLINE PENDING CARE' intray is raised for allocation management

When allocated a 'CS ONLINE PENDING CARE' intray, Service Officers must:

• read the online intray note to identify the relevant parties
• lock all relevant parties to themselves to take ownership of all related intrays in line with Customer Management Approach principles
• delete the CS Online Pending Care intray
• use the Pending Care Decisions intray/s to manage the care notification
• review the case documents to identify any sensitive issues such as:
• Family and domestic violence
• hardship
• customer experiencing vulnerability

Are there sensitive issues?

• Yes:
• Make contact in line with Contact with Child Support customers. Advise that contact is needed with the other party as part of the care decision process. Provide options on how this can be done that keeps them safe if there are Family and domestic violence (FDV) concerns
• Follow priority referral processes , including offering Social Worker and other service referrals if appropriate, see Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG)
• No, go to Step 3

When a customer notifies of a change in care, conduct initial checks before adding or updating a care record.

Customers receive letters and have the right to object each time they notify of a change in care and a decision is made to:

• accept, or
• reject

Note: for a care event where a decision has already been made, adding or updating a care record can result in duplicated or incorrect care decisions and additional objections.

Before proceeding with a notification of a change in care check for the following circumstances:

Check for any duplicated or incorrectly loaded care changes before beginning a new notification of a care change.

Select the child in the Care window > View type > All Care. This will display all care records related to the child.

An incorrectly pended care record must be deleted after applying the correct care record when:

• a care change is loaded in error, or
• the customer incorrectly says a change has occurred e.g., customer incorrectly pended care through CSAonline or the change is for a future date

This is to make sure the care data transfers to Centrelink correctly. After applying the correct care record, see Care Cuba Process Help to delete any incorrect care records and document the reason for deleting the record.

If the change in care was notified:

• online or in writing, contact the customer and tell them either:
• the notification of change has been deleted, or
• the changes made to their notified change of care
• over the phone, explain to the customer why the change cannot be recorded as reported

Go to Step 4.

Customers may lodge several notifications of a change in care through CSAonline or other channels, but it is for the same care event where a decision has already been made and recorded.

In some cases, contact with the notifying parent may be needed to clarify whether the notification of care is for a new care event, or if a care decision has been made for same change in care event being notified.

The exception to this may include where the customer is notifying Child Support that the actual care for a period that has already been determined where:

• one person has been assessed to have at least 14% care, and
• that person has been having less than 14% care, despite the child being made available to them, and
• Child Support is notified of the change within a reasonable time from when it was known the person would have less than 14% care

In these cases, it may be appropriate to apply a below regular care determination.

If it is identified that the notification is not for a new care event or a below regular care determination and the customer disagrees with a decision that has been made, this is an objection.

• Delete the duplicate pended care record for the care event where the decision has already been made. See Care Cuba Process Help to delete any incorrect care records
• Document the reason for deleting the care record
• Contact the customer to tell them why the notification of care has been deleted and discuss their objection rights
• See Table 4 > Step 3 in Making a decision for change in child support care

Go to Step 4.

A customer cannot elect to withdraw their notification of a change in care as it is a notification, not an application. A decision must still be made if a customer says they no longer want to pursue a change in care.

If the notifying customer withdraws their participation in the process, make a decision based on the information available. If there is insufficient evidence to be satisfied that a change occurred, make a decision to reject the change. Go to Step 4.

Note: it is important to discuss the reason as to why the customer no longer wants to pursue the change in care. If it is due to Family and domestic violence refer to Step 1.

See Applications for a child support assessment.

See Notional assessment relating to child support agreements then go to Step 4.

See Suspension of child support liability on reconciliation then go to Step 4.

If a customer is in receipt of, or applying for, Centrelink payments or benefits, tell them they should check to make sure their relationship and income details are correct with Centrelink. This will reduce the risk of incorrect payments when the care decision is transferred. Update details (e.g. income) in Cuba before finalising the customer contact or care decision.

Check Customer First to decide if the customer has notified Centrelink of the details of all changes in care for each child in their care.

Has the customer contacted Centrelink to report the care change details?

• Yes:
• Use the Care Change macro to record details of the care change/s as reported. Include the date of event, date of Centrelink notification, new level of care notified, and any relevant information provided or discussed with the customer
• Tell the customer that once Centrelink have finalised the decision, it will transfer and apply to their Child Support assessment/s. For information about a Centrelink care determination, see Centrelink care determination from 1 July 2010 (3 March 2011 for WA ex-nuptials)
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 5

If a person delays notifying Child Support or Centrelink of changes in care, they may report multiple changes at once.

