Referral to a Course Assessment and Liaison Officer (CALO) 010-20100142

If actioning an outcome of a CALO referral or to view previously completed CALO referrals, see Table 3 > Step 1.

If verifying education provider and course details for confirmation of approval, check:

• National Course Approvals (NCA), and
• customer's record for:
• a CALO Referral Process Direct Notes, or
• any DOCs to identify if an outcome of a previous CALO referral for the same course is noted

Has the customer provided study details for a course that is approved on the NCA?

• Yes, continue to assess the claim or a change of circumstances update using information provided on National Course Approvals. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Before creating a new CALO referral, check the customer's record to see if there is a current referral that has been sent for a CALO assessment:

• select > Referrals
• on the Referral landing page, pending referrals will display with a status of In Process or On Hold
• selecting the Referral ID hyperlink will display details of the referral
• selecting Next will navigate to the Referral Summary screen

Is there an existing referral that is yet to be finalised?

• Yes, and:
• the customer has contacted to query the progress of a transaction awaiting a CALO referral outcome. Do not create an additional referral. See Table 3 > Step 4
• a claim or update is being processed which requires the CALO referral outcome, do not create an additional referral. Place the work item On Hold for 14 days pending the outcome of the CALO referral. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

If the CALO referral relates to:

• a new claim or claim re-assessment, go to Step 4
• customers already receiving a payment, go to Step 5
• an enquiry from a non-current customer, or a customer considering study, create a stand-alone referral, see Table 2 > Step 1
• education provider seeking assistance, see Table 4 > Step 1

A customer is 'at risk' if they:

• meet the financial hardship criteria, see Immediate new claim and non-new claim priority processing, and/or
• are experiencing a vulnerable circumstance, see Intent to claim for vulnerable customers

To create a:

• linked referral, go to Step 6
• standalone referral, see Table 2 > Step 1

Course details can be changed for customers if they are currently receiving:

• a student payment and have:
• responded to an end of course, study intention or compliance review
• changed from one course to another, or
• changed course and are intending to commence a new course in the next study period
• Youth Allowance (YA) (as a job seeker or Australian Apprentice) and have commenced, or are intending to commence study

To create a:

• linked referral, go to Step 6
• standalone referral, see Table 2 > Step 1

CALO referrals can be created within a claim, or a change of circumstance update, where it is associated as a linked transaction.

This includes student and ABSTUDY new claims or claim re-assessments processed in Process Direct and certain change of circumstance updates. See Resources for a list of linked transactions.

Before creating a CALO referral, check the customer meets the qualification and payability criteria. A referral to the CALO is only required where the qualification and payability criteria has been met.

Note: do not send CALO referrals for masters courses. The approved masters courses spreadsheet is updated regularly and without delay. There is some specific course information on the Masters Courses tab on a provider's NCA page. If the course is not on the approved masters courses spreadsheet, the course is not approved.

Ensuring the work item is in an Open status, create the CALO referral within the claim or change of circumstance update.

In Process Direct:

• select > Referral
• on the Referral Landing page:
• select the Referral type. The Transactional details fields should be auto-populated. If not auto-populated, complete the required fields
• complete the remaining fields, then select Next
• select Find to search for the education provider by Institution ID.
  Note: obtain the Institution ID from the National Course Approvals sub-site, Process Direct or CODES screen in Customer First
• if the education provider does not have an Institution ID, select Search and select Provider not listed from the search results
• complete the remaining fields where appropriate. If the linked transaction is a claim for an income support payment and the customer meets the definition of At Risk, select Yes to Is the Referral Urgent?
• select Next

On the Referral Summary screen:

• include any additional notes. If the referral is an urgent request include the reason for the At Risk assessment
• select Finish

The linked transaction is automatically placed On Hold - Referred to CALO.

Request proof of enrolment from the customer if it has not already been provided or requested.

Does the referral relate to a change in course and/or education provider?

• Yes, see Table 2 > Step 2
• No, see Table 3 > Step 1

Create a standalone referral if the referral is for:

• a customer enquiry
• an update that is not processed in Process Direct, or
• an update that is not configured as a linked transaction

Before creating a CALO referral:

• check the customer meets all other qualification and payability criteria
• review National Course Approvals, and
• check the customer's record for any DOCs or CALO Referral Process Direct Notes to identify whether the outcome of a previous CALO referral has been noted

Note: do not send CALO referrals for masters courses. The approved masters courses spreadsheet is updated regularly and without delay. Some specific course information is available on the Masters Courses tab on a provider's NCA page, but if the course is not on the approved masters courses spreadsheet, the course is not approved.

