Referrals to legal advice for action to obtain child support to satisfy the Maintenance Action Test (MAT) 277-51070110

Is there a 'PRP' (seeking proof of parentage) Manual Follow-up (MFU) or 'MWP' (Manual Workaround Pass) manual review on the customer's record?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

If there are any DOCs on the customer's record to indicate that:

• the customer was referred to seek legal advice or indicated that they were going to seek legal advice, but there are no DOCs to indicate that evidence of this action has been provided, see Step 1 in the Action when legal advice referral previously made table
• legal action has been completed, see Step 4 in the Action when legal advice referral previously made table
• action is likely to be unsuccessful or that the paternity case will not be funded by Legal Aid, see Step 5 in the Action when legal advice referral previously made table
• legal action has been commenced (a letter from a legal practitioner has been provided previously and none of the above points apply), see Step 6 in the Action when legal advice referral previously made table.
• evidence of a court date was previously provided and the 'MWP' manual review is now required to be actioned, see Step 7 in the Action when legal advice referral previously made table

Is the customer providing evidence they are seeking legal advice?

(Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customer needs to seek legal advice unless the liable parent is living overseas.)

• Yes and the evidence (i.e. a letter from a legal practitioner) shows the customer is receiving legal advice, see Step 2 in the Action when legal advice referral previously made table
• No, the customer may need to seek legal advice to:
• change a court order or enforce the terms of a child support agreement when they cannot collect the full amount and Child Support are unable to collect it because the agreement includes non-cash child support, for example, school fees, health insurance etc.
• terminate a child support agreement
• obtain evidence of parentage if they know the parent's identity
  Note: the customer must first apply for a child support assessment and have the application rejected by Child Support

Has the customer previously been advised to seek legal advice?

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

Has the customer previously had the Maintenance Action Test (MAT) code updated to 'PRP'?

• Yes, see Step 1 in the Action when legal advice referral previously made table
• No, go to Step 5

If the customer is seeking:

• proof of parentage:
• To continue to receive more than the base rate FTB Part A for the child beyond the initial 99 day review timeframe, advise them to provide a letter from a legal practitioner stating they are seeking legal advice
• To update maintenance action code to PRP and for further details on what to inform the customer, go to Step 6
• to change a court order or terminate/replace a child support agreement, once action has been completed, see Step 4 of Action when legal advice referral previously made table

Services Australia cannot cover legal costs. Legal Aid and community legal centres run free weekly advice sessions. Transfer the customer to Legal Aid. For contact details see Legal Aid Commissions.

Update the MAT code for the child to:

• 'PRP' if seeking evidence of parentage. Advise the customer that this will allow them 99 days to pursue legal assistance
  Note: the customer has 99 days from the Date of Event (DOV) coded on the Maintenance Action Input (MNMA) screen. Advise the customer that if the legal process is not finalised within this period, they will need to provide a further letter indicating that they are being assisted by a legal practitioner before the MAT can be updated a second and subsequent time
• Date of Event: field, generally code the date the customer is advised to seek legal advice. In some cases, the customer may not have been aware they needed to take action, for example where the child support application has been rejected. In these cases, to avoid disadvantaging the customer, code the date the application was rejected by Child Support if the customer has contacted the agency within 14 days (21 days for remote area and overseas customers) of receiving the letter from Child Support
• Transfer the customer to Legal Aid. For contact details, see Legal Aid Commissions

Record details on a DOC and finalise activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Include in the DOC that the customer has been advised that proof will need to be provided before 'PRP' can be recoded.

Procedure ends here.

Is the customer advising they have received legal advice or are there any documents on the record advising this?

• Yes, the customer is supplying evidence, such as a letter from a legal practitioner, confirming:
• they are continuing to be assisted to prove parentage, go to Step 2
• a court date has been set, go to Step 3
• action is completed, go to Step 4
• action is likely to be unsuccessful or that the paternity case will not be funded by Legal Aid, go to Step 5
• No, if the customer is not providing evidence, 'PRP' cannot be recoded and the MAT will automatically revert to 'NMA' (No Maintenance Action) from the date 'PRP' expires. Tell the customer they will need to provide evidence showing that they are being assisted with pursuing parentage to receive more than the base rate of FTB Part A for the child/ren. Once evidence is provided, 'PRP' can be recorded. Record details in a DOC. Procedure ends here

Update the MAT code to 'PRP' as it can be coded/recoded from the date specified in the letter from their legal provider. The Resources page contains scenarios.

