Customer disputes child support estimate reconciliation 277-24091328

If a customer disputes the outcome of an estimate reconciliation:

• ask the customer why they think the outcome is incorrect
• explain the outcome to the customer.
  Note: specific details of an estimate can only be discussed with the parent who lodged the estimate, not the other parent. See Table 3 in Disclosing information under child support law. Seek SSO help if needed
• use the Customer Referral Guidelines to refer to a specialist Estimate Reconciliation officer if required

Consider suitable options for the customer:

• If the customer indicates that the ATO taxable income used to reconcile the estimate may be incorrect. E.g.:
• if the customer has incorrectly recorded their Centrelink or Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) tax free income as taxable income in their tax return, or
• if the ATO taxable income is potentially affected by fraud, go to Step 2
• If a determined adjusted taxable income (ATI) was used to reconcile the estimate, due to ATO income not lodged, and the customer disputes that income, go to Step 3
• If it appears that the YTD income in the Estimate may be incorrect, a YTD review can be done. This means that a Service Officer with specialist training will consider whether the YTD can be updated. If the YTD is updated, this may change the reconciliation outcome, go to Step 4
• If the customer has lodged an objection due to the estimate reconciliation or indicates they will lodge an objection, go to Step 5

The customer may indicate the ATO issued income is incorrect. The ATO may amend or cancel an ATO income in some circumstances.

• Encourage the customer to contact the ATO to discuss the issue
• Do not make any adjustments to the reconciling income unless the ATO amend or cancel the income in question
• If the income in question is already showing as cancelled in the ATO ICP system, but not in Cuba, notify CS ATO and DVA Relationships (CSADR) team. See Australian Taxation Office (ATO) income for Child Support customers

If an Amended ATO Taxable income is received, an intray will generate. A specialist estimate reconciliation officer will determine if a re-reconciliation is required. The estimate will be re-reconciled if it meets the requirements described in Table 9 in Manual reconciliation procedure for child support estimates (from 1 July 2011).

If an ATO Taxable income has been cancelled in Cuba, a specialist estimates reconciliation officer will follow the Correcting errors on Child Support cases procedure and determine if an estimate requires reconciliation. They will:

• delete any reconciling income that were based on the now-cancelled ATO income, and
• if a valid reconciling income is available:
• re-reconcile the estimate with the valid income, or
• set it to Recon-No Change,

Tax free pension and benefit amounts reported as taxable income

Customers may incorrectly record their Centrelink or DVA tax free pension or benefit as taxable income on their tax return. The tax free pension or benefit amount is also recorded separately on Cuba.

When the taxable income is received from the ATO the estimate will be reconciled with the customer’s ATI which will include a double count of the tax free pension or benefit amounts. This is the correct application of the law and must not be considered an error. See Australian Taxation Office (ATO) income for Child Support customers.

• Do not make any adjustments to the original reconciling income
• Encourage the estimating customer to lodge an amended tax return. The amended taxable income may be used to re-reconcile the estimate if it meets the requirements described in Table 9 in Manual reconciliation procedure for child support estimates (from 1 July 2011)

A change of assessment in special circumstances may also be an option. Where a customer makes an application, Child Support can only make a change to the assessment for a period up to 18 months before the application. For periods more than 18 months and up to 7 years the customer would need to apply to court for leave. See Change of assessment enquiries.

If a new financial year or Child Support Period (CS Period) is using/will use the incorrect income, the customer may be able to lodge a new estimate. This will not change the reconciled estimate but may change the ongoing assessment. See Child Support estimates.

Procedure ends here.

If an ATO income is not available 12 months after the end of the estimate year, the estimate may be reconciled using a determined ATI.

If a customer disputes the determined income used in the reconciliation, explain the information used to reconcile the estimate.

Note: specific details of an estimate can only be discussed with the parent who lodged the estimate, not the other parent. See Table 3 in Disclosing information under child support law. Seek SSO help if needed

If help is needed to explain the estimate reconciliation, seek SSO support. If needed, refer to a Specialist Estimate Reconciliation Officer.

If a clear error is found in the calculation of the determined income, this could potentially be corrected under the correcting errors process.

Before considering an error correction, the estimating customer will normally need:

• to have lodged their actual income for the estimate year, and
• have a satisfactory reason for the late lodgement
• See Correcting errors on Child Support cases

Does it appear that only the YTD within the determined estimate reconciliation is incorrect?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No:
• The customer may want to consider objecting to the Determined ATI used to reconcile an estimate
• If an objection is an option for the customer, use the Objection – Pre objection discussion macro to document the discussion

If a YTD income is not accurate, the income used in the assessment after reconciliation may not reflect the customer’s actual income.

