Disbursements of child support 277-06010000

If the payee asks when they are likely to receive the child support via direct credit check the Payee Disbursement List window to confirm the amount has been sent to them. If so, the payees should receive the payment within 2 business days from the date it was sent.

The minimum amount Cuba disburses is $5.00. Child Support (Registration and Collection) Section 23(1) confirms that the prescribed minimum amount which will be disbursed is $5. However, Section 23(2) states where the amount is likely to be the last payment to a payee in relation to that or any other registered maintenance liability, the $5 minimum does not apply. The References page has a link to the Regulation.

Note: payments are scheduled so the first date the payee receives funds is the eighth of the month or the first business day after the eighth if it falls on a weekend or public holiday. Some banks do make payments earlier but provide the timeframe as 2 days to make sure customer expectations are met appropriately.

Example

The Payee Disbursement List window shows $200 was sent to the payee on Thursday 12. The payee can expect to receive the payment into their nominated bank account 2 business days later that is, by 9.00 am on Monday 16.

Payees can call the 24 hour Information Service (Info Service) on 131 107 to get details of their last or next payment. For more information on this service see Automated Child Support Information Service.

When a customer who owes debt to more than one person, pays an amount that is less than the total of the debt owed, the amount paid is apportioned.

This means each payee is paid some payment but not all, of what is owed to them. The payment is split in proportion to the amount each payee is owed.

The debts owed could be a combination of child support (ongoing or arrears) or an overpayment.

The Resources page has examples of apportionment of payments.

Note: where a payment is paid in accordance with a court order made in enforcement proceedings brought by a payee, the entire amount must be disbursed in accordance with the order to the payee who initiated the proceedings (up to the extent of the debt owed to that payee). For more information, see References for a link to the Child Support Guide 7.1.2 Agency collect - payee entitlement to payment & disbursement.

If a payee wishes to update their method of disbursement, go to Step 3.

To record/update the disbursement method:

• to direct credit, go to Step 4
• for a payee that resides overseas, go to Step 5

Before updating a payee’s bank account details check the Payee Disbursement List window for recent disbursements. To update a payee’s bank account details see the Disbursement Cuba Process Help.

If funds have previously disbursed by cheque, any stale cheques will disburse electronically when the payee's bank details are updated, see Table 1 > Step 1.

If funds have disbursed to a closed account, the payment is returned as a ‘rejected disbursement’, this generates a Rejected Disbursement intray. To action the intray:

• update the account details so funds will re-disburse. See Table 5and Disbursement Cuba Process Help.
• Document and record any change to the payee’s bank account details, including the:
• Name of the bank
• BSB number
• Account number
• Name of the account holder
  Note: the bank account name recorded on Cuba must include the payee’s name. If the name on the disbursement does not match the account name, some financial institutions may reject the payment

If funds have previously disbursed, by cheque, any 'stale' unpresented cheques will disburse electronically when the payee's bank details are updated, Table 6.

The International Disbursements team prepare International disbursement for customers residing overseas. They are made in the following manner:

• Bulk payment to an overseas authority
• To an individual customer or overseas authority by cheque
• To an individual customer by EFT to an Australian bank account or overseas bank account

International disbursement timeframes:

Disbursement to customers residing overseas occurs once per month - on/around the 10th of the month and include payments collected in the previous month. E.g., payments collected in March are collated and sent as one disbursement in April.

All payments whether in bulk, by EFT or cheque are issued by the RBA. Cheque payments take longer to reach the recipient than electronic payments due to surface mail timeframes.

Funds are issued in either the currency of the receiving country or the currency specified, not in Australian dollars (AUD).

Add Overseas Bank Details:

To add or amend a customer’s overseas banking details, the customer must provide their bank details in writing (except customers in New Zealand which can be taken verbally). See Resources for details of what to tell the customer to provide either in writing or verbally.

When the customer provides their bank details refer to International Disbursements - Master Address Register, WIRE/EFT and Country Specific Payment templates on how to refer the information to the disbursement team.

Add or Amend Disbursement Method

To add or amend a disbursement/refund options and/or address for a payee who resides overseas, see International Disbursements - Master Address Register, WIRE/EFT and Country Specific Payment templates.

Cheques will not issue to an International customer with an overseas address.