• Treat each notification as a separate care change using the care period as 12 months from the date of the event
• When calculating the care percentage for each event, treat the event as though the subsequent event had not occurred
• Repeat this process for each subsequent event

See Table 2 > Step 7 for details about when a new care percentage will be used in the assessment, including where a care event is notified out of order (e.g., a care determination for a later care event has already been accepted).

A change in care notified more than 28 days after the event may result in the child support assessment for that child being suspended or terminated.

Note: a care determination needs to be made for all changes to the care percentages unless a decision is made under s54H to not make a decision, as the care change will not change the cost percentage in the assessment. This is because it may impact Centrelink assessments even if the child support assessment is not affected.

The Resources page has examples of multiple care change notifications.

If the customer gives unclear or incomplete information, discuss the notification with the notifying customer to gather extra information.

Use the Care change macro to record verbal care change notifications.

Ask the Risk Identification Question (RIQ)

Has the customer answered yes to a Risk Identification Question?

• Yes, refer to Family and domestic violence:
• Advise that contact is needed with the other party as part of the care decision process. Provide options on how this can be done that keeps them safe if there are Family and domestic violence (FDV) concerns.
• Document any sensitive information in the customer’s Profile window in line with Table 1 > Step 9 in Documenting Child Support information, and
• continue with the discussion
• No, continue with the discussion

During discussions with each customer, explain the following:

• A change in care decision is Services Australia's decision about the amount of care to be used in the customer’s child support assessment and in assessing the rate and eligibility for some Centrelink payments
• The agency does not decide where the child should live or any custody arrangements
• The agency reflects the percentage of care of the child that each person has, or in some circumstances the percentage of care set-up by a written care arrangement
• A care event is usually a night of care or consecutive nights of care that follow a recurring pattern i.e., the initial event that started this pattern
• In some circumstances, changes to the pattern of hours in care is a care change
• When considering whether to make a new care determination, the agency will consider whether there has been a change to the existing pattern of care
• Future changes in care cannot be considered, and a decision cannot be revoked unless there has been an actual care change
• If a change in care is notified after 28 days the new care determination may not be used in the assessment from the date of change. See Table 2 > Step 7 for information on date of effect for late notified changes in care

Use effective questioning techniques to investigate all notifications of a change in care by gathering relevant information from both customers, even if customers are reporting a reduced level of care for themselves. This includes the:

• details of when the care changed (date of event)
• the pattern of care, and
• details of any court order or written care arrangement, including the date it started

Note: if the notifying customer advises there is a written care arrangement that applies to the child/ren, whether currently being followed or not, ask them to supply a copy if not already provided.

For more information about written care arrangements, see Table 2 Step 3.

When gathering relevant information, quality care conversations with customers helps to get a timely accurate outcome for both customers.

Use open ended questions to confirm and clarify change in care details including date of event and pattern of care, such as

• Which child/ren does the change relate to?
• What is the actual care that is occurring?
• Is this notification in relation to a new care event, or a care event that has been previously notified?
• When did the change actually occur?
• When did you last have or expect to have overnight care?
• Why did the care change?
• How was the care change discussed with the other person?
• Who is aware of the arrangements?
• Is the change intended to be permanent?
• If the care change is temporary, what is the expected period of the change?

Confirm with the customer:

• the details of the change in care, just discussed
• the date the change occurred
• whether the care had been/is occurring in accordance with a court order or written care agreement

Discuss with the customer:

• Any potential impacts on the assessment and the amount payable
• If the care may/will result in a reverse case. See Managing reverse child support cases
• If a change in care is notified after 28 days (late notified care), the date of effect of the new care determination. See Table 2 > Step 7 for information on date of effect for late notified changes in care
• If the change will/may result in a terminating event
• If the change will result in a terminating event due to date of effect rules, ask if they would like to apply for an assessment to be registered. See Table 2 > Step 10
• The facts the decision will be based on
• Options if they disagree with the decision

Do not pend a care change if a determination (original care decision, objection or appeal) has already been made for the care event being notified, unless a below regular care determination is appropriate. Provide customers with options to seek review of the decision(s). See CRG > Objections - general and care

If a customer reports a change in care relating to a one-off event, what constitutes a change to the pattern of care will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. The References page has a link to Child Support Guide 4.1.5 Care Determinations & Changes in Care - Change in pattern of care.