A YTD income may be updated:

• before estimate reconciliation, by a customer or Child Support. See Table 7 in Child Support estimates.
• after estimate reconciliation, by Child Support. Before updating the YTD, Child Support must be satisfied the YTD is inaccurate and it is appropriate for a new YTD to be determined

Service Officers with specialist training can review a YTD to decide if it should be changed, this is called a Section 63AE YTD review.

It is important to manage customers’ expectations about the potential outcomes of a YTD review. A new YTD determination may not always change the assessment.

Note: specific details of an estimate can only be discussed with the parent who lodged the estimate, not the other parent. See Table 3 in Disclosing information under child support law. Seek SSO help if needed

For Service Officers not trained to complete YTD Reviews

• Before referring to a specialist team, ask the customer:
• Why they think the YTD income may be inaccurate?
• To provide evidence, if possible, to show what their actual income was in the YTD period (e.g., payslips, payroll information or a letter from their employer/s showing dates and amounts of payments), and
• To provide the evidence within an appropriate timeframe. Use the Standard response times as the maximum due date or an earlier date that customer has agreed to
• Create and route an Auto Rec Review intray in accordance with the Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) > Estimate Reconciliations > Review of YTD income amount and estimate reconciliation has occurred
• Procedure ends here

For Specialised Services Officer trained to complete YTD reviews, see Table 2.

Customers can object to the particulars of an assessment, including the ATI used in an estimate reconciliation.

When an estimate is reconciled, the ATI used in the assessment is affected by the YTD amount. A customer may object on the basis that the ATI is incorrect because the YTD amount is incorrect.

Considering an objection to the ATI used will include verifying the accuracy of the YTD amount.

The customer has lodged an objection to the estimate reconciliation:

• The customer may, but should not be encouraged to, withdraw the objection if a YTD review is also an option
• A YTD review may still proceed without withdrawing the objection
• The customer may, but is not obliged to, withdraw their objection if the YTD review results in an amendment. This is because they may not agree with the YTD review outcome and/or they may be objecting to other aspects of the reconciliation

The customer has not yet lodged an objection but indicates they will:

• Explain that an objection must be in writing, that the other parent and/or non-parent carer/s will have a right of response and that the information considered must be exchanged with both parents/ non-parent carer/s
• Explain the YTD review option to the customer if the YTD could be incorrect
• The customer may, but is not obliged to, wait for the YTD review outcome before deciding whether to object
• If an objection is an option for the customer, use the Objection – Pre objection discussion macro to document the discussion

Did the customer electe to proceed with a YTD review?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, procedure ends here

Check that the referral for a Section 63AE Review is valid. Check the Child Support system records to confirm the:

• referral relates to a reconciled estimate, and
• YTD income used in that estimate reconciliation is potentially inaccurate

Is the referral valid?

• Yes, check for or create an Auto Rec Review intray. An Auto Rec Review intray must remain in the Customer window while the review is in progress. Go to Step 2
• No, contact the customer to explain and offer any other suitable options. Procedure ends here

Consider whether contact with the non-estimating customer is required to advise that child support is reviewing the other parent’s estimate reconciliation. Contact may be required if an overpayment is likely.

Note: if contact is required, the estimating customer’s YTD income amount or details cannot be discussed with the non-estimating customer/s. Discussing these details is a breach of privacy and secrecy obligations, see Table 3 in Disclosing information under child support law.

If contact is required, discuss the possible impacts if re-reconciliation were to occur, e.g, an overpayment.

Record the discussion in an outbound communications notepad in the non-estimating customer’s Communication window. Example notepad:

• Subject: Estimate Reconciliation Review
• Text: Contacted customer. Advised that Child Support will be reviewing the other parent’s recent estimate reconciliation due to new income information. The customer is now aware that a change may be made to the assessment. The customer is now aware that a change made to the assessment could mean a possible debt/overpayment.

Check all available information to verify whether the YTD amount used in the reconciled estimate was incorrect. Available information may include:

• Child Support records
• ATO system records (ICP and TSF)
• Centrelink records (Customer First and Process Direct) For information on the Centrelink payments included for Child support purposes, see Resources page in Conversation guidelines for Child Support estimates
• Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) information, see Resources page in Conversation guidelines for Child Support estimates
• Verbal evidence from the customer, if it can be verified via a Child Support search, see External searches guide
• Documentary evidence from the customer, e.g., pay slips or other documents such as a letter from the source of the income showing amounts and dates the income was received
• Evidence provided by a third party such as an employer or accountant

Is further information needed to determine the YTD amount?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

Contact the estimating customer by phone. See Contact with Child Support customers. Send a pre-call SMS if appropriate.

