Residency decisions for Child Support customers 277-08310000

Determining the residency of a customer means making a decision that the customer is a resident of:

• Australia
• a reciprocating jurisdiction, or
• a non-reciprocating jurisdiction

A customer's place of residence is one of the factors that determines a customers' eligibility about child support assessments. Information must be gathered to make the decision. This includes if the travelling customer intends to be overseas for more than 6 months or 12 months if visiting friends and family.

Services Australia makes a determination about a parent’s residency in order to determine, among other things, whether:

• an application for administrative assessment is properly made and able to be accepted
• the appropriate income rules are being used to determine an assessment
• an overseas maintenance liability can be registered
• a terminating event has occurred

Child Support may become aware, a residency decision is required when, a customer:

• leaves or may leave Australia, arrives in Australia or moves between other jurisdictions
• makes an application for an assessment and advises they or the other parent reside outside of Australia. See Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) > International New customers
• who lives outside Australia provides an overseas maintenance liability. See Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) > International New customers

Note: a residency determination may be necessary on an ended case to determine if the end date of the liability should be changed to an earlier date to account for an earlier terminating event. See Terminating event section.

Services Australia must:

• amend the end date of a liability that has ended if we become aware of an earlier terminating event. This includes a change in the residency of a parent
• amend or end a child support liability if a child support terminating event happens

Domestic Service Officer

This includes Service Officers from all Business Lines except Specialist Residency Service Officers and International New Customer Service Officers.

• Gather information regarding the travelling customers travel or intended travel
• Record contact information gathered in Residency Referral window
• Submit residency referral on Cuba
• If customer is to be referred, route Residency Decision Required intray to TL

Domestic Team Leader (TL)

• Review the domestic Service Officers residency referral submission
• Ensure all appropriate information has been captured in separate 'contact' records
• Approve, approve override or reject submission
• Where submission has been approved or approved override, route Residency Decision Required intray to Specialist Residency Team

Specialist Residency Service Officer/International New Customer Service Officer

• Review existing information gathered and if required gather further information regarding the travelling customers travel or intended travel
• Apply tests using information gathered to determine travelling customer's residency
• Make a residency decision
• Where applicable have the decision endorsed by an International Service support Officer (SSO)
• Notify both customers of decision

International Service Support Officer (SSO)

• Where required support domestic Service Officer/TL with residency referrals
• Where applicable support Specialist Residency Service Officer/TL in making a decision

Note: the delegations for these functions may be at a lower level than the authorisations. The authorisations reflect a Child Support decision to manage issues at a certain level.