Completing Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) online reviews 010-21032517

Only ABSTUDY skilled Service Officers complete TAP reviews for ABSTUDY customers.

Is the customer ABSTUDY current, recently cancelled or is there an ABSTUDY claim pending outcome?

• Yes, and Service Officer is:
  • YA/TAP skilled, go to Step 2
  • ABY/TAP skilled, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 3

Where a TAP review for an ABSTUDY customer is allocated to a Service Officer who is not ABSTUDY skilled:

• select Keyword
• select Add
• in search: field, enter ABYEEED - ABSTUDY potential backdating
• select the ABYEEED keyword from the search results list
• select Status
• select Edit
• select Status: On Hold
• in On Hold Reason: select Refer to CALO
• in On Hold Expiry Date: enter today's date +1
• select Save

Workload Manager will allocate the review with the keyword ABYEED to dual ABSTUDY and TAP skilled Service Officer for assessment.

Procedure ends here.

If the customer has completed the review and:

• provided all the requested documents, go to Step 6
• not provided the requested documents including failed to respond to a Request for Information (RFI), go to Step 4
• documents were not requested as part of the review, go to Step 7

If the customer has not provided requested documents, and the review was submitted:

• less than 28 days after the relevant assessment date on the TAP Circumstance Details (TPCD) screen, place the activity on Hold via the Status icon:
  • On Hold Reason: field, Customer to Provide Information
  • On Hold Expiry Date: field, 29 days from the relevant Assessment date
• 28 days or more past the relevant Assessment date on the TPCD screen, code the relevant Course verification field on the TPCD screen as No and go to Step 17

If the customer has not provided:

• current and complete proof of enrolment (POE) documents that show:
  • customer's name
  • education provider
  • units the customer is enrolled in or confirmation of full-time enrolment
  • the Study Period, and
  • the document issue date, or date printed is not dated on or after the relevant assessment date. See the Resources page for examples. Go to Step 5
• evidence of parental income and the Taxation Notice of Assessment (NOA) for the base tax year cannot be provided, other forms of evidence can be used as verification of parental income. Staff should check:
  • Household Income and Assets (NHI) screen for confirmed parental income
  • FAO Income Previous Year (FIPY) screen in the parent record for verified parental income, if the parents have been in receipt of Family Tax Benefit (FTB)
  • parent records in case documents have been uploaded to their own record

If the customer has provided incomplete/insufficient documents, make one genuine attempt to contact the customer to verbally request the required documents.

Was contact successful?

• Yes, hold the activity for 7 days under customer to provide information
• No, code the relevant Course verification field on TPCD screen as No. Go to Step 17

Complete the pre-assessment checks. Use the icons on the Circumstance Data screen including:

• the TAP Review Overview, to view a summary of information provided by the customer
• Documents for any scanned documents provided by the customer
• Tasks to view Required Tasks and supporting documents
• Document List (DL) screen
• Notes to view comments made by a previous Service Officer
• Activity List (AL) to view outstanding activities
• For the first assessment date, check the Address (ADH) screen using Super Key to determine if the customer has relocated to be closer to their place of study

To determine if the customer has relocated to be closer to their place of study, check the:

• ADH screen for a change in:
  • term address
  • temporary address, or
  • home address that differs from the family home address
• Documents icon for a new address
• Transactions icon for a Change of Circumstances (CoC) address activity
• Notes icon for a document change of address

Update the customer address if it has changed.

Does the customer have a current term, temporary or a new home address that differs from the family home address recorded on the Regional Location Details (RLD) screen?

• Yes:
  • go to the TPCD screen
  • check the Relocation Indicator and Excess Travelling Time fields are coded as Y
  • go to Step 8
• No, and the customer's term address has not been identified:
  • make one genuine attempt to contact the customer to verbally request the term address
  • if the contact number recorded on the record is a mobile number, send a pre-call notification (SMS only) using Desktop Electronic Messaging Capability (DEMC)
  • after sending the SMS, wait 5 minutes before making the outbound call attempt

Are more documents needed to make an assessment?

• Yes, and the documents were:
  • not asked for as part of the review, go to Step 7
  • asked for as part of the review, code the Course verification field on the TAP Circumstance Details (TPCD) screen as N. Go to Step 17
• No, go to Step 8

Make one genuine attempt to contact the customer. If unsuccessful, place review on hold for 14 days and send a standalone request for information.