Note: in most circumstances, the customer must provide supporting information for the Section 63AE review themselves. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to issue a Section 161 notice. E.g., if it is not possible for the customer to obtain the required information from an employer themselves, sending a Section 161 notice may be appropriate.

If phone contact is successful, ask the customer to provide the required information. The required information will vary from case to case, but could include:

• why the YTD amount provided was incorrect
• why the YTD was not updated earlier
• evidence of the correct amount and dates it was received, such as:
• pay slips
• a letter from their employer
• payroll data
• a letter from their accountant

Set a clear timeframe for the return of any required evidence. Make sure the customer acknowledges the due date. In most cases, the due date will be in accordance with the Standard response times for customer contact. However, the response time may need to be different due to the specific circumstances of the customer.

Tell the customer the estimate will remain reconciled using the original YTD amount if they do not provide the required evidence by the due date.

If phone contact is unsuccessful, send a Request for Client to Contact CSA (MX1-1) letter. Allow the Standard response time. Add a notepad to the customer record. Document exactly what information is required from the customer and when it is due by.

When the due date has been reached for all requested information, go to Step 5.

Review all information available and check if the actual YTD income can be calculated.

If the actual YTD income:

• can be calculated and it is different to the currently used YTD, go to Step 6
• cannot be calculated due to lack of information available, the YTD cannot be amended, go to Step 9
• is the same as the current YTD, the YTD cannot be amended, go to Step 9

Read all documentation on the original estimate and any other customer communication documents. Check for the following:

• Why does the customer think that the YTD is incorrect?
• Is there evidence that the customer notified of a different YTD amount or that they called back and provided updated YTD information?
• Was the estimate accepted in error? E.g., the customer was to provide YTD details however the estimate was accepted with a $0 YTD
• Has the YTD been correctly recorded or updated?
• Are there any keying errors? E.g., customer advised their YTD was $41,000 and this was keyed as $14,000
• Are there any other errors? E.g., customer provided correct information but the Service Officer miscalculated the YTD or did not record the YTD
• Does it appear that Child Support provided incorrect or incomplete information about which income must be included in a YTD?

In some cases, investigation may require accessing call recordings. Service Officers must discuss this with an SSO to determine if it is needed. If the call recording is needed, see Call and screen recording - information and access

Note: an estimating customer may elect a new YTD amount for a year of income at any time before the reconciliation of their estimate(s) under (s63AC). However the customer may not have known that their YTD was inaccurate until the reconciliation occurred.

Service Officers must consider whether the estimating customer contacted within a reasonable time after receiving notification of the reconciliation. If the reconciliation occurred later due to late lodgement of a tax return, the reason for the late lodgement must also be considered.

Reasonable time will differ depending on individual customer circumstances. E.g., the customer may have been ill, affected by a natural disaster or in a remote area where mail delivery takes longer.

Consult an SSO if unsure whether the customer has contacted within a reasonable time.

Consider all the circumstances of the case to determine whether it is appropriate to exercise the discretion to determine a new YTD amount. Each case must be considered on its merits, but as a general rule Child Support will usually exercise the discretion if satisfied:

• the YTD amount is incorrect
• Child Support contributed to the YTD amount being incorrect, and
• customer contact about the YTD occurred within a reasonable time

Child Support must be satisfied that the YTD amount is incorrect before amending it. However, there may be circumstances that warrant the use of discretion if the other two conditions are not satisfied. E.g., where Child Support did not contribute to the YTD being incorrect, it may still be appropriate to amend the YTD once the customer’s circumstances have been considered in their entirety. Consider the information provided by the customer and all other available evidence.

Example

A Service Officer accepts an estimate and the parent provides, in good faith, what they believe to be accurate information at the time. The YTD is not accurate, through no fault of CSA, and the estimate is later reconciled. The reconciliation results in a debt because the YTD was not correct.

The parent contacts us within a reasonable time regarding the reconciliation and explains that they lost their income information in a fire, which prevented them from providing an accurate YTD earlier. They were only recently able to obtain the necessary information from their employer. In these circumstances, despite no error made by CSA, it may be appropriate to amend the YTD.