Tell the customer that this will allow a further 99 days to continue pursuing proof of parentage. Advise the customer that if the legal process is not finalised within this period, they will need to provide a letter from a legal practitioner to show that they are continuing to be assisted before the MAT can be updated again.

Record details in a DOC and finalise activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Include in the DOC that the customer has been advised proof will need to be provided before 'PRP' can be coded again.

Procedure ends here.

Where evidence of a court date has been provided, Update the MAT code to 'MWP' (manual workaround pass) should be coded from the date indicated in the evidence. Advise the customer that the current rate will continue until the court hearing.

Issue the customer a Q888 letter (the Resources Page contains approved text) indicating they must provide the court documents as soon as possible after the court hearing. Notify the customer that if the court date is adjourned or action is no longer continuing, they must advise the department within 14 days (21 days for remote area or overseas customers). Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC to indicate that the present rate is to continue until the court date.

In Customer First, create a manual review for the day after the court hearing on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: FTB
• Review Reason: OTH (Other)
• Due Date: day after the court hearing
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Q888 issued xx/xx/xxxx for court documents following hearing on xx/xx/xxxx. MWP coded. Return to OB 277-51070110 for action.'
• Keywords: MATMWP
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer To Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action.

If the court date changes, cancel the review and code another review as above for the new court date. Annotate the DOA DOC, adding the updated court date.

If the court date is adjourned and there is no rescheduled date and there is no evidence that legal assistance is ongoing, Update the MAT code to 'MWF' (manual workaround fail). DOC action taken in DOA DOC.

When the manual review matures, go to Step 7.

• If customer has obtained evidence of parentage for a child, they will need to lodge this when they apply for a child support assessment
• If customer has obtained a court order, they must register this with Child Support if unable to collect privately. See Customer has a court order
• If customer has terminated an agreement to be replaced by a new child support agreement for a child, they will need to register the new agreement with Child Support. If the agreement has been terminated with no new agreement to replace it and there was a child support assessment in place before the agreement was originally accepted, then a child support assessment based on the most recent incomes and care details will come into force. If there was no assessment in place before the agreement was accepted, the customer will need to apply for a child support assessment

Procedure ends here.

If the evidence has been provided the customer satisfies the MAT as they have taken reasonable action to obtain child support.

• Update the MAT code for child to the appropriate code below from the date the customer advises:
• 'PCP' (parentage cannot be proved)
• 'OSR' (court order not obtained, payer overseas in a reciprocal country - MFU review in 2 yrs), or
• 'OSN' (court order not obtained, payer overseas in a non-reciprocal country)
• Record details on a DOC and finalise activity on Assessment Results (AR) screen
• If the situation is likely to change before the system generated review is due, in Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: FTB
• Review Reason: OTH (Other)
• Due Date:
  date of change - if situation is likely to change before the system generated review is due, or
  12 months from today's date - if granted because legal assistance has been refused
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'MAT exemption coded as situation expected to change or legal assistance refused. Review MAT code. Return to OB 277-51070110 to action.'
• Keywords: MATREV
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer To Region: leave blank
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action

If evidence cannot be provided or customer is reluctant to take legal action, refer the customer to a Social Worker or Indigenous Specialist Officer for an exemption assessment. See Exemptions from seeking child support for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customers.

Procedure ends here.

