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Child Support's information gathering powers 277-04210000

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This document outlines the process on information gathering as an essential part of making sure Child Support customers' assessments are accurate, and child support is paid.

On this page:

Check information

Informal information gathering via phone or electronic searches

Formal information gathering via issuing a notice

Response follow up


Check information

Table 1

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Determine required information

Determine the information required before starting any searches and select the most appropriate information source. This makes it more likely that initial searches or requests succeed and saves time and effort by avoiding unnecessary or multiple searches.

2

Review Information

Check if the information is already on the system (Cuba). The information sought may be recorded:

  • on any of these windows:
    • Client Benefits
    • External Information
    • External Information Address
    • External Information Phone Numbers
    • View Correspondence, or
  • in a notepad on any of these windows:
    • Communication
    • Case/Registration
    • Client Income

Check the Collection/Capacity To Pay windows, if:

  • a recent request has been made for the same information; and
  • the response was followed up

Example

If a customer's bank details are needed:

  • the customer may have submitted a bank statement as part of a non-agency payment claim
  • a change of assessment (COA) application, response or notice of decisions (NTD) may have the information
  • the customer may have supplied the details previously for a refund or disbursement
  • the information may be on a returned request for information, e.g., a notice for information sent to an employer or bank
  • the other customer may have supplied the customer's account details

3

Check customer details are correct

Services Australia is responsible for ensuring customer privacy and personal information is protected at all times. This includes obtaining information about the correct customer.

When information is received from a third party that is not an exact match to the information on the customer record, careful consideration must be taken to check the information provided.

Obtaining details about an incorrect person and adding these to a customer’s record can have significant impacts. E.g, if that information is relied upon to subsequently issue a garnishee notice for an unintended person.

In some circumstances, a customer's record will need updating. See Updating Child Support customer information, to change a customer’s:

  • personal information (including adding an alias)
  • contact details
  • Customer Reference Number (CRN)
  • tax file number (TFN)

If the customer does not have a current postal address, see Customer location (tracing).

Note: if search results do not provide an exact match for the customer’s name and date of birth, do not update the customer’s record or commence collection activity. Seek assistance from a Service Support Officer (SSO).

4

Informal vs formal information gathering

Informal information gathering

Informal information gathering does not require a formal legal notice to be issued. The information is usually gathered via phone or by accessing electronic resources such as Centrelink.

Where possible, information should be sought informally as it can be faster and easier for both Child Support and the customer. For details about gathering information informally, see Table 2.

Formal information gathering

Service officers must issue a formal notice if they are concerned a person:

  • may not respond to an informal information gathering request
  • states that they will comply, but have not after a specific time

This includes issuing a notice on the customer directly if they have refused or failed:

  • to comply with an informal request on this and/or previous occasions, and
  • are identified as the likely sole holder of the required information

If there is a formal arrangement for requests between Child Support and a source, service officers must follow the established procedures. Examples include:

  • issuing a legal notice to formally seek information from a bank or financial institution
  • before accessing ATO systems directly for information relevant to a particular customer, issue an electronic ATO legal notice. See Table 3 > Step 11

To issue a formal notice, see Table 3.


Informal information gathering via phone or electronic searches

Table 2

Expand table

Item

Description

1

Informal information gathering

Informal information gathering will usually be via telephone or through electronic searches.

Often the best informal source are the customers of the assessment. Contact the customer first unless it may jeopardise collection action. Make genuine efforts to contact both customers with methods specific to the customer. See Contact with Child Support customers.

2

Seeking information from a customer

When seeking information informally from a customer:

  • Tell the customer why the information is required including the type of information that will be relied upon to make a decision
  • Consider the customer's cultural background and individual needs when supporting them to comply with the request for information
  • Make sure the customer is given a reasonable opportunity to provide relevant information taking into account individual circumstances
  • Make sure the customer understands the potential consequences of not complying with the request for information, that is, the information may be sought from elsewhere and/or a formal notice may be issued
  • Consider all relevant available information before making a decision, including whether to undertake more formal information gathering

If information is obtained, see Table 4.