If a care decision results in the receiving parent having a care percentage of less than 35% for a child, check if a child support agreement applies to the child. If an agreement applies, transfer the customer to the Agreements and Court Orders team to discuss the impact on their agreement, while retaining responsibility for the change of care decision.

If care is being notified more than 26 weeks after the date the care changed, check if a care decision may result in a care terminating event. If neither party to the case will have at least 35% care of the child for 26 weeks, it is a terminating event. See Table 2 > Step 10 for information about how the date of notification and date of event affects assessments and terminating events.

Will the care decision possibly result in a care terminating event?

• Yes, contact both customers to ask if they wish to apply for a new child support assessment. See the References page for a link to Child Support Guide 2.6.4 Suspension of liability to pay child support when there is a change in eligible carer. To complete recording the care change, see Table 2
• No, go to Step 8

Tell the customer that unless the reported care change results in a change in the cost percentage, there will be no effect on the assessment and a new care determination may not be needed. This is because under Section 54H of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (see the References page for a link to legislation), a new determination is not needed if there is no change to the assessment rate.

The Resources page has useful information to assist in determining if the care change will result in a change to the cost percentage.

For more details, see Table 2.

When deciding whether to investigate a care decision that will not affect the cost percentage, consider whether:

• the care is based on a written care arrangement
• the care has ceased to be in line with a written care arrangement
• the notifying customer wants to have the change reflected despite understanding it will not affect the cost percentage. Noting customers lodging online care notification have already chosen to have the care change reflected, or
• there are other circumstances that warrant making a care decision. These include:
• if the notification is for an increase to the other party’s care
• if the notification is due to either party's care increasing from 0% to any other percentage
• a history of escalations, objections and dissatisfaction, or
• Family and domestic violence concerns

If none of the above circumstances exist, do not investigate further. Make and document a refusal decision under s54H or s54HA and reject the pending care record in Cuba. See Check and process the change in care decision.

The automatically generated rejection letters will issue to the customers to explain:

• the reported care change has been refused as it would not affect the child support assessment, and
• the customer’s objection rights

The References page contains a link to legislation.

Use the information provided by the notifying customer to determine the likely date of event. The term 'likely' is used as information that has been gathered from the initial customer only at this stage.

The date of event is either:

• the date both customers confirm the actual care change occurred, or
• a date determined by Child Support based on the information and evidence provided by both customers

When identifying the date of event, consider if the care that is occurring for the child has changed. Identify the date of event by asking the customer what circumstances led to the change in care.

Questions that may assist in determining the likely date of event include:

• What date did the care/pattern of care change
• What caused the change in care
• Was the care change discussed with the other parent
• Was the change intended to be permanent
• If the care change is temporary, what is the expected period of the change
• Was this due to unforeseen circumstances
• Relate the care change to significant dates like school holidays, birthdays, public holidays etc

Consider if the pattern of care aligns with the date of event.

For example: Roger is now having 3 nights of care per fortnight, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Previously they only had Friday and Saturday. The date of event must then be a Sunday as this is the first day the care pattern changed.

If a one-off care event is missed that is likely to be made up/the care is likely to resume to the usual pattern, this means a care change may not have occurred.

Note: the date of event used to record the care change will be tentative until the other customer has been contacted.

Use the information provided by the notifying customer to determine the likely care period. A care period is generally the 12 month period starting from the date of event. In some circumstances, a shorter or longer care period may be appropriate, judge each case on its own merits. If determining a care period other than 12 months, seek technical support. See Technical support in Child Support.

Care periods longer than 12 months

A care period of more than 12 months may be appropriate, if the care arrangement follows a cycle over a period greater than 12 months, e.g., every 2 years.

The Resources page has examples of care periods longer than 12 months.

Care periods shorter than 12 months

A care period of less than 12 months might be appropriate if the pattern of care will gradually change over definable periods in a specific and measurable way, e.g., one parent is to increase their care by one day per week every 3 months over the upcoming period.

A shorter care period may also be appropriate if a carer has unexpectedly gained 100% care of a child for a temporary period (generally 4 weeks minimum) and are not expected to continue to have this care. In these cases, the Registrar will determine the care over a short care period related to the unexpected circumstance and make a one-off block of 100% care determination.