If ‘cheque’ has been selected as the disbursement method in the Bank details window:

• check notepads, and
• seek SSO help

Manual disbursements are payments made to a payee (by request) outside the disbursement cycle and are only made via direct credit. Only consider a manual disbursement if the payment includes an amount for arrears or in an emergency situation. For more information on emergency situations, see Step 3.

In most instances when a payee contacts about their child support payment it will:

• have already disbursed but is not yet in their own account or
• be due to disburse shortly

Check the Funds to be disbursed field in the Payee Account Summary window:

• If no funds are available, a manual disbursement cannot be made at this time. Explain the automatic disbursement system to the payee. No more action is required at this time
• If a payment has been received by Child Support in the first few days of the month disbursement will begin up to 2 business days before the eighth of the month

Generally it is better to allow the automatic disbursement cycle to continue without interruption. Manual disbursement may occasionally speed up the receipt of payment by a few days but can also cause other issues.

Note: it may be appropriate to manually disburse a child support payment. Make the decision with due consideration on a case by case basis.

Manual disbursement request on sixth day of the month

For funds to be available in the payee’s nominated bank account on Friday 8 the automatic disbursement process starts overnight on Wednesday 6. Do not request manual disbursement on Wednesday 6 because there is a risk the payee will be paid twice. Being paid twice results in an overpayment which must be repaid.

Manual disbursement request 2 business days before the eighth day of the month

For funds to be available in the payee’s nominated bank account on Monday 8 the automatic disbursement process starts overnight on Thursday 4. Do not request manual disbursement on Thursday 4 because there is a risk the payee will be paid twice. Being paid twice results in an overpayment which must be repaid.

Disbursement/refund options changed on day of the batch run

The disbursement processing batch runs overnight from Sunday to Thursday. If a parent updates their disbursement/refund options, for example bank details, on the day the batch run is scheduled, the customer’s payment will not disburse with that night’s batch run. There will be a delay and the customer may not receive their disbursement by the eighth day of the month.

If funds are available, explain the disbursement cycle to the payee. Suggest they wait until the money is credited directly to their bank account via the automatic disbursement cycle.

Does the payee agree to wait for the funds to disburse automatically?

• Yes, document the discussion. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

• If the payee is owed arrears by the payer, go to Step 4
• If the payment is only for the previous month's liability, explain that disbursement can only be made outside of the normal cycle in emergency situations. These include but are not limited to:
• disconnection notice received
• being evicted
• require medical treatment
• unexpected costs arisen
• vehicle costs
• hardship
• housing bond
• work expenses, or
• unexpected medical costs

Is there an emergency situation?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No:
• Advise that manual disbursement is not available. The funds will be disbursed in accordance with the automatic cycle
• Document the discussion
• Procedure ends here

Confirm with the payee that their bank account details recorded in the Bank details window are correct.

If the customer advises they have changed, update the bank account details document and record them, including:

• Name of the bank
• BSB number
• Account number
• Name of the account holder

See the Disbursement Cuba Process Help.

Check all outstanding issues and intrays that may affect the accuracy of either customer's account. Tell the payee:

• before disbursing the funds, Child Support needs to make sure the account is as accurate as possible. This reduces the chance of them receiving a payment to which they are not entitled
• if an outstanding issue cannot be resolved they may be overpaid child support and they will need to pay the overpayment back

Complete any action that will finalise an outstanding issue on that day before continuing with the manual disbursement request. Run eligibility to give effect to any changes, see the Eligibility Cuba Process Help.

Manual disbursements are keyed by a Service Officer (SO3) or above. To reduces the risk of fraud and ensures compliance with financial procedures, Cuba will not allow an officer who keyed a payment to also authorise the payment.

Funds are transferred directly to the payee’s bank account 1 to 2 business days after the manual payment has been authorised on Cuba.

If a warning message displays advising a consolidated revenue debt will be created:

• Check the manual disbursement amount entered. This amount must not be more than the total amount of funds available to disburse in the Payee Account Summary window
• Do not create a consolidated revenue debt. Contact a Service Support Officer (SSO) if the disbursement amount has been entered correctly

A Man Disbrsmnt Authorise Require intray will automatically create and route to a National Mainstream for allocation and approval within the Manual Disbursement Team

Only a SO3 or above in a Manual Disbursement Team can authorise a manual disbursement.