3

Seeking information from any other source

Other sources that may provide information informally are the other customer in the case, employers, or business associates of the customer.

When seeking information informally from any source:

  • allow a reasonable timeframe to provide the information
  • be careful not to breach the customer's privacy as informal information gathering from the other parent or third party often occurs in a very conversation way

If the source refuses to provide information or is uncomfortable providing the details informally, or there is reason to believe the source will not comply with an informal request, issue a formal notice requiring the information be provided.

Note:

  • many organisations must comply with privacy legislation and issuing a formal notice ensures that the source is not in breach of their own privacy considerations
  • if seeking detailed, complex, or extensive information it is preferable to issue a formal notice so that the information required is clearly communicated to the source and the source provides the response in writing

If information is obtained, see Table 4.


Formal information gathering via issuing a notice

Table 3

Expand table

Item

Description

1

Formal information gathering

Formal information gathering means a notice is issued in writing requiring specified information be provided in a certain manner by a certain date.

Set clear and reasonable timeframes for information to be provided. In limited circumstances, discretion may be applied to allow more time to respond, if necessary. See Standard response times. Note: for s120 and s161 notices issued in Cuba the Reply by/Attend Date defaults to a date 14 days from the current date. Cuba allows this date to be edited however the text in the notice will say action is due within 14 days of receipt of the letter, regardless of the date chosen.

Service officers must not collect information that is unnecessary or intrudes unreasonably on a person's privacy. This includes:

  • seeking information already held
  • requesting information already provided by a third party, which is unlikely to result in a different outcome for the purpose of assessment or collection
  • collecting information for a period not relevant to decision making. E.g., collecting income information for a period 10 years ago, as part of a change of assessment, may be a privacy breach

Issuing multiple notices to a source within a short period, requesting the same information, could delay the response. Document the reasons when it is appropriate to issue a second notice within a short period.

Information can only be requested for the purpose of furthering the Objects of the Act it is collected under. It must also not interfere with the privacy of a person. This means information request must only be relevant to the:

  • assessment of a person’s capacity to provide financial support
  • collection of a persons’ capacity to provide financial support
  • regular and timely payments of periodic amounts payable

Information about a customer’s financial affairs at times can involve other people. This can include joint enterprises such as bank accounts, business structures and other enterprises in which the customer may be involved solely, or with other people.

Notices must be generated and issued in Cuba or the Digital Messaging Capability (DMC). The only exception is for change of assessment, Reason 4, see Item 6.

When issuing a notice, the customer must be locked to an officer as per Customer Management Approach (CMA) for Child Support. This is to make sure that a contact officer is listed on the notice.

Note:

  • notices are tools to gather information. They must not be used or issued to intimidate or coerce a person
  • a warning message will appear when issuing s120 and s161 notices if the customer has current aliases which may need to be included on the notices

2

Determine the correct notice type or search request

Child Support must use a notice for formal requests of information.

The Child Support Guide outlines the information that can be sought under:

  • s120 of the Registration and Collection Act, which relates to collection and objections to decisions, and is issued using the Collection window for payees/payers
  • s161 of the Assessment Act, which relates to the particulars of a formula assessment and is issued using the Capacity to Pay window for payees/payers

See References for a link to the Child Support Guide.

Service officers must select Melbourne Central from the Office dropdown list when issuing a notice through Cuba.

Issuing a notice will generate an intray 21 days after the notice has issued. For large organisations (such as banks) allow the full 21 day response timeframe. Contact the organisation if no response is received after this time, see Table 4.

Notices may be issued by facsimile in certain circumstances. If serving a notice by fax:

If information from an employer is required to determine a customer’s employment status, use an employer questionnaire (EF1). See Service Officer role in setting up Employer Withholding (EW) linking. Issuing a s120 notice to an employer could delay the linking process.

See External searches guide, which outlines the processes for conducting and requesting external searches for Child Support customers.

3

Select the correct third party recipient

Choose the correct Child Support Reference Number (CSRN) for an organisation when issuing a notice in Cuba.