• Contact the customer to discuss if they are still receiving legal advice
• Tell the customer that 'PRP' is due to expire and they have 14 days (21 days for remote area or overseas customer) to provide an updated letter from a legal practitioner to show that the assistance is ongoing
• A Q999 (along with a reply paid envelope) must be sent to the customer confirming they need to provide evidence, and that their FTB will be reduced if not provided by the specified date. See Creating a Q999 or Q888 letter
• If unable to contact the customer by phone, issue a Q999 along with a reply paid envelope. The Resources page contains approved text
• If the 85 day MFU is not being actioned on day 85 (or if the customer is in a remote area/overseas), 'PRP' can be recoded to allow the customer 14 days (21 days for remote area or overseas customers) to provide evidence
• Record the following in a DOC:
• Customer previously had 'PRP' coded for the child/ren (name/s) as customer was following up proof of parentage. Customer was (successfully/unsuccessfully) contacted via phone on (date). Q999 (along with a reply paid envelope) sent to customer on (insert date here) advising that if evidence is not provided by (date) FTB will be reduced to base rate
• If customer was successfully contacted, include details of what was discussed/what the customer was advised
• If 'PRP' has been recoded, note this in the DOC
• Resubmit the DOC for 15 days to give the customer 14 days to respond (allow 22 days for remote area or overseas customers). Input a review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen to follow up in 15/22 days
• In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: FTB
• Review Reason: OTH (Other)
• Due Date:
  22 days for remote/overseas customers
  15 days for all other customers
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Q999 sent to customer xx/xx/xxxx to follow up if the customer is being assisted with parentage for <insert child's name>. Check response and return to OB 277-51070110 to action.'
• Keywords: MATREV
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action

Has evidence been provided?

• Yes, determine if the court has ruled on paternity.
• If the court has ruled on paternity, update the record as per the court ruling. Procedure ends here
• If the court has not ruled on paternity, but has been adjourned to another date input a further review for the new court date. Go to Step 3
• If the court has not ruled on paternity, and has not been adjourned to another date and evidence has been provided that legal action is still ongoing, code PRP
• If the court has not ruled on paternity, and has not been adjourned to another date and evidence has not been provided that legal action is still ongoing, the customer fails the MAT. Input 'MWF'
• No, input 'MWF' (manual workaround fail) because the customer fails the MAT. Where court action is no longer being pursued, input ‘MWF' from the date the court action ceased. Procedure ends here

• Contact the customer to discuss what action they are taking. Advise the customer that 'PRP' is due to expire and that they have 14 days (21 days for remote area or overseas customer) to provide a letter from a legal practitioner to show that they are being assisted. A Q999 and reply paid envelope must be sent to the customer confirming that they need to provide evidence and that their FTB will be reduced if this is not provided by the specified date
• If unable to contact the customer by phone, issue a Q999 and a reply paid envelope. The Resources page contains approved text
• If the 85 day MFU is not being actioned on day 85 (or if the customer is in a remote area/overseas), 'PRP' can be recoded to allow the customer 14 days (21 days for remote area or overseas customers) to provide evidence
• Record the following in a DOC:
• Customer previously had 'PRP' coded for the child/ren (name/s) as customer was advised to seek/advised they would be seeking legal assistance with proving parentage. Customer was (successfully/unsuccessfully) contacted via phone on (date). Q999 (along with a reply paid envelope) sent to customer on (insert date here) advising that if evidence is not provided by (date) FTB will be reduced to base rate
• If customer was successfully contacted, include details of what was discussed/what the customer was advised
• If 'PRP' has been recoded, note this in the DOC
• Resubmit the DOC for 15 days to give the customer 14 days to respond (allow 22 days for remote area or overseas customers)
• In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: FTB
• Review Reason: OTH (Other)
• Due Date:
  22 days from today's date for remote/overseas customers
  15 days from today's date for all other customers
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Customer requested to provide a letter from a legal practitioner to show legal advice being sought. Check response and return to OB 277-51070110 to action.'
• Keywords: MATREV
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer To Region: leave blank
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action

Go to Step 9.

Has the customer provided evidence that legal action is ongoing or (in the first instance) that legal action has commenced?

• Yes, 'PRP' can be recoded from the date specified in the letter from Legal Aid. The Resources page contains scenarios
• Advise the customer that this will allow a further 99 days from the Date of Event (DOV) coded on the MNMA screen to continue pursuing parentage action. Advise the customer that if the legal process is not finalised within this period, they will need to provide a letter from a legal practitioner to show that they are continuing to be assisted before the MAT can be updated again
• Record details in a DOC and finalise activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Include in the DOC that the customer has been advised that proof will need to be provided before 'PRP' can be recoded again
• Procedure ends here
• No, the customer fails the MAT. Update the relevant child/ren's maintenance action code to 'NMA' (No Maintenance Action) from today's date. Note in the DOC that 'PRP' is not to be recoded until the customer provides evidence that they are pursuing parentage for the child/ren. Procedure ends here.