Summary disallow of Child Support Part 6A objections 277-09170070

A summary disallow decision:

• only applies to a limited range of Part 6A objections, go to Step 2 for more information
• can only be made when satisfied the respondent's rights will not be affected by the objection outcome as the objection will be disallowed
• excludes the other customer from the Part 6A Objection process until the decision is finalised. Do not contact the respondent or provide a copy of the objection or accompanying documents

See the Child Support Guide 4.1.6: Making a decision to allow or disallow an objection.

Summary disallow only applies when a customer objects to the outcome of a change of assessment decision and the following apply:

• the changes they are requesting are not permitted under the legislation, e.g. the issues raised do not fall under one of the ten reasons
• reason 1 decision – the costs to enable them to spend time with or communicate with the child/ren do not exceed 5% of their adjusted taxable income
• reason 1 decision – the customer has at least regular care, however the costs of communicating and the costs related to travel  to enable them to spend time with the child/ren do not exceed 5% of their adjusted taxable income
• reason 4 – the child is only receiving income tested benefits from Centrelink
• reason 5 – the court order only includes property settlement with no reference to child support
• reason 5 – the only ground for the objection is the other party accessed funds from a jointly owned asset (such as a joint bank account) and the Decision Maker (DM) already considered this in their decision
• reason 6:
• the child/ren were not under 12 at the start of the child support period, and/or
• costs do not amount to more than 5% of the customer's adjusted taxable income (or 25% of the costs of the child in the case of a non-parent carer)
• reason 6 – the change of assessment decision was either made or refers to a period prior to 3 March 2011, the customer is a WA-Ex-nuptial customer and the:
• change of assessment application was not made by the payee
• costs do not amount to more than 5% of the payee’s adjusted taxable income, and/or
• the child/ren are in at least shared care of the payer
• reason 9 – when there is no legal duty to maintain another child or person
• reason 10 – when there is no resident child
• the refusal of a change of assessment application because it is a subsequent application (s98J), no new grounds have been provided and all information has already been considered
• pre-conference refusal decision (s98E) where the matters were considered too complex and the issues considered have not changed
• the customer has refused to provide their financial details in the change of assessment application and the objection. The lack of these details prevents the decision maker from making a finding that a change to the assessment would be just, equitable and otherwise proper. Note: the customer must be provided every opportunity to provide their financial details before deciding to summarily disallow the objection
• the only ground is that the Decision Maker was biased and after investigation the claim is found to be without basis
• any other Part 6A objection where Program Advice Team agree the summary disallow process is appropriate in the particular circumstances of the case

Investigate and analyse the information provided in the objection to establish if any of circumstances listed above apply. Do not use the summary disallow process if any other change of assessment reasons exist. An exception may be where an Assistant Director from the Program Advice Team agrees the summary disallow is appropriate in the circumstances of the objection.

For example, a customer objects to the decision to refuse their application under reason 1 and it is clear the costs of spending time with or communicating with the child/ren are less than 5% of their adjusted taxable income. However, the customer mentions their current income is significantly below the amount used in the assessment. This factor could give rise to a valid reason 8 change of assessment application. If reason 8 was not considered by the original decision maker, the summary disallow process is not appropriate.

Refer to your Team Leader for approval before proceeding with the summary disallow.

If the summary disallow process is not appropriate, go to Child Support Objections

Also consider if a customer has multiple cases and not all have been considered through the COA process where their adjusted taxable income increased, a ‘Capacity to Pay’ referral may be made to ensure fairness and equity in child support payments across all active cases.

If the summary disallow process is appropriate, go to Step 4.

Contact the applicant:

• advise why disallowing the objection is being considered
• provide them with the opportunity to clarify or provide further information
• discuss the option of withdrawing the objection. If the applicant wants to withdraw the objection, advise the customer:
• it is their choice to withdraw the objection
• they cannot request an ART review of a withdrawn objection as no decision has been made
• the other party may lodge their own objection. If the other parent has already lodged their own objection and does not want to withdraw, the objection will continue
• there is a cooling off period of 48 hours before finalising the application as ’withdrawn’ in Cuba
• the onus is on them to contact the Objections Service Officer within the 48 hour cooling off period if they decide to change their decision about withdrawing their objection
• they can object at a later stage, although if their objection is lodged outside the 28-day timeframe (90 days for customers in reciprocating jurisdictions), they will need to request an Extension of time (EOT)
• advise of all other administrative options
• if a customer has multiple cases and not all have been considered through the COA process, where their adjusted taxable income has increased, discuss with the customer that a ‘Capacity to Pay’ referral may be made to ensure fairness and equity in child support payments across all active cases

Document the details of the conversation in the Objections Maintenance window notepad. See Documenting Child Support information in Cuba.

If the applicant withdraws the objection, go to Finalise objection decision.

If the customer provides new information or grounds that mean a summary disallow decision is no longer appropriate, go to Child Support Objections.

If proceeding with the summary disallow, go to Step 5.

Finalise the summary disallow decision:

• create an objection decision report using the UQ50.09 - Part 6A objections - Statement of Reasons letter
• use the Summary disallow- both customers template to create the letter text to paste into a MX0-1 Unique letter for both customers. See Letters Cuba Process Help, Create a Unique letter
• attach the UQ50.09 - Part 6A objections - Statement of Reasons letter to the letter for both customers
• finalise the objection record in the Objections Maintenance window. See Objections Cuba Process Help
• paste the UQ50.09 - Part 6A objections - Statement of Reasons letter into the Objection Maintenance window notepad
• undertake follow up action in accordance with the Common and specialised activities for Child Support staff

• If a customer has multiple cases and not all have been considered through the Objections process, where their adjusted taxable income is likely to increase, discuss with the customer that a ‘Capacity to Pay’ referral may be made to ensure fairness and equity in child support payments across all active cases
• Where the objection decision is likely to decrease their income, discuss with the customer a COA application or potentially an objection to an existing COA decision will be necessary on each of their other active cases if they want this income reflected in the child support assessment