This makes sure the right officer and business area at the required address receives it.

Not selecting the correct CSRN can lead to a delayed response and impact follow-up on compliance. For commonly used CSRNs, see Banks and organisations.

4

Notice - standard schedule

Standard schedules are available in the s120/s161 function windows in Cuba to request the most commonly required information. Standard schedules request information for the period 90 days before the day of response.

The most common schedules are used for financial institutions and employers.

Financial institution schedule

When the FINANCIAL INST schedule questionnaire is selected, Cuba opens the Account Information window.

Use the About Customer button to check and enter all known details:

  • surname, first name, other given names
  • date of birth
  • alias name
  • trading name
  • BSB and account number (if known)
  • address

These details help the financial institution to check the person named in the notice is their customer before responding.

Cuba will auto select:

  • FD01 - Residential, business, and postal addresses. Telephone numbers including mobile phone numbers
  • FD02 - For all accounts held, the account number, balance, regular deposit/a list of transactions

The FD01 and FD02 questionnaires will request the information needed in most cases.

For information about a term deposit, loan details or a credit card, select:

  • FD03 - Term deposit details: Maturity date/When and how interest payments are distributed
  • FD04 - Loan details: Start date/Original loan and repayment amount/Balance/A copy of loan application
  • FD05 - Credit card details: Credit limit/Available credit/A copy of the credit card application

Note:

  • carefully consider the need to request additional information. E.g., copies of loan applications and the intended purpose to use this information
  • a request for loan documents may delay the response timeframe, as information may be held in different locations, such as a branch or archives

Employers schedule

When the EMPLOYERS schedule questionnaire is selected, Cuba will auto select:

  • EM01 - Details of the employer: Name/ABN/Postal address/Contact/Phone and fax numbers
  • EM02 - Confirmation that the payer has worked, or is working for the business and in what capacity
  • EM03 - If the payer is currently on contract, the contract expiry date
  • EM04 - Payroll details for the payer: Payroll number/Pay cycle/Next pay date/Pay period
  • EM05 - Residential, business and postal addresses. Telephone numbers including mobile phone numbers
  • EM06 - How salary payments are/were made. Bank account details if applicable
  • EM15 - If the payer is no longer employed, date of termination, lump sum payment made, current employer etc

Note: employers are asked to provide all gross earnings for the entire period of the customer’s employment. Consider creating a unique schedule in Step 5 to reduce the risk of collating information beyond the period that could affect the decision.

For information about other employment details, including salary sacrifice arrangements and partnership to the business, select:

  • EM07 - The period or periods during which the payer has been employed by the business
  • EM08 - The rate of pay that has been or is being paid to the payer for work done
  • EM09 - The hours worked per pay period by the payer
  • EM10 - The nature of the work performed by the payer
  • EM11 - Details of reportable fringe benefits or allowances for motor vehicle/accommodation clothing etc
  • EM12 - Details of salary sacrifice arrangements
  • EM13 - If the employer is incorporated, is the payer receiving dividends, director fees or holding shares
  • EM14 - If the employer is a partnership, details of the payer salary, drawings, profits, and other payments.

If a third party provides a verbal response to a s120/s161, use Employer notice response macro to document the response to each question.

5

Notice - unique schedule

A unique ‘Other’ Schedule can be created when the information needed:

  • is not covered by questions in the standard schedules, or
  • is for a specific period greater than 90 days before the date of response

When requesting information for a period greater than 90 days before the date of response, consider:

  • when the case commenced,
  • the period affected, or that could be affected by the decision,
  • whether you require information for a specific period, or from a specific point in time (e.g. an estimate period)

Endorsed schedules for a range of organisations are available via Cuba or unique schedules in Separated parents letter and email templates > Schedules - s161 and s120.

If an endorsed schedule is not used, this must be authorised by a Team Leader.

Document the reasons for issuing the unique schedule in the notepad.

6

Change of assessment and system notices

Notices issued through Cuba are issued under the delegation of the Chief Operating Officer. Decision makers are delegated to issue notices on their own authority, but that notice must be issued through Cuba.