A disbursement must be keyed and authorised in Cuba the same day. If this is not done and ‘daily disbursement’ starts, Cuba will overlook a ‘keyed’ entry and will disburse the funds as normal. If the manual disbursement is later authorised, the funds will be disbursed again resulting in the customer being overpaid.

The authorising officer must make sure:

• the daily or normal disbursement period has not started, or is not due to start on the evening on which the manual disbursement is processed. That is, 2 business days before the eighth or any day thereafter until the end of the month. (See Step 2 for examples)
• the manual disbursement has been correctly keyed
• funds are available
• the account balance is correct, including all outstanding issues have been resolved or if not, they are satisfied it is appropriate to proceed
• the manual disbursement has not been keyed to reissue a rejected disbursement. This can result in the payment being disbursed twice. All available monies will be disbursed when a customer's disbursement details have been updated
• a payment arrangement is in place for any payee consolidated revenue debt
• the reasons for the decision to issue a manual disbursement are documented

Do not authorise the disbursement if a Cuba warning notifies consolidated revenue debt is being created. Seek Technical support in Child Support and for information about creating consolidated revenue debts, see Child support overpayments and other payee debt.

Are all the above conditions met, and a consolidated revenue debt will not be created?

• Yes, authorise the manual payment, see the Disbursement Cuba Process Help
• No, go to Step 8

• Cancel the manual disbursement if it cannot be approved, see Table 1 > Step 5 in Disbursement Cuba Process Help.
• Document the reasons for cancelling the manual disbursement
• Contact the customer to advise why the payment cannot be approved and discuss appropriate options

Decisions to suspend disbursements of child support are usually related to the following legislation:

• under section 79A, due to a s107 disputed parentage application, or
• under 79B where a person lodges a dispute (objection, Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) or court application) in relation to the validity of the child support assessment on grounds other than disputed parentage

Is there a requirement to suspend disbursements?

• Yes, go to Suspending disbursement of child support
• No or unsure, go to step 2

Generally, if funds are received by the Registrar to satisfy a child support liability that is due and payable by the payer, the payee is entitled to be paid those amounts.

In some limited cases it may be appropriate to:

• apply a hold on payments, or
• suspend disbursement

Examples of when it may be appropriate to hold or suspend

• Customer lodges a financial hardship application after a garnishee (section 72A notice) or Tax Refund Intercept Process (TRIP) has been actioned and the funds are expected to become available to Child Support. A hold on the expected funds may be requested to enable the payer the opportunity to state their case before the money is received and credited to the payee’s account. Financial hardship applications will not be considered once this has occurred
• The Australian Taxation Office advises a TRIP has been taken from the wrong payer. e.g., due to the incorrect Tax File Number being used
• A Stay order is in force that affects the operation of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (CSA Act) or the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (CSRC Act) in a manner that affects the amounts a payee is entitled to receive
• A third party/employer advises Child Support that funds paid to Services Australia have been remitted to the wrong customer account, and the disputed payment has not yet been disbursed to the payee. See Reassign or transfer a missing or incorrectly receipted child support payment
• An error correction is in progress to rectify a system or processing issue that will affect payee’s entitlements to be paid child support. A temporary hold may be placed on the payment, pending corrective action

A pending decision versus an eligibility error

• A pending decision, e.g., change in care or estimate reconciliation which may result in a change to the amount payable is not an error
• It is generally not appropriate to hold payments/suspend disbursements, even if the final decision may lead to an overpayment
• If a system issue or an eligibility error is preventing the finalised decision from being processed in Cuba and the decision will reduce the amount the payee is entitled to, it may be appropriate to apply a temporary hold

After consideration, if a decision to hold payments:

• may be appropriate but some questions remain, seek technical advice from a Service Support Officer (SSO) see Technical support in Child Support
• is not appropriate, the funds will be disbursed in accordance with the payee’s entitlement. Procedure ends here
• is appropriate, go to Step 3

For Service Officers 5 or above only

• If satisfied holding the payments is an appropriate decision, key the hold credit
• Follow the process in Accounting Cuba Process Help

Depending on the timing of the request, it may not be possible to stop a disbursed payment being received by a payee.

To recall a disbursement via:

• direct credit, go to Step 2
• cheque, go to Step 3
• international disbursements, email the International Disbursement team

Once the disbursement process has started it can take up to 2 business days to arrive in the payee’s bank account. To recall a payment, the request must be made before 2.00 pm (Canberra time) the day after the disbursement process started.