Note: if a period shorter than 12 months is appropriate, tell the customer Child Support will not give effect to future events until they notify a change has occurred, which may include returning to the normal pattern. If neither customer advises of subsequent change, the existing percentage of care will continue.

The Resources page has examples of care periods shorter than 12 months.

A written care arrangement is a court order, parenting plan or written agreement that outlines a pattern of care for a child and may include a percentage of care. For more information, References has a link to Child Support Guide 4.1.8 Agreements & orders relating to care.

Has the notifying person advised there is a written care arrangement (court order, parenting plan or written agreement)?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 6

Check the written care arrangement.

International customers may submit a court order concerning care that was made outside Australia. Only treat and document the court order as a care arrangement if it is registered in an Australian court under section 70G of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

Interpretation of a written arrangement is not disagreed or disputed care. This is where customers agree care is happening in line with a written arrangement, but their calculations differ. Explain to the customers how care percentages are calculated and that the pattern of the care set by the written care arrangements will be reviewed when determining the care percentages to be used in the assessment. If needed, seek help from a Service Support Officer (SSO).

If the level of care set by the written care arrangement is:

• the same as the care reflected in the assessment and that is actually occurring:
• Record the correct written care arrangement type and select the status as ‘For Information’
• No care decision is required
• Procedure ends here
• different to the care reflected in the assessment but there has been no actual care change:
• Record the correct written care arrangement type and select the status as ‘For Information’
• No care decision is required
• Procedure ends here
• different to the care reflected in the assessment and an actual care change has occurred:
• Pend a new care record
• Go to Step 6
• the same as the care reflected in the assessment and an actual care change has occurred:
• Pend a new care record
• Go to Step 6

The Resources page includes examples of how to record written care arrangements and actual care.

Where the notifying person has advised the care is occurring in line with a written arrangement:

• record the details of the written care arrangement advised by the notifying customer in the discussion document
• request a copy of the written care arrangement
• use details of the written care arrangements to determine the pattern of care and calculate the care percentage

Where the notifying person has said the care is not occurring in line with a written agreement, contact the other customer/s before any referrals to Integrated Care if the circumstances meet Disputed Care criteria:

• Gather information about the care that is actually occurring and the care that is set by the written care arrangement
• Request a copy of the written care arrangement

Ask the notifying person if they and the other party currently agree to not follow the existing written care arrangement for this care change event?

If:

• Yes:
• Contact with the other party is required to confirm details. Document the circumstances of the care change from the notifying customer
• Go to Step 6
• No:
• Establish whether care is being withheld, or if the written care arrangement is unable to be complied with for another reason
• Document the details of the discussion, including all information provided about why the written care arrangement is not being followed and the reasonable action being taken to comply with the arrangement. For details about reasonable action see Table 1 > Step 8 (decreased care) and Step 11 (increased care) in Integrated care – Complex care
• Explain that the assessment is based on the care that is actually occurring. In some circumstances a decision can be made to assess care as set out by a written care arrangement for a limited period, prior to applying the actual care. This is called an ‘interim period’
• Go to Step 6

Use the information provided by the notifying customer to determine the pattern of care based on what they expect to occur during the care period.

In most cases, care is:

• determined by the actual care each customer has, and
• expressed as a percentage of care, generally based on nights the customer is likely to have during the care period as shown in the care percentage table

If a pattern has been established in the past and the Service Officer is satisfied it will continue in the future, use that pattern to determine the likely percentage of care for the care period.

If a customer wants to estimate future or care changes themselves, refer them to the Care Estimator available on servicesaustralia.gov.au.

• Have you and the other person established a pattern of care for the child?
• How many nights do you and the other person expect to care for your child over the 12 month care period from the date the care changed?
• How did you calculate the expected care (e.g., is there a pattern of care)?
• Do you or the other person provide extensive care during the day but little or no overnight care?
• Are there any court orders, parenting plans, or written care agreements and what was the commencement date of that arrangement?
• Is the current care based on the written arrangement?
• Are either you or the other person trying to enforce this?
• Is the other person likely to agree these are the new care arrangements?

Use the care calculator to calculate the care percentage based on the pattern of care that is most likely to occur, even if the customers:

• provide their own calculations
• agree on a certain number of nights or a care percentage

The care calculator is not needed if the pattern of care being notified results in either:

• a care percentage of 100% or 0%
• the number of nights as 365 or 0

If calculations are not needed go to Step 8.