Pre and post-conference: Decision makers must issue system generated s161 notices to gather information through Cuba. Manually issued notices must not be used except for Reason 4 change of assessment.

Exception: Reason 4 change of assessment

There is currently no capacity for Cuba or the DMC to issue s161 notices seeking information about a child (who does not have a role as a payer/payee) in a change of assessment Reason 4 application.

When a s161 notice is required to gather information about the income, earning capacity, property or financial resources of a child and the child does not have a role as a payer/payee, issue a manual s161 notice, see Section 120/161 notice Cuba Process Help.

If a notice is issued manually:

  • the schedule must be copied into a notepad, and
  • a hard copy of the actual notice must either be:
    • batch filed, or
    • stored in the file relevant to the proceedings. E.g., change of assessment or objections

7

Document decision to issue notice

Use the Issuing an s120 or s161 notice macro to document the request for information.

Record:

  • the notice you are issuing (s120 or s161)
  • the reason the information is requested. For s120 notices:
    • to identify an income source or a financial resource to collect from
    • identify assets and/or equity for potential litigation
    • to determine the outcome of an objection to a decision.
  • the reason the information is requested. For s161 notices:
    • to assess a child's or parent's income and/or financial resources
  • how the lead (source of information) was identified
  • the type of schedule issued – standard or unique
    • when a unique schedule is issued, select the date range and record the reason that information is requested for
  • if a notice has been issued in the last 3 months, reasons for issuing a second notice within a short period
  • any additional information relevant to the formal request for information. E.g., what information are you seeking to confirm or learn

Paste the completed document into the ‘About Notice’ Tab within Issue Section 120/161 Notice window.

For help documenting, see Documenting Child Support information.

8

Simultaneous issue of s120 and s72A notices to organisations

Child Support will usually seek information to identify capacity to pay to improve Child Support's negotiating power, before taking garnishee action.

Financial institutions may tell a mutual customer that Services Australia has made enquiries, which could result in the customer withdrawing funds to avoid garnishee action.

In limited circumstances, it may be appropriate to issue s72A and s120 notices at the same time to that organisation.

Service officers must be certain that the:

  • customer is non-compliant
  • customer has no intention of meeting their debt responsibilities, and
  • s72A notice should not leave the customer without access to funds to meet immediate essential living expenses and expected regular payments. Contact a SSO for support with this decision, see Technical support in Child Support

Note: the customer may be unable to access their bank account(s) where the balance of the account is less than the amount requested in the notice.

Document the reasons for the decision and evidence that supports the decision in the s120 notepad and the s72A notepad.

To issue s72A notices, see Collection of child support debts through third parties (s72A and s72AC).

See References for a link to The Child Support Guide 8.3.2 Collection from third parties.

9

Request to attend an interview

Serving a notice requiring a person to attend an interview requires authorisation at the SO5 level or above. A person should only be required to attend when doing so will produce a necessary outcome that a written response would not.

The notice must clearly state the information required and give the person a reasonable amount of time to arrange their affairs to attend the interview and bring any documents that have been requested. The person should also be given the option to reschedule the interview to a mutually convenient time.

Both Child Support Regulations specify out of pocket expenses to be paid to a person attending an interview, however there is no provision for such payments if the person is the payer, the payee, or their representative.

10

Requesting information from Department of Veterans' Affairs

When there is reason to believe a customer is in receipt of a Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) pension or benefit, and attempts are being made to update the customer's income or explore avenues for collecting child support, it may be appropriate to issue a request to DVA for more detailed information. There are 2 ways this can be done:

  • Child Support can directly request information from DVA when it relates to determining:
  • For all other information requests, Child Support must issue a notice under s120 or s161 using the appropriate schedule

11

Requesting data from the Australian Tax Office (ATO)

There are 2 circumstances in which an electronic legal notice must be issued:

  • When requesting data from the ATO using an online function in Cuba, and
  • Before accessing ATO systems directly for information relevant to a particular customer

Issuing a legal notice from Cuba

To retrieve data in real time, a short version of the legal notice will automatically issue to the ATO system via the following Cuba functions:

  • Individual Customer Search:
    • select ATO under Search Type
  • Organisation Search:
    • select ATO under Search Type
  • Income window:
    • select TRDB on the toolbar

Accessing ATO directly for customer information

Before accessing ATO systems directly for customer information, an electronic legal notice must be issued.

