Cancelling a trip outside Australia or changing the departure date 061-03040010

Check the Customer Advised Travel Details (RSCD) screen.

Has the date of departure already been recorded?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 6

Has the customer had approved portability coded for this departure?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

Check the Customer Advised Travel Details (RSCD) screen.

If approved portability has been coded and customer’s new advised date of departure is more than 3 days outside the original planned date a new approved portability decision needs to be made. The change in circumstances may mean they no longer meet the approved portability reason.

Is customer changing the date of proposed approved travel by more than 3 days?

• Yes, departure is changing by more than 3 days, go to Step 6
• No:
• departure is changing by less than 3 days, go to Step 4
• customer is cancelling departure altogether, go to Step 6

Check the RSCD screen as there may already be a record of return to Australia advised earlier.

If the customer was granted restricted portability for an approved absence, there may be information recorded on RSCD before the expected date of return to Australia:

• this will only occur if the customer was granted payment for a specific negotiated period which ended before the planned return to Australia date
• it will have an Event date for the day after the end of the specific negotiated period and the same country to which the customer was departing
• delete the entry as part of the update to RSCD

Update the RSCD screen with the new information:

• change the intended departure date
• check if an expected date of return has also been coded. It may need to be changed as well

If the customer has subject to restricted portability and was granted an approved absence, the system may record a second line between the departure line and the return to Australia line. This line will only occur if the customer was granted a specific negotiated period for the absence which ended before the planned return to Australia date. It will have an Event date for the day after the end of the specific negotiated period and the same country to which the customer was departing in the Country field. If this line exists, it needs to be deleted.

Go to Step 8.

Delete the travel from the RSCD screen.

Ensure all information on RSCD relating to the relevant absence have been removed before proceeding.

Go to the Address History (ADH) screen to determine if an address outside Australia was recorded for the relevant absence. If an overseas address relating to the changed departure date exists, delete from the ADH screen.

Note: if this is the 'HOM' address, ensure the customer still has an address recorded or payment will cease incorrectly.

If the planned absence was to live in another country, update the Country of Residence (CRES) screen.

If the customer is going to an agreement country, check if they were to be transferred immediately to an Agreement. Go to the Additional Residence Details (ARD) screen. If there is a country in the Agreement Country field, check the Date of Event field. If the Agreement country has only been recorded from the planned departure date, delete the country from the ARD screen.

Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity.

Go to the Future Activity List (FAL) screen and remove any future departure related reviews and/or activities already registered for the relevant departure date.

Go to the line on the FAL screen for the customer's relevant reviews/activities and record a 'c' in front of the line and press [Enter]. Confirm this decision on the Review Cancel (RVC) screen.

Close any DOCs from the previous portability interview.

Is the customer still travelling and needs an approved reason to be paid outside Australia, or do they need updated advice about the effect of the change on their payment?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, record details in a DOC and go to Step 8

If the customer changes their departure date, a new portability decision must be made because a change in the date can affect:

• whether the payment is still portable
• the length of payability outside Australia, and
• when and if the payment rate will change

For examples of how the change in date can affect payments, see Changing details of a customer's travel to and/or from Australia.

Note: this procedure should still be followed if the customer has already left Australia.

Rerun the Portability Script - Departures and Returns. Advise the customer of the new decision. For assistance running the script, see Coding departures and returns for customers leaving Australia.

The script will record a new decision using the changed date(s) and a new letter can be selected.

Have any dependent children's travel details changed?

• Yes, update the child travel details as required, see Changing details of a child's travel to and from Australia. Go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 9

If the customer’s payment has stopped for less than 13 weeks because of a cancelled absence, continuation of payment on return to Australia may be possible without the need for a claim. For example, it is possible that the customer advised the agency they were travelling outside Australia on a cruise but did not notify of a later delay or cancellation resulting in their payment ceasing. In these cases, once customer’s record has been corrected, restoration from suspension date should be possible.

Does the customer’s payment need to be restored?

• Yes, go to Step 10
• No, no further action is required. Procedure ends here

Can the customer's payment be restored?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, ensure all actions and decisions are recorded in a DOC. Check if the customer needs to lodge a new claim. Procedure ends here

Go to the:

• Benefit Action (BA) screen:
• code the payment type in the Svc Rsn and 'RES' in the Action field
• Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity

If the system is currently in contingency mode and payment was restored to pay for extra days following departure, ensure payment re-suspends from the correct date.

Record customer information and action taken (including reasons) in a DOC.