Change of care for Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA) customers 009-03050000

This is a Family and Domestic Violence Interaction Point. If the customer is with another person, on speaker phone, or already identified with family and domestic violence concerns, continue with the current business conversation. Otherwise, go to the Family and domestic violence procedure to conduct the risk identification and referral process.

This document explains the action required for changes in care for Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA).

Step	Action
1	Check records for caring circumstances information Before contacting either carer, the care receiver or nominees, it is important to check it is safe to do so. It may not be appropriate to contact the claiming carer, current carer, care receiver or any nominees if there is any indication of family and domestic violence (FDV) on any of the records. Conduct a thorough investigation on the claiming carer, current carer and care receiver records: Go through the Document List (DL) screen to check for any relevant notes (including prior to the claim lodgement on all parties' records) Check scanned documents that may be applicable Review any information contained in the new claim that may help with deciding about the caring circumstances Additional information to consider includes: Address details - do the carer and care receiver reside together? Relationship(s) between carer(s) and care receiver Care arrangements (for child care receiver), check for any parenting plans or court orders and consider any existing coding for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Support Assessment when shared care has been indicated Care receiver's medical conditions and care load score Nominee and PPE authorities - for privacy reasons, when contacting either carer, do not refer to the other carer by their name unless the carer being spoken with has provided this information. Until this occurs, refer to them as 'another carer' or 'the other carer' If the care receiver is partnered with the current carer, and care has ceased due to separation, see Change in relationship status from partnered to single and Separating safely - protecting personal details before returning here For non-carer processing staff: CP only Send a Fast Note to determine if constant care is still being provided. This is not required for CP (XWP) carers Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Carers > SUS/CAN/RES > CP/CA - Investigation Required Select Confirm Complete all fields. Procedure ends here CP and CA Send a Fast Note to review. This is not required for CP (XWP) carers Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Carers > SUS/CAN/RES > CP/CA - Investigation Required Select Confirm Complete all fields During contact with any of the parties, they may advise (or staff may suspect) they are affected by family and domestic violence (FDV). Follow the FDV Support Model to determine an appropriate referral and further Services Australia support. Note: if either carer, the care receiver or nominee advises someone other than themselves is affected by FDV, staff can provide them with referral options for the person affected by FDV, from the Family and domestic violence - Support services intranet page or Payment and Service Finder.
2	Contact the carer who lodged a claim for CP and/or CA for the care receiver Make genuine attempts to contact the claiming carer by phone to clarify information provided in their claim. Successful contact When contact is successful, discuss: Is the claiming carer residing with the care receiver? If the claiming carer and care receiver do not co-reside, what distance do they live apart? See 'Consideration of distance' information in Change of address for Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA) Has any recent change to care occurred? Is daily care still provided 7 days per week? Does anyone else provide care? If so, what care do they provide? Follow alternative Operational Blueprints if the carer and care receiver circumstances meet: Multiple care Combined care Shared care for CA, or Exchanged care (child) Record any discussion with the claiming carer in the claim progress Note and DOC. Do not include the name of the current carer, unless provided by the claiming carer. Is there enough information to determine both carer's entitlements? Yes, go to Step 5 No, go to Step 3 Unsuccessful contact Go to Step 3.
3	Contact the current carer in receipt of CP and/or CA for the care receiver Make genuine attempts to contact the current carer by phone to clarify information about the claims by the claiming carer. Note: for privacy reasons, when contacting either carer, do not refer to the other carer by their name unless the carer being spoken with has provided this information. Until this has occurred, refer to them as 'another carer' or 'the other carer'. Successful contact When contact is successful, discuss: Changes to living arrangements - is the current carer residing with the care receiver? If the current carer and care receiver do not co-reside, what distance do they live apart? See Consideration of distance - assessment of daily care for CA and constant care for CP when a carer and care receiver do not live together information on the Resources page in Change of address for Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA) Is the carer still providing care 7 days