To issue a legal notice, select ATO on the toolbar from any of the following Cuba windows:

  • Customer
  • Individual Customer Details
  • Client Profile
  • Client Segmentation
  • Organisation Details
  • Payer Employer Relationship
  • Payer Collection
  • Recovery Prosecution Action
  • Capacity to Pay
  • Client Income
  • Trip Indicator
  • View External Information
  • Bankruptcy
  • Deceased Client
  • Collection Summary

Response follow up

Table 4

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Check the response

Check for a response in the Issue Section s120/s161 Notice window > Responses and the View Correspondence window.

Before using information provided in response to a notice, confirm the response relates to the correct customer. Compare the identifying information provided by the third party with the customer's current and historical information in Cuba.

Check available information, including:

  • surname, first name, other given names
  • aliases
  • date of birth
  • current and historical address
  • trading name, if provided
  • BSB, account number, and account name
  • any other identifying details (i.e. employment information, including wage deposits)

Consider the information as a whole. A difference in a single identifier does not automatically mean the response relates to another person. Historical information, aliases or changed circumstances may explain some differences.

Do not update Cuba, take collection or enforcement action, or otherwise rely on the response until satisfied it relates to the customer.

Follow up is required with the third party where:

  • a response is not received by the specified date or is incomplete, go to Step 2
  • the response has missing, unclear or conflicting information, or it is not clear it relates to the customer, go to Step 4
  • the response relates to an incorrect customer, go to Step 5

2

Response not received or incomplete

Allow the third party time to respond, see Standard response times.

Follow up is required when a response is not received by the specified date, or the response does not address all information requested in the notice.

Select from below depending on where the notice was issued.

Notice issued to a financial institution

See Table 2 in Banks and organisations.

Notice issued to an Employer

Check the employer record.:

If the employer record is locked to an Employer Services Officer (ESO), or has paying parents linked for deductions:

  • Complete a search to locate the organisation record. Open the Organisation record:
    • Check if the details of an ESO is recorded in the Owner Details field
    • If there are no ESO details, select Close to go the Organisation List window
  • From the Organisation List window, look at the EW PYR column
    • a number in the EW PYR column indicates the number of paying parents linked
    • if this column is blank, there are no paying parents linked to the employer

Is the employer managed by an ESO or has paying parents linked for deductions?

  • Yes:
    • create an Organisation Follow Up intray
    • document a request to follow up compliance with the notice
  • No:
    • make 3 contact attempts on all available numbers over 48 hours to discuss the notice, the obligation of the recipient and expected timeframe to respond
    • Document all attempts of contact in the Collection window and Employer/Organisation Communication window

Successful contact

Make sure the source understands:

  • the legal requirements in providing information and negotiate any blockers to compliance
  • compliance is not merely acknowledging a request for information. It means responding to every question/request as completely as possible

Confirm that the source acknowledges receipt of the legal notice and understands what information has been requested. If the notice was not clear it may be appropriate to issue another notice.

If a third party provides a verbal response to a s120/s161, use Employer Notice Response macro to document the response to each question.

Unsuccessful contact or third party does not intend to respond

If there is an indication the third party does not intend to respond or action the notice, and all required contact attempts are unsuccessful, go to Step 3

3

Notice not complied with

A failure or refusal to comply by a third party must be fully documented, as well as any reasons the source gave for non-compliance.