If the pattern of care is in hours rather than nights, the decision is at the APS5 Delegation. Refer the submission for a decision of hours to be made to an SSO for consideration. For more information, References has a link to Child Support Guide 4.1.4 Care other than in nights.

In the event the calculation is for care using the number of hours:

• APS5 approval is needed for an Hours in Care determination
• Select care by Frequency, and continue
• Key the number of nights, including if this is zero, and continue
• Select No to 'Is the customer a WA ex-nuptial customer'. This is because 'hours in care' legislation was introduced for WA ex-nuptial customers on 3 March 2011, however the calculator does not recognise this
• Select No to 'Does this summary accurately reflect the customer's level of care and state why this is the case, and continue
• Calculate 'hours in care' using either the frequency or 'care calendar' functionality, and 'continue'
• Select Copy all details to clipboard, and close

Cuba automatically calculates the percentage of care used in the assessment when the number of nights in care has been entered into the Care window.

Service Officers may need to manually calculate the percentage of care, or explain how the figures were calculated, as percentages of care calculations have special rounding rules.

Percentage of care = (number of nights / 365) x 100

To calculate a percentage of care the following special rounding rules must be applied to make sure the total equals 100%.

If the percentage of care is:

• below 50%, round the number down to the next whole percentage
• 50% or more, round the number up to the next whole percentage

If each customer has a care percentage of 50%, record the payee as having 50% care, see the Care Cuba Process Help. Do not use number of nights to record the care. Cuba automatically changes this to show the payee has 51% care and the other party has 49% care. The Care Reported as 50% checkbox will be automatically set by Cuba and a care percentage of 50% transferred to Centrelink.

Note: covering letters to customers who share 50% split care will indicate both parties have 50% care of the child, however the assessment notice will show 51% or 49%. This has no impact on the assessed rate as the same cost percentage is used.

The Resources page has examples of percentage of care special rounding rules.

When Child Support or Centrelink are told of a care change and determine a new care percentage, record:

• the actual date of event, and
• the date of notification

Child Support and Centrelink use these dates to determine when the new care determination affects relevant assessments.

For information about the effect of multiple care determinations or care advised out of order, go to Step 10.

Care advised within 28 days

If Child Support or Centrelink are notified within 28 days of a care change, the date of effect will be the date the care changed for both Child Support and Centrelink purposes.

Care advised outside of 28 days (late notified care)

The new care determination will be used in the assessment from:

• the date of the care change (date of event), for the person whose care percentage decreases and,
• the date the care was notified (date of notification) for the person whose care percentage increases

If a care change occurred before:

• 1 July 2018 and the agency was notified before 30 December 2018 the care change will take effect in the assessment from the date the agency was notified
• 15 May 2019 for WA ex-nuptial cases, the care change will take effect in the assessment from the date the agency was notified

Exceptions to the 28 days rule

There are 4 exceptions to the above date of effect rules. In the below situations, late notified care rules do not apply:

• Interim care determinations:
• If an interim care determination is made, the care percentages determined under the written arrangement will apply during the interim period.
• A new care determination can generally only take effect after the interim period ends. Different rules may apply if an interim period is shorter than the maximum interim period and notification of a care change is received before the end of the maximum interim period
• All interim care determinations and care changes that occur within the maximum interim period are managed by Integrated Care. See CRG > Disputed Care
• Below regular care determinations – when a below regular care determination is made, the care determination takes effect from either:
• the date a person stopped a pattern of care, if a pattern of regular care had been established, or
• the date from which the regular care was to commence in the assessment, if the pattern was never established
• WA ex-nuptial children – See the Table 3 in WA Child Support ex-nuptial cases
• Reconciliation - when the care of either a relevant dependent child or a Claimed For child is updated because an assessment is suspended due to reconciliation or reinstated due to separation, see Suspension of child support liability on reconciliation

Terminating events

When a change in care causes the assessment to end (terminating event), the assessment will end from the date the care changed.

Note: before 1 July 2018 (15 May 2019 for WA ex-nuptial children) a child moving from the care of one party to another was never a terminating event. If the care was notified:

• within 28 days the assessment was amended to reflect the new care percentage from the date of event
• after more than 28 days the assessment was amended to give effect to the new care percentage from the date of notification

The Resources page has scenarios and examples to determine date of effect.