To recall a disbursement, send an email with the subject heading ‘Disbursement Recall’ to the SSO, Team Leader or Program Support Manager (PSM) for approval with the following information:

• CSRN
• Customer name
• Disbursement date
• Disbursement amount
• BSB / Account Number
• Brief outline for recall
• Contact Officer details

The SSO, Team Leader or PSM will:

• add their approval to the recall request
• email the request to the Child Support Cash Management Team

The Cash Management Team will advise if they are able to recall this disbursement.

If a customer advises they have not received their cheque payment:

• ask the customer for their bank account details and update them in Cuba
• send an email to the Child Support Cash Management Team to request the cheque be stopped

When a cheque is stopped, the money is returned to the customer’s account. The payment is automatically issued to the customer’s nominated bank account at the next available disbursement.

A replacement cheque will not be re-issued if:

• someone has banked the cheque, and
• the cheque was posted to the correct address

E.g., if the cheque was stolen from the customer’s letter box or presented after they received the cheque. Recovery is a matter between the customer, the financial institution and the person who deposited the cheque.

Child Support can provide the presentation details about the cheque to the customer. To get the presentation details, email the Child Support Cash Management Team with the customer and disbursement details.

The most common reasons for the Reserve Bank rejecting a disbursement are:

• Incorrect account number
• Incorrect BSB number
• Account closed
• Account belongs to a child on the case, or
• Customer deceased, see Deceased Child Support customer management

If a disbursement is rejected a Rejected Disbursement intray and a ‘Hold EFT’ will automatically create. The 'Hold EFT' remains on the case until the disbursement details are updated.

Contact the customer and ask for their bank account details. If contact was successful, update the account details, see Table 1 > Step 3. Procedure ends here

If all phone contact was unsuccessful, check the customer benefit status to see if the customer has received a benefit within the past 3 months.

Has the customer received a benefit within the past 3 months?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, conduct more searches, see Customer location (tracing) and Table 6 in Stale and unpresented cheques

Go to the PAS screen in Customer First to get bank account details.

Note: when considering to use bank account details from Customer First, make sure the account is in the customer’s name. It must not be a joint account held with the other party or a nominee’s account.

Changing payment destination has further information about how to identify the bank account a customer’s benefit is paid into. Seek SSO support if needed.

The Resources page has a link to the information exchange macro to request bank information, if needed.

After getting the bank account details from Customer First, send a please contact letter (CAL) to the customer with a reply date of 14 days.

Do not include the full account number over the phone or in letters, only the last 3 digits of the customer’s account.

Add one of the following letter text to the CAL.

If the child support case is active

We will deposit your payments into your bank account ending in [enter last 3 digits of customer’s bank account]. These bank details are what we have on your Centrelink record.

We no longer use cheques to make child support payments. Instead, we deposit payments directly into your bank account. This makes getting your payments quicker and easier.

You need to check your bank account details.

If the bank account details are wrong, you will need to update them.

You can do this by:

- signing in to my.gov.au and selecting your Child Support online account. If you do not have a myGov account, you can create one at my.gov.au and then link Child Support to it.

- calling us on 131 272.

If your bank account details are correct, you do not need to do anything. We will deposit your child support payment, straight into your bank account.

If the child support case has closed/ended with arrears

We will deposit your payments into your bank account ending in 123 [enter last 3 digits of customer’s bank account]. These bank details are what we have on your Centrelink record.

We no longer use cheques to make child support payments. Instead, we deposit payments directly into your bank account. This makes getting your payments quicker and easier.

You need to check your bank account details.

If the bank account details are wrong, please call us on 131 272.

If your bank account details are correct, you do not need to do anything. We will deposit your child support payment, straight into your bank account.

Customer does not respond to CAL

If the customer does not respond to the CAL, update the Bank details window in Cuba to reflect the bank account details obtained from Centrelink.
Do not process a manual disbursement as there is a risk the customer will be paid twice.

After updating the customer’s disbursement details, all available monies will be disbursed at the next available opportunity.

A SAP error occurs when a disbursement is rejected due to system identified invalid banking details. In this instance, a Disbursement SAP Error intray is created.