Refer the case to Employer Services, if an EF1, s72A, s72B, s120 or s161 notice has not been complied with by a third party (except for financial institutions, see Step 2) and:

  • there is an indication of no intent to respond or action the notice, and
  • all contact attempts to discuss the notice with the source have been made and are unsuccessful

To refer the case:

  • complete the Non-compliance with notice referral template, on the Resources page
  • copy the information into one of the following intrays, with the intray title Non Compliance With Notice:
    • General Follow Up intray (for customers), or
    • Organisation Follow Up intray (for employers) titled
  • if the third party is locked to ES Service Officer, route the intray to the owning officer
  • if not locked to an ES Service Officer, route the intray to:
    • Region: NATIONAL OFFICE
    • Office: NATIONAL OFFICE
    • Stream/Team: MC SEW NAT EMP SERVICES
    • Position: A ES POOL
  • ES Service Officer copy the information into an SNC Investigation Request intray, title the intray Non Compliance With Notice and route to their sites SSO (None) intray position

Employer Services will reissue the notice to the third party with the appropriate signature, make sure the notice is appropriately addressed and monitor for 14 days.

If the notice is not complied with, Employer Services will:

  • report suspected fraud, and
  • add a note on the Client Profile window and document a report of suspected fraud has been made

Continue seeking information from alternate sources, see Table 1.

4

Follow up conflicting or unclear information provided

Seek clarification where identifying information is missing, unclear or conflicts with information held by the agency.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • name or date of birth that cannot be verified with the current or historical information on record
  • a different address that cannot be verified with the current or historical information on record
  • account information that differs from previous statements obtained
  • insufficient identifying information to determine whether the response relates to the customer (i.e. only partial name provided)
  • employment information that conflicts with known employment details (i.e. deposits from one employer while Employer Withholding is linked to another employer)

Do not use the response to take collection or enforcement action based on it while doubt remains.

Where the response contains missing, unclear or conflicting identifying information, document:

  • the identifiers checked
  • the current or historical information considered
  • the clarification obtained
  • the reason the response was used, not used or escalated
  • any advice received and the resulting action

Select from below depending on where the notice was issued.

Notice issued to a financial institution

See Table 2 in Banks and organisations.

Notice issued to a third party/employer

Note: this does not apply to Employer Withholding (EW) notices because Employer Services manage all interactions with employers for EW related enquiries or follow up.

Check the Organisation details in the Organisation window, select contacts. If the record indicates that this third party has elected to be ESO contact only:

  • The service officer must create an Organisation follow up intray on the employer, which will auto-route to the owning ESO. In the notes, document what information is missing, unclear or conflicts with information held by the agency

Employer Services action

  • The Employee Service Officer (ESO) will contact the Organisation's payroll officer telephone to clarify the missing, unclear or conflicting information. E.g., the employee’s current bank statement indicates regular deposits from the employer when the employer states they have no record of the employee
  • If the information still conflicts refer to the section If doubt remains after clarification, below
  • The ESO will document the outcome of the discussion on a Linking/Attributes response intray on the paying parent which auto routes to the owning service officer

If the Organisation is not ESO contact only:

  • Service officer must contact the Organisation’s payroll/contact officer directly by telephone to clarify the missing, unclear or conflicting information
  • E.g., the employee’s current bank statement indicates regular deposits from the employer when the employer states they have no record of the employee

Recruitment agencies and large organisations may have permanent and casual employees and hold their records on different systems.

Document all attempts of contact in the Collection window and Employer/Organisation Communication window.

Did clarification resolve the issue?

  • Yes, use the information once clarification resolves the issue and you are satisfied the response relates to the customer
  • No, doubt remains after checks or clarification:
    • Do not use the response. Refer the matter to a Service Support Officer (SSO)/Team Leader to determine whether the information can be used or further escalation is required. Document the advice and resulting action.
    • Where the third party may have knowingly provided false or misleading information, the Service Support Officer may consider further referral if appropriate; see Fraud

Continue seeking information from alternate sources. See Table 1.

5

Response for incorrect customer

If the response is for an unrelated customer:

  • do not use the information on the customer record
  • do not update the customer record or take collection or enforcement action using the response
  • arrange for the response to be deleted. See Item 15 in Documenting Child Support information
  • contact the third party to request a response for the correct customer, go to Step 2