per week? Does anyone else provide care? If so, what care do they provide? Follow alternative Operational Blueprints if the carer and care receiver circumstances meet: Multiple care Combined care Shared care for CA, and/or Exchanged care (child) Record any discussion on the current carer’s record and the claiming carer’s record in the claim progress Note and DOC. Do not include the name of the current carer in the Note or DOC, unless provided by the claiming carer. Does enough information exist to determine both carer's entitlements? Yes, proceed with the claiming carer's claim and reassess the current carer’s entitlement if required. Procedure ends here No, if both carers were contacted but change in care cannot be determined or there is a dispute between the 2 carers over the care being provided, see Table 2 > Step 1 Unsuccessful contact If phone contact was unsuccessful for either carer, go to Step 4.
4	Phone contact is unsuccessful Claiming carer Attempts to contact the claiming carer have been unsuccessful. In the claiming carer's record: Send a Q164 Request to contact letter for the claiming carer to contact and discuss the caring situation Hold the claim until the Q164 due date. For more information about times allowed to respond, see the Resources page of Requesting information (CLK) Record details of contact attempts, claim information and the reason for attempted contact in the claim progress Note and/or DOC. Do not include the name of the current carer Include information to discuss with the claiming carer if they contact, for example: Confirm the details provided in the new claim Is anyone else is also providing care? If any recent change to care has occurred? All discussions must be recorded in the progress Note and/or DOC Current carer Attempts to contact the current carer have been unsuccessful. In the current carer's record: Send a Q164 Request to contact letter for the current carer to clarify care arrangements Record details of contact attempts and reason for attempted contact in a Note and/or DOC on the current carer’s record. Do not include the name of the claiming carer Include information to discuss with the current carer if they contact, for example: If any recent change in care has occurred? If anyone else is also providing care? Record all discussions in the Note and/or DOC In the claiming carer's record: Record in the claim progress Note and/or DOC that attempts to contact the current carer have been unsuccessful. Do not include the name or any identifying details of the current carer If not already held, hold the claim until the Q164 due date. For more information about times allowed to respond, see the Resources page of Requesting information (CLK) Assign the Work Item via Work Optimiser to self and Hold to User if required When the claim comes due, go to Step 5.
5	Claim comes due Check the claiming and current carer’s Notes and Document Lists (DL) for any information that clarifies care arrangements. Is there enough information to determine both carers' entitlement? Yes, and: The current carer has lost qualification, go to Step 6 The current carer remains eligible and the new carer is not eligible, reject the new claim. See Processing claims for Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA). Procedure ends here Both carers qualify for CP, for example, have a qualifying THP & ADAT/CDAT. The current carer retains CP, and the new carer can also be granted CP. See Carer Payment (CP) for 2 or more carers in respect of the same care receiver. Procedure ends here Both carers qualify for CA; standard shared care provisions apply. See Shared care for Carer Allowance (CA). Procedure ends here Note: if it cannot be determined when the current carer ceased to provide care or when the claiming carer started providing care, escalate via the Technical Support Model and Hold to User (HTU) via Work Optimiser while awaiting escalated response. Procedure ends here No, go to Step 7
6	Current carer has lost qualification Cancel current carer from the date qualification to Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance was lost. See Cancellation or suspension of Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA). Grant new carer If the new carer is eligible and the previous carer lost qualification: after the date the new carer lodged their claim, then grant from the date the previous carer lost qualification prior to the date the new carer lodged their new claim, then grant the new carer from the date of claim lodgement See Processing claims for Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA). Procedure ends here.
7	Complete action on claiming and current carer records Claiming carer has not responded to the Request for Information (RFI) by the due date and there is not enough information to make a change in care decision. Process and reject the claim. See: Processing claims for Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA) Rejecting a Carer Payment (CP) claim and/or Rejecting a Carer Allowance (CA) claim Current carer has not responded to the RFI by the due date and there is not enough information to make a change in care decision. Cancel the current carer's Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance using code Fail to Reply to correspondence (FRC). See Cancellation and suspension of Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance. If any carers dispute the change in care, see Table 2.