Centrelink date of effect rules

For Centrelink, most care changes are applied from the date of event, regardless of when Centrelink is notified of the care change. Determine and record the exact date the care changed as this information may be used by Centrelink to determine a customer’s entitlements. If a customer asks for more details about the impact of the care change on their Centrelink entitlements, discuss all child support issues, then transfer them to Centrelink.

Data exchange

For mutual customers, the finalised care decision will be sent to Centrelink and applied to any relevant Centrelink benefits or payments they receive.

The Centrelink system generally determines and applies the correct date of effect under Family Assistance/Social Security law automatically. Where this does not occur, a Manual Follow Up activity will raise on the customer’s Centrelink record. Reassessment of Centrelink payments may not occur until after the activity is actioned.

The Resources page has scenarios and examples for determining the date of effect.

When processing multiple care changes, eligibility must be finalised for each individual decision, before processing the next determination. This is to make sure Cuba applies the accurate impacts of each care determination for the relevant periods.

The care date of effect rules are applied in the following ways:

• when multiple care determinations are finalised on the same day, have the same date of notification, or
• if a care determination is accepted out of order, that is, a care determination for a later care event has already been accepted

Care advised outside of 28 days

The new care percentage will be compared against the care used in the assessment on the day the care changed, if a care change occurs:

• on or after 1 July 2018, or
• occurs before 1 July 2018 and is notified on or after 30 December 2018, or
• is notified on or after 15 May 2019 for WA ex nuptial children

If the care percentage has:

• decreased, it will be used from the date of event of the care change until the day before the next care percentage, relating to a later care change, for that person takes effect
• increased, it will be used from the date of notification unless the date of notification is after the effective date of a subsequent care record for that person. If the date of notification is after the effective date of a care record, relating to a later care change, for that person, the care percentage:
• will not be used in the Child Support assessment, and
• must be recorded, as it may have impacts on Centrelink assessments

Each time a care record/event is finalised/accepted, Cuba will determine its effect on the assessment by considering the accepted care determinations in order of the date of the care event (oldest to youngest), regardless of the order they were notified.

Note: there will be circumstances where the system does not apply the correct legislation for WA ex-nuptial children and manual workarounds are needed. See Table 3 in WA Child Support ex-nuptial cases for information and what to tell customers.

A care suspension period will apply if the agency is advised outside of 28 days but within 26 weeks of the care change and the change results in:

• all carers cease to be eligible carers i.e. their care reduces below 35%, and
• a person who was not an eligible carer would become an eligible carer except for the date of effect rules that apply

A suspension period will always apply retrospectively. The start date of the suspension period will be the date the care changed, and the end date will be the day before the agency is notified of the care change.

During a care suspension, there is no assessment in force for the child and the child will not be in the assessment on either:

• the case with the suspension, that is, if there are multiple children on the case and the suspension does not apply to all children, or
• any other case, that is, a carer has multiple or reverse cases

During a suspension period a customer will not be considered to be taking Maintenance Action for FTB purposes, by having a child support case after 13 weeks. If a customer asks for more information about the impact of the care change on their FTB entitlement, discuss all Child Support issues and transfer them to Centrelink.

Note: a suspension period will not apply to care changes before 1 July 2018 which were notified before 30 December 2018, or for any changes notified before 15 May 2019 for WA ex nuptial case children).

If a care change causes a care suspension period to be applied to a child’s assessment check the case for:

• prescribed non-agency payment, see Non-agency payment (NAP) and
• an application to extend a child support assessment past a child’s 18th birthday

The Resources page has examples of care suspension periods.

A care terminating event will occur if the agency is notified of a care change more than 26 weeks after the date of event and, because of the care change:

• all eligible carers cease to be eligible carers i.e. their care reduces below 35%; and
• a person who was not an eligible carer would become an eligible carer except for the date of effect rules that apply

Application for assessment because of a care terminating event

If a customer’s assessment is likely to end due to a care terminating event, ask if they would like to apply today for a new child support assessment. Tell the customer that if they do not make an application today and their care change causes their assessment to end, the assessment will restart from the day they apply for an assessment.

If the customer does wish to make an application for a child support assessment, document their response in the same notepad/Pluto process that records the care notification. The restart cannot be processed until the care determination is finalised.

Application to extend the assessment past a child’s eighteenth birthday

Another application to extend the assessment when a child turns eighteen may also need to be taken see Eighteen year old children extending a child support assessment.

The Resources page has care terminating event scenarios.