To ask for more documents select > Request Documents, and complete the following:

• Benefit: field, Tertiary Access Payment
• Benefit Status: field, Continuous
• Authority To Request: field, TAP - Tertiary Access Payment Guidelines
• Information to be supplied within: field, 14 days
• Select the relevant form or document needed for assessment
• Where confirmation of a new address is needed, select:
  • Term/new address and accommodation details
  • ADD and complete course and institution name
  • Finalise

Where proof of enrolment (POE) is required:

• select > Request Documents:
  • Benefit field: Tertiary Access Payment
  • Authority To Request field: Tertiary Access Payment Program Guidelines
  • Request: select the request number. If this is not the first request, include previous RFI requests
  • Information to be supplied within field: select either 14, 21 or 28 days. These options include extra time for delivery
  • Search Proof of Enrolment and select Proof of Enrolment – Tertiary Access Payment from list of available documents
  • Select the + ADD button to display the date selector. Include the relevant assessment date shown on the TPCD screen
  • Select Save
  • select Finalise on the final details screen for the proof of enrolment request to be issued
• The proof of enrolment RFI will ask the customer to provide proof of enrolment from their education provider that is dated on or after the assessment date and list mandatory inclusions:
  • Full Name
  • Units student is enrolled in
  • Study period in which you are undertaking study

Procedure ends here until the:

• task becomes due, or
• customer supplies the documents

Assess and code the TAP review:

• Select the following from the Task Selector in the Errors (SWE) screen to go through the screens that need updating:
  • Regional Location Details (RLD)
  • Customer Study Details (EDC)
  • TAP circumstance data (TPCD)

If provisional data has uploaded from the online review, the relevant Task Selectors will automatically show a flag.

For:

• first assessment date TAP review, go to Step 9
• second assessment date TAP review, go to Step 10

Has the customer's family home address changed between the time the TAP claim was granted to pending (PND) status but before their course start date?

• Yes, add the new address on the RLD screen:
  • Event Date field: record the date the family home address changed
  • Address Reason field: TAP
  • Address Date field: for a:
    Dependent customer course start date
    Parental income exempt customer 6 months prior to the start of their relevant course of study
  • Address field: for a:
    - Dependent customer, parents home address
    - Parental income exempt customer the customer's address 6 months before they started their current approved course
  • Address Country Code field: AU
  • Where the TAP family home is overseas, the full address is not needed. Enter Overseas into the Country field
  • Trigger the Address Latitude and Address Longitude fields by selecting on the latitude box. This generates a response in the Regional Classification field
  • Update the campus if the customer has changed education providers or campus
• No, go to Step 10

A customer may be eligible for the TAP if they meet all the eligibility criteria and they:

• change their TAP approved course at any time throughout the year, or
• stop studies after their first assessment date

Has the customer had a change in course or study load?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, go to Step 13

Where a TAP CUR customer changes their course, the TPCD screen will show the name of the course for the first TAP instalment.

If the student changes from one TAP approved course to another TAP approved course without a break in studies, go to Step 12.

Student stops or defers studies

When the course end date is:

• after the first assessment date, assess the TAP online review. Keep the current course dates coded. Document the reason for the decision. Go to Step 13
• before the first assessment date, if the EDC screen is:
  • not updated, keep the current course dates coded
  • updated, re-code the student end date as the original date within the TAP online review. Go to Step 13

If a customer does not complete the first and or second semester of studies, they may still be eligible if they:

• withdraw after their first assessment date
• enrol in a new course in the second semester, and
• meet all the eligibility criteria

The customer must be undertaking an approved course and full-time or approved concessional study load to remain eligible for TAP.

Students not undertaking a full-time study load may still be eligible for the TAP if they are:

• undertaking an approved concessional study load of at least 66%, in line with the YA concessional rules. See:
  • Assessing concessional study loads for Youth Allowance (YA), or
  • Assessing study load concessions for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• unable to study due to a medical condition and they meet the incapacity rules in line with YA

For TAP CUR customers, only update the Course approval and Course Verification 2 fields.