Resolving disputes between carers

Table 2: outlines the actions to take when change in care cannot be determined or there is a dispute between 2 carers over the care being provided.

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Step	Action
1	Change in care cannot be determined If it is reasonable for the current carer to have supporting evidence, make genuine attempts to contact the current carer to verbally request this evidence be provided. While care schedules cannot be asked for, the carer could have other documents supporting their claims. For example, a letter from a hospital stating they attend to the care receiver on a regular basis. Go to Step 2.
2	Determine if it reasonable to clarify the situation with the care receiver Check details on the carer's and care receiver's record - Notes, Document List (DL), medical reports, scanned documents, new carer's claim and current circumstances. Consider the care receiver's: Nominee arrangements Medical conditions that may affect communication (such as cognitive abilities, hearing loss) Relationships with current and claiming carer Location in relation to current and claiming carer If any risk is identified or any other reason the care receiver should be contacted by a social worker, go to Step 3. Only if reasonable, make genuine attempts to contact the care receiver. Successful contact If contact is successful, after establishing Proof of Record Ownership (PORO), ask: If the care receiver is available and feels comfortable speaking with Services Australia about their current care situation A domestic violence risk identification question such as 'are you experiencing family and domestic violence?' For other questions, see Table 2 in Family and Domestic Violence Once satisfied the care receiver is in a position to discuss their care circumstances, continue with the following questions: Have there been any recent changes to the care you receive? Has your need for care increased? When do you think these changes occurred? Have there been any changes to your living arrangements? Are you currently residing with someone who provides care for you? If the carer and care receiver do not co-reside, what distance do they live apart? Does someone provide care to you every day? Who provides that care? Is anyone else providing care? If so, what care is provided and by whom? Record discussion with care receiver in the claiming carer's progress DOC. Go to Step 4. Unsuccessful contact If contact is unsuccessful, go to Step 5. Unreasonable to contact If it is unreasonable to contact the care receiver and dispute cannot be clarified, record reasons in the claim progress Note and DOC. Go to Step 5.
3	Social worker referral Complete a Multiple and Complex Social Work Referral on the care receiver's record. Include details of all attempted phone contacts and discussions with carer and care receiver, where applicable. Details of the care receiver’s medical condition are to be included. Record details of the social worker referral in the claim progress Note and/or DOC Hold the claim until the current carer's review due date See Hold to User process in Work Optimiser for staff When the social worker assessment is completed, go to Step 4.
4	Social worker assessment completed or contact with care receiver successful Does enough information exist to determine both carer's entitlements? Yes, proceed with the claiming carer's claim and reassess the current carer’s entitlement if required. Procedure ends here No, go to Step 5
5	Dispute cannot be resolved Follow the Technical Support Model to seek help. Outline claim information, attempted contacts, and any additional information supplied by the carers and/or care receiver. Where the dispute cannot be resolved using the Technical Support Model, Tier 2 may escalate this to the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk. If this occurs, Hold to User via Work Optimiser, waiting for Level 2 Policy Helpdesk instruction. Record details of the request in the claiming carer's claim progress Note and/or DOC.

Carer ceases to qualify for CP for one care receiver and receives CA for another care receiver

Table 3: outlines the actions to take when a current carer loses qualification to CP for the relevant care receiver but receives CA for another care receiver.

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Step	Action
1	Carer receives CA for another care receiver A re-claim is not required if all of the following apply: the carer is already receiving CP for one care receiver and CA for another care receiver the carer ceases to qualify for CP for that care receiver CP is cancelled the carer wishes to receive CP for another current CA care receiver See the Background page for more details. This provision does not apply if: the subsequent care receiver has a recognised disability and a qualifying DCLAD score has not been recorded the reuse provisions would preclude the use of the previous ADAT/DCLAD, or CA is received under the shared care provisions and the absence from the carer exceeds one full day per week Is a new claim required? Yes, go to Step 3 No, go to Step 2
2	Ongoing qualification to Carer Payment established CP can be manually 'restored' as a new 'claim' and granted from DPT+1 of the previous CP cancellation date. Forward any exceptional or complex cases to the Technical Support Model for advice. Due to a system limitation, the date of effect of the claim for CP cannot be used as the cancellation date of CP for the previous care receiver. See Coding a paper claim for Carer Payment (CP) where the care receiver is 16 years of age or over. Procedure ends here.
3	Ongoing qualification for Carer Payment cannot be established As qualification for the second care receiver cannot be established at this time, a new claim will be required.

Operational Information

Change of care for Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA) customers 009-03050000

On this page:

Confirming change in care and disputes between carers

Resolving disputes between carers

Carer ceases to qualify for CP for one care receiver and receives CA for another care receiver