Use the Section 63AE decision template, available via the Resources page, to assist with decision making. The completed template will be used in later steps to document the decision.

Is the decision to amend the YTD?

• Yes, go to Step 10
• No, go to Step 9

When the decision is to not amend the YTD:

• Contact the estimating parent by phone. See Contact with Child Support customers. Send a pre-call SMS if appropriate
• Tell the estimating customer of the outcome and that they may object to the decision
• Send the estimating customer the following unique letter: UQ90.02 63AE Admin review of YTD - decision not to amend the YTD, including the standard paragraph about objection rights. This letter must be sent if contact was successful or not
• Document contact attempts with the estimating parent on the Estimate record with the YTD that was being reviewed
• If the non-estimating customer was contacted at Step 2:
• contact the non-estimating customer to tell them the review of the estimate reconciliation has been finalised and there have been no changes to the assessment. Do not tell non-estimating customers any details about a YTD income. Discussing these details is a breach of privacy and secrecy obligations, see Table 3 in Discussing information under child support law
• record the discussion in an outbound communications notepad in the non-estimating customer’s Communication window
• Complete the Section 63AE Decision Template
• Use the template to add the following notepad to the relevant Estimate:
  Subject: No Change to YTD
  Text: (paste text from completed Section 63AE Decision Template)
• Delete the Auto Rec Review intray

Procedure ends here

Before amending the YTD in Cuba:

• Make sure there is enough time to amend the YTD and re-reconcile the estimate on the same day. This is so the customer assessments and accounts will show the correct overall outcome of the amendment
• Note the full details of the existing YTD before updating the YTD in Cuba. Once updated in Cuba, the details of the income in a previous YTD ATI are only accessible through the letters
• Include the existing YTD ATI details and new YTD ATI details in the Section 63AE Decision Template

Delete the existing reconciling income

A YTD cannot be updated while there is a reconciling income in Cuba for that year.

• In the Client Income window select the existing Reconciling Income for the year of the estimate with the YTD that is to be amended
• Add a notepad with Subject 'Est Rec deleted', stating that 'the reconciling income is being deleted to allow a Section 63AE amendment to the YTD income'
• From the File menu, select Delete Reconciling income
• Select Yes to confirm deletion

Amend the YTD

• Select the initial Estimate Income entry with the YTD that is to be amended
• Amend the YTD. Follow the ‘Amend the YTD income’ instructions in Estimates Cuba Process Help

Document the amendment:

• Paste the completed Section 63AE Decision Template into a notepad on the initial Estimate
• Subject: YTD Amendment

As the YTD amount has changed, consider re-reconciling the estimate. See Table 3.

Create a new pended estimate reconciliation to check if the estimate requires re-reconciliation. See Table 5 in Estimates Cuba Process Help

Check the result and determine if the estimate requires reconciliation.

If the actual ATI is:

• not higher than the expected ATI, the estimate does not need to be reconciled, go to Step 2
• higher than the expected ATI and there would be:
• no change to the assessment, go to Step 3
• a change to the assessment and reconciliation is required, go to Step 4
• higher but the estimate does not require reconciliation due to an unintended outcome, e.g. a decrease in liability for a Paying Parent who has underestimated, or an increase in entitlement for a Receiving Parent who has underestimated, go to Step 5

• Set the estimate status to Recon No Change
  Note: the letters that issued when the original reconciling income was deleted should issue to both customers. These letters advise them that the assessment has returned to the assessment based on the estimate
• Record the following in the initial estimate income notepad and the deleted pended reconciling income notepad
  Subject: Recon-No Change
  Text: The current estimate reconciliation has been cancelled as a new YTD has been determined. See ‘YTD Amended’ notepad on initial estimate for full details of the amended YTD. The accuracy of the estimate has been re-checked-against the actual ATI for the relevant year. As the actual ATI is not higher than the estimate, reconciliation is not required. The status of the estimate has been set to Recon-No Change.
  The assessment is now based on the estimated income.
  Deleting the original reconciliation has resulted in a: (increase/decrease to the liability)
  Legislative References:
  Section 63AE Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and either
  Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64-64AA, Reconciliation using a parent’s actual adjusted taxable income, or
  Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64AB-64AE, Reconciliation using a parent’s determined ATI

Go to Step 6.