Although the notifying customer may expect the other party to disagree, after contacting the other party, it may be established there is no disagreement, and a disagreed care referral is not needed. A care change is only disagreed if the parties disagree about the facts of the care change. A customer advising the other party is likely to be unhappy with the change in care does not mean that party will disagree with the facts of the change.

If the notifying customer advises the other party is ‘likely’ to disagree with the change of care, clarify which facts of the reported change the other party is ‘likely’ to disagree with, e.g.:

• the date of event
• the details of the care such as number of nights, hours of care or pattern of care

Continue to use the Care change macro to guide and document the conversation and actions needed.

Contact with the other customer to confirm the disagreement must occur before any referrals to Integrated Care. For information on disagreed care referrals, see CRG > Disagreed care.

Determine the appropriate care type to apply before recording or correcting a pending care change in Cuba. Different types of care decisions require different levels of authorisation, before making a decision, consult with an authorised officer and obtain relevant approvals.

Select each care type to help determine the appropriate type of care to use when adding the pending care record.

Record the care as Actual care for the following circumstances:

• there is no court order, parenting plan or written agreement and the pattern of care is based on the actual care that is occurring
• the pattern of care is not occurring in line with a court order, parenting plan or written agreement, but the circumstances do not meet the criteria for Disputed Care
• a one-off block of 100% care determination is needed
• recording the actual care that is occurring where the notifying person has reported circumstances that indicate a disputed care referral may be needed, but the other person has not yet been contacted to investigate further
• recording the actual care that is occurring where care has changed within an interim care period without a new written care arrangement being made

Document any written care arrangements in the Care window, even if recording Actual care that is not occurring as per the care arrangement. Record the written care arrangement as ‘For Information’.

Note: Integrated Care manages all interim care determinations and care changes within the maximum interim period. See CRG > Disputed Care.

Also referred to as Below Regular Care. The notifying customer can ask Child Support to determine the care percentage based on the actual pattern of care if:

• the person who was assessed as having 14% or more care of the child will no longer have or has not had at least 14% care, and
• this will not be made up within the care period despite the child being made available to them.

A below 14% care decision allows for backdating for more than 28 days if the customer advises Child Support of the change within a reasonable time. Record the care type in Cuba as Below 14% care.

For more information, References has a link to Child Support Guide 4.1.7: Below Regular Care Determinations, Making the child available.

Record the care type of:

• Court Order, where care is occurring according to a court order
• Parenting plan, where care is occurring according to a parenting plan
• Written agreement, where care is occurring according to a written agreement

Document written care arrangement in the Care window.

Select Create Document in the Care Change macro to generate the document for Cuba. Save the document in the Care window.

Does a pended care record already exist for this change in care notification?

• Yes, check the pending care record accurately reflects the notified care. Go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

Pend the reported care change in Cuba with the relevant 'Type' and a status of 'Pending'. Do not select the care type CSA Decision, Oral Agreement, Interim Decision or Court Ordered.

Pending the care:

• generates a Pending Care Decision intray
• may send an indicator to Centrelink to advise a change to the current care for that child has been pended and a care decision is in progress

See Care Cuba Process Help for help adding a pending care record for:

• Disputed care notifications on or after 23 May 2018
• General care notifications on or after 1 July 2018
• WA ex-nuptial case care notifications on or after 15 May 2019, affecting only Child Support Periods (CS Periods) with a WA ex-nuptial status of Yes

For help with adding a pending care record for all other care notifications, see Care Cuba Process Help - Care levels notified before 1 July 2018 and WA ex-nuptial child support periods

Select Create Document in the Care Change macro to generate the document for Cuba. Save the document in the Care window.

After adding and documenting all pending care notifications, see Making a decision for a change in child support care.

Check the pended care record and make sure the care type, dates and care percentage correctly show the change of care notified. To make a correction:

• select the existing Pending Care record and make the updates
• do not add a new pending care record if a pending care record already exists for the same notification of change in care

See Care Cuba Process Help for help adding a pending care record for:

• Disputed care notifications on or after 23 May 2018
• General care notifications on or after 1 July 2018
• WA ex-nuptial case care notifications on or after 15 May 2019, affecting only Child Support Periods (CS Periods) with a WA ex-nuptial status of Yes

For all other care notifications, see Care Cuba Process Help - Care levels notified before 1 July 2018 and WA ex-nuptial child support periods.

Document any corrections made in the Care window.

After correcting and documenting all pending care notifications, see Making a decision for child support change in care.