Registration for Income Management deductions, Electronic Verification of Rent (EVoR) or Centrelink Confirmation eServices (CCeS) 101-09010040

When a new Business Application (BA) is received by Services Australia, it is recorded in the Centrelink system and a business Customer Reference Number (CRN) issued. If the business has an existing Centrelink record and business CRN, the new application will be added to the existing record. The BA is assessed against the eligibility criteria applicable to the program being applied for. If the business is assessed as suitable to be approved, the business will be advised in writing and granted access to the service.

If a BA is received:

• by fax, it is digitally scanned and recorded on the Centrelink system
• in person at a service centre, it is faxed and the original given back to the business
• by post to the relevant Third Party Programmes team (TPP), it should be faxed to be digitally scanned

For BasicsCard, see BasicsCard merchant information, eligibility and approval

Businesses must be a legal entity to use Income Management, CCeS or EVoR. A legal entity is an association, corporation, proprietorship, trustee or individual that has legal standing according to the law.

A legal entity has legal capacity to enter into agreements or contracts, assume obligations, incur and pay debts, sue and be sued in its own right and to be held responsible for its actions.

Businesses must have all of the registrations, licenses and accreditations required by any Commonwealth, state, territory or local government.

The business will need to identify the legal entity to enter into a contract.

The options for the business are:

• For a member (person) of the business (with an ABN) to contract with the agency (the person signs an individual undertaking and enters into the contract in their personal capacity and as a representative of the business)
• For the Third Party Organisation (TPO) to register as an incorporated entity
• If there is an associated trust, a trustee can lodge an application on behalf of the trust
• An unincorporated entity can explore having an overarching legal entity take responsibility - such as an 'umbrella' business

For Indigenous Businesses check the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations website. The Resources page contains a link to this website. Some Indigenous Businesses may be registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act (CATSI Act).

An individual undertaking is required for an unincorporated entity to contract with the agency. This is the person who signs the individual undertaking and enters into the contract in their personal capacity and as a representative of the business. If this changes, a new Business Application (BA) needs to be signed.

The agency cannot enter into contracts with Trusts. The Trustee of the Trust needs to be established. A contract may be entered into with the trustee on behalf of the trust as long as the trustee is a valid legal entity itself.

The agency can only enter into a contract with a partnership if all the partners are identified. Only one partner needs to sign the Business Application (BA).

If the partner leaves the partnership, the contract/agreement remains valid as the remaining partners assume all rights and obligations under the contract jointly.

If the partnership dissolves entirely, a new BA is required.

A change in Australian Business Number (ABN)/Australian Company Number (ACN) usually means there is a change of the legal entity, which will require a new Business Application (BA).

In some instances where the only change is the ABN/ACN and all other details such as the owner, the address and contact details of the Third Party Organisation (TPO) remain the same, the decision may be made to retain the same Customer Reference Number (CRN).

If the CRN is to be retained always make sure that a new BA has been obtained. If the business is approved for multiple programs, a new Business Application has to be lodged for each of these programs.

Assessment required by the Program Support Manager in Third Party Programmes team to retain the same CRN:

• Has there been a change in the entity only, and the rest of the information remains the same including:
• Owner
• Address of business
• Authorised officer/s
• Contact officer details
• Websites and branding (no significant changes)
• Centrelink Confirmation eServices and Electronic Verification of Rent:
• Program Support Managers need to make sure that consent wording is updated to reflect the correct entity and the current list of users are correct
• For Quality Assurance purposes, make sure that the assessment is documented stating what the old ABN was and what the ABN is currently

Program Support Managers can email the Deduction and Confirmation Branch if there is any doubt retaining the same CRN.