For TAP PND customers, update the Course Verification field on the TPCD screen:

• Y, where the student:
  • has provided Proof of Enrolment (POE) dated on or after their course verification dates
  • is studying in an approved course on their first or second assessment date, and
  • studying full-time, or an approved concessional study load or approved temporary incapacity
• N, where the student has:
  • changed to an unapproved course
  • reduced their study load to below 75% (without an acceptable reason), or
  • deferred or ceased studies before their first or second assessment date

Record the first assessment date review outcome in the Course Verification 1 field. Record the second assessment date review outcome in the Course Verification 2 field.

For updates to the TPCD screen

Check the correct course name appears in the Course Name field.

If there are changes to the customer's circumstances update the Course approval field: as appropriate.

If assessing the first assessment date review, make sure the second assessment date remains pre-populated with P - Pending.

Go to Step 14.

If the customer:

• is eligible and the payment is cancelled, go to Step 15
• is eligible and payment is Pending (PND) or Current (CUR), go to Step 16
• is ineligible, go to Step 17

Where the TAP has been cancelled - POE as a result of the second review, a new review is not required in order to restore the payment.

If the customer has been cancelled for a restorable reason, restore the customer's record in PD customer summary:

• Go to the TPCD screen:
  • Change Course Verification 2 from a No to a Yes
  • Save the changes
• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen:
  • Benefit Type Code field: TAP - Tertiary Access Payment
  • Benefit Action field: RES - Restore
  • Event date field: the date the payment was cancelled

Once updates have been made to the BA screen, check the 'Service Reason' is showing TAP. If not, change to TAP in the 'Service Reason' box.

Go to Step 16.

Assess and Finalise the review or restoration activity:

• Correct any errors identified in the Message Log on the SWE screen
• Select Assess to go to the Entitlements (ELD) screen
• Make sure the outcome is correct on the ELD screen, including the payment amount:
  • first instalment of $3,000
  • second instalment of $2,000 (outer regional, remote and very remote customers only)
• ELD screen will present as:
  • TAP CUR (Current), and
  • TAP OOP (One off payment)
• Select Finish
• Record relevant details in the Review Finalisation DOC. If the student changes, ceases or defers studies after the first or second assessment date:
  • document the student has changed, ceased or deferred studies after first or second assessment date reason in the Finalise text box
  • if restoring TAP, record a DOC stating TAP was restored under the Tertiary Access Payment Guidelines. It will not AUTO display in the Finalise text box
• Select Finalise to complete the review
• Select OK. If the student changes, ceases or defers studies after the first or second assessment date:
  • update the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen with the new study details (for example the course end date)
  • ensure any relevant documents are marked as Completed

Procedure ends here.

The customer is not eligible for the first or second instalment of the TAP.

If assessing the second instalment of the TAP, check if the customer was not eligible for the first instalment. If not, the original claim should have been rejected. Complete the TAP review first by cancelling the TAP.

The payment should automatically cancel when all necessary updates are coded on the relevant screens. If this does not happen, manually cancel the TAP. For a list of cancellation reasons, see Rejection and Cancellation reason codes for TAP.

Manually update the Benefit Action (BA) screen:

• Select Add to create a new entry
• Update:
  • Benefit Type Code field: TAP
  • Benefit Action field: if the customer is not eligible for TAP from the first or second assessment date review, select CAN
  • Reason field: select the appropriate reason. See Table 4 on the Resources page of Assessing and finalising claims for the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP)
  • Event Date field: will auto-default to the TAP assessment review date
  • select Save
• Correct any errors identified in the Message Log on the SWE screen
• Select Assess to go to the Entitlement (ELD) screen
• Check the outcome is correct on the ELD screen
• Select Finish
• Record details in the Review Finalisation DOC
• Select Finalise to complete the review

Was the customer eligible for the first instalment?

• Yes, procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 18

If the customer was not eligible for the TAP due to an administrative error, after the TAP review has been processed and the TAP cancelled:

• Go to the Transactions tab in Process Direct and obtain the original TAP claim ID
• Clear out of the TAP review and enter the original claim ID in Customer Summary
• Re-index the original TAP claim
• Select the most appropriate rejection reason via the BA screen, see Table 4 on the Resources page of Assessing and finalising claims for the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP)
• Record a DOC with the reason the customer was not entitled to the TAP
• If a debt shell is not automatically generated, create a Fast Note to advise Debt Staff to manually create a new debt record:
  • use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Debts > Debt Raising > Debt Raising ACTion DOC Request
  • include:
    - the reasons a debt should be raised
    - information viewed when completing the activity which may result in a debt

Procedure ends here.