To create a new CALO referral in Process Direct:

• select > Referral
• on the Referral Landing page:
• select the Referral type CALO Referral
• complete the Transactional details fields, then select Next
• on the Referral Details screen:
• select Find to search for the education provide by Institution ID.
  Note: obtain the Institution ID from the National Course Approvals sub-site, Process Direct or CODES screen
• if the education provider does not have an Institution ID, select Search. Select Provider not listed from the search results
• complete the remaining fields, then select Next
• on the Referral Summary screen:
• include any additional notes
• select Finish
• request proof of enrolment from the customer if not already provided or requested

Does the referral relate to a change in course and/or education provider?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, see Table 3 > Step 1

If the customer is changing course and/or education provider and the course or education provider is not yet approved:

• update existing course details in Process Direct on the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen or in Customer First on the Education Course Details (EDC) screen, where applicable. See:
• Payment of ABSTUDY when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course
• Payment of Youth Allowance (YA) and Austudy when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course
• Deferring or discontinuing study before end of course for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Processing end of course and intention to study reviews for Austudy and Youth Allowance
• finalise the activity

Advise the customer they cannot receive a student payment for their advised course unless it has been assessed as approved for Centrelink purposes.

Procedure ends here.

Has a response been provided by the CALO?

• Yes, and the CALO referral relates to a:
• linked transaction, go to Step 2
• standalone referral, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 5

Once the referral is complete, the CALO will:

• complete the CALO Referral work item
• annotate the CALO Referral Note in Process Direct, and
• update the National Course Approvals sub-site

The status of the linked transaction will automatically update to In Process, for allocation via Workload Management and can be finalised. See:

• Assessing and coding student and Australian Apprentice claims for Youth Allowance (YA)
• Assessing and coding student and Australian Apprentice claims for Austudy
• Processing an ABSTUDY claim
• Assessing Claim for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Assessing ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) claims
• Processing an Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) claim
• Assessing and finalising claims for the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP)

Procedure ends here.

Once the referral is complete the CALO will:

• complete the CALO Referral work item
• annotate the CALO Referral Note in Process Direct
• create a CALO Referral Complete Fast Note, and
• update the National Course Approvals sub-site

If the customer's record requires a study update, see:

• End of course reviews for students
• Changing study details for Youth Allowance (YA) students
• Changing or correcting course of study for Youth Allowance, Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement students
• Changing or correcting course of study and/or educational provider for ABSTUDY students
• Changing study or training details for Austudy customers

If allocated a CALO Referral Complete Fast Note:

• ensure the Fast Note is completed
• mark any scanned documents associated with this referral as closed
• contact the customer to advise the outcome if required
• record details on a Note/DOC of the discussion

Procedure ends here.

If a customer contacts to enquire about the progress of a CALO referral or wants to provide new information:

• access the existing CALO referral:
• select > Referrals if in a new claim or all other transactions
• pending referrals will be displayed with a status of In Process or On Hold
• selecting the Referral ID will display details of the referral
• selecting Next will navigate to the Referral Summary screen

To record further information:

• on the Referral Summary screen, add any additional notes. These are added to the Process Direct CALO Referral Note
• select Annotate
• select Finish. Note: do not select Complete. Selecting this will finalise the referral work item and require another referral to be created
• advise the customer:

Your course has not yet been assessed as meeting eligibility requirements for a student payment. Your education provider has been asked to provide information to the Agency to determine if the course meets these requirements. We will be able to update your record once we have received this information.

Do not:

• grant a student payment or update course details on customer records without confirming the course is approved
• reject claim Enrolled in Unapproved Course (NAC) unless:
• National Course Approvals confirms the course is not approved, or
• a CALO confirms the course does not meet the requirements of an approved course

Procedure ends here.

The CALO will request information from the education provider to determine if a course is approved. Where a response is not received promptly from the education provider, the CALO referral and linked transaction (where applicable) will continue to be On Hold until the CALO assessment is complete.

If a customer contacts regarding progress of claim while a CALO referral is in progress, advise the customer:

• details are being confirmed with their education provider
• to test their eligibility by lodging an online claim (if applicable)
• to contact the education provider and ask they promptly provide details requested by the CALO
• record details of the discussion on a Note/DOC

Procedure ends here.

If an education provider contacts to seek assistance from a CALO relating to course approvals and assessments, refer matter to the CALO email. See Educational Institutions Seeking Assistance on the National Course Approvals sub-site.

Include the:

• education provider name
• contact name
• contact phone number and email address
• details of the enquiry

CALOs will investigate the details of the enquiry, contact the provider and update the National Course Approvals sub-site as needed.

Advise the education provider a CALO will contact them.

Note: do not create a CALL/ACTDOC or send Fast Notes for course enquiries.