Contact the customer and update the account details.
Do not process a manual disbursement as there is a risk the customer will be paid twice.

Administered Treasury will process an EFT direct credit to the customer’s Cuba account. The amount will display in Excess Cash in the Payee Account Summary window in 2 working days. Issue a refund to the customer, see the Refunds Cuba Process Help.

If a cheque is returned due to an incorrect address, a Returned Disbursement intray is created.

To stop the cheque re-issuing to the same address, set the customer’s address to ‘Invalid’. See Customer record Cuba Process Help.

If an international cheque is stopped, the funds are returned to the customer’s excess cash and will not automatically disburse.

To issue a new cheque to disburse the returned funds, email International Disbursement Team with the international mailing address for the replacement cheque.

Where a customer advises they have not received the payment, confirm which bank account they checked and compare this with the details in Cuba.

Tell the customer:

• If the accounts are different, Child Support have made the payment to another account. If the customer was the person who provided the account details, supply the details they provided. If there is reason to suspect the account the payment went into is not connected to the customer, only provide ‘general’ details, e.g., same financial institution but different account
• If the account details are the same, the customer should contact the financial institution to find out where the payment went. The payment would have been sent to the financial institution either 1 or 2 days after the disbursement date (as shown in Cuba)

If the financial institution has told the customer the payment did not arrive, ask the customer to provide a copy of their bank statement covering 10 days of the disbursement period. If the customer’s bank account was different, do not ask for a copy of the bank statement.

Once the statement is received, email Cash Management Team to manage. Administered Treasury action the request immediately, however it can take up to 6 weeks for a response from the bank.

Document the following details:

• payee
• financial institution
• the date of the payment
• the amount of the payment

See Documenting Child Support information.

Note: if the payment has been returned, go to Step 1.

Before Cuba (1 March 2002), disbursements were made via the Legacy system. All payments were loaded into Cuba as a cheque payment even if the customer received their disbursement via direct credit.

Before giving a customer pre-Cuba disbursement information, a search of the Legacy system must be made to determine the method of disbursement.

Email the Legacy search request to the Staff Facing Products (SFP) Cuba and Pluto team. Include the following information:

• customer name
• customer tax file number
• information required

Do not tell the customer that they had been paid by cheque until the search is completed.

Stale and unpresented cheques are re-disbursed to the customer via electronic funds when the payee's disbursement/refund options and bank details are updated in Cuba.

Re-disbursed funds may have an impact on the customer's current Family Tax Benefit (FTB) payment however the impact will not be known until the financial year is reconciled.

If a customer contacts:

• regarding a payment they received but were not expecting, go to Step 3
• in response to a letter requesting their bank details, go to Step 4

If the payee is querying a payment received:

• go to the Accounting screen
• select the Payee Disbursement List
• in the Payee Funds Disbursed box a stale cheque will appear as Disbursement Returns Reissued

If the customer wants to know which cheques were re-issued:

• expanded the search in the Payee Disbursement List to commence from June 2008
• the relevant cheques will have a Rejection Date of or later than 17 April 2015

If the customer contacts in response to a letter issued requesting their bank details, do not re-issue a cheque. Update the customer’s disbursement/refund options and bank details. To update the customer’s bank details, see Table 2 > Step 4.

If the customer queries the amount to be re-disbursed, refer to the notepad on the Stale Cheque Disbursement intray.

The Stale Cheque Disbursement intray will automatically delete after updating the bank details and changing the disbursement option to Direct Credit.

.

Check for a Rejected Disbursement intray.

Check the Bank details window (is there a ‘Hold Credit’ flag?)

If the disbursement has been rejected, see Table 5.

Check the Payment Arrangement - Client window to see if there is a payment arrangement in place for 100% of the disbursement.

Check the Disbursement Details window - is the amount zeroed out? If it is, no payment has been disbursed.

Check the Hold Credit window.

Check the Payee Account Summary window for a ‘hold’ indicator.

Check the Disbursement Details window. Is there a rejected date identified?

Check the disbursement detail notepad.

Check the Disbursement Detail window for processed notepads.

Check the Reallocate Cash window. Is there any history recorded to identify fund reallocation?

Check the Individual Customer Details window.

Funds will not be released if:

• a Tracing indicator is identified and the customers disbursement method is cheque
• the address details are checked as ‘invalid’