• Set the estimate status to Recon No Change
  Note: the letters that issued when the original reconciling income was deleted should issue to both customers. These letters advise them that the assessment has returned to the assessment based on the estimate
• Record the following in both the initial estimate income notepad and the deleted pended reconciling income notepad
  Subject: Recon-No Change
  Text: The current estimate reconciliation has been cancelled as a new YTD has been determined. See ‘YTD Amended’ notepad on initial estimate for full details of the amended YTD. Re-reconciliation would result in no change to the assessment.
  The status of the estimate has been set to Recon-No Change
  The assessment is now based on the estimated income
  Deleting the original reconciliation has resulted in a: (increase/decrease to the liability)
  Legislative References:
  Section 63AE Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and either
  Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64-64AA, Reconciliation using a parent’s actual adjusted taxable income, or
  Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64AB-64AE, Reconciliation using a parent’s determined ATI

Go to Step 6

Note: before reconciling, check Table 1 of Manual Reconciliation procedure for Child Support estimates for any risk factors and any other exceptions that could affect if and how reconciliation should proceed. Consult an SSO or PSM if required.

Reconcile the estimate and add the following notepad to the initial estimate:

• Subject: New YTD Est Rec
• Text: A new YTD has been determined and the estimate(s) has been re-reconciled. See previous notepad with subject ‘YTD Amended’ for full details of the decision

<include the appropriate outcome of the re-reconciliation>

• Removing the previous reconciliation resulted in an increase/decrease of $
• Adding the new reconciliation resulted in an increase/decrease of $
• The overall result has been:
• creating additional child support of $xx.xx,or
• resulting in a reduction in child support of $xx.xx
• If the customer receives an ME4-3 letter, it states Child Support has not received the taxable income. If the taxable income was used in the reconciliation insert ‘The taxable income was used in the reconciliation’
• Legislative References:
• Section 63AE Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, and either
• Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64-64AA, Reconciliation using a parent’s actual adjusted taxable income, or
• Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64AB-64AE, Reconciliation using a parent’s determined ATI

Go to Step 6.

• In the Client Income window, delete the pended reconciling entry. This should automatically delete the Pended Reconciliation intray
• In the Estimate Income window:
• set status of estimate to Recon No Change
• add a notepad to explain the unintended outcome, for e.g.:
  Subject: Recon No Change
  Text: The current estimate reconciliation has been cancelled as a new YTD has been determined. See ‘YTD Amended’ notepad on initial estimate for full details of the amended YTD.
  The estimate has been checked to see if re-reconciliation is required. The customer was assessed on the Fixed Annual Rate (FAR) based on their estimate and reconciliation would now result in an assessment of less than the FAR.
  In cases where reconciling an estimate with a higher income would benefit the estimating parent, the estimate must not be reconciled. See Table 1 Step 6 ‘Reconciliation with an unintended outcome’, in Manual reconciliation procedure for child support estimates (from 1 July 2011) 277-0706002
  The status of the estimate has been set to Recon-No Change.
  The assessment is now based on the estimated income
  Deleting the original reconciliation has resulted in a: (increase/decrease to the liability)
  Legislative References:
  Section 63AE Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and either
  Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64-64AA, Reconciliation using a parent’s actual adjusted taxable income, or
  Child Support (Assessment Act) 1989, Section 64AB-64AE, Reconciliation using a parent’s determined ATI

Go to Step 6.

When the result of the review and re-reconciliation is known contact both customers to:

• advise that the review of estimate reconciliation has been completed.
  Note: the estimating customer’s YTD income amount or details cannot be discussed with the non-estimating customer/s. Discussing these details would be a breach of privacy and secrecy obligations. See Table 3 in Disclosing information under child support law.
• explain whether there has been an increase or decrease in child support as a result of deleting the original reconciliation and/or reconciling the estimate, and
• explain they have objection rights to this decision

Document contact with the

• estimating customer in the Estimate notepad
• non-estimating parent in their Communication window

Was the estimate re-reconciled after the YTD was amended?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, i.e the estimate was set to Recon No Change, go to Step 8

Was phone contact successful?

• Yes, allow the automated Cuba letters to issue
• No, send either:
• UQ90.03 Re-reco cover letter for estimating parent, or
• UQ90.04 Re-reco cover letter for non-estimating parent

Include the information used to make the decision and the new assessment notice.

This is not an alternative to customer contact by phone and must only be used where all proactive phone contact has been attempted.

Go to Step 9.

Allow the letters which issued when the original reconciliation was deleted to be sent via Cuba. These letters show that the assessment has returned to using the estimate.

Go to Step 9.

If all required actions have been completed, delete the Auto Rec Review intray.