Death of a carer (CLK) 009-03080000

When a person advises the death of a carer, the following action is to be undertaken:

• If the person providing the information is distressed, offer a private interview before proceeding
• Offer the services of a social worker

The following cultural issues need to be respected and considered by Service Officers when being advised of the death of an Indigenous customer:

• In some cases, the name of the deceased person cannot be mentioned by immediate family members. This means immediate family members may have to ask other relatives/friends to call on their behalf or attend the interview with the notifier, because they cannot say the name of the deceased
• In this situation, it may also be offensive to the person for the Service Officer to say the name of the deceased person. Service Officers should sensitively ask the person if it is all right for them to use the deceased customer's name. If the person is not comfortable with this, avoid using the deceased customer's name wherever possible

See Cultural Considerations when someone dies.

Does the carer's record indicate that they were income managed, as shown by INM on the benefit status line?

• Yes, follow process to update record for death of an income managed customer, then return to this procedure and go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 2

Run the Notification of death in the deceased customer's record to determine if death can be confirmed.

Confirmation of death can be accepted where the carer's full name and date of death is provided together with at least 2 of the following:

• deceased carer's last address in full
• date of birth
• Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• partner's name, if partnered

Can the person who advised of the carer's death provide enough information to confirm the death?

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

Using the Notification of death, obtain and record all relevant information from the informant including their:

• name
• address
• contact number
• relationship to the deceased

If known, obtain details of the executor or administrator, the name of the funeral director, and the name of the hospital.

The Notification of death will not code the death, but will create a DOC on the record, which is an open work item that will be allocated to a Service Officer with the required skill set to confirm the death.

If the Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First is not available, create an open work item using Fast Note. Select Auto text use Generic > Update > Death Notification (Adult) - ACTION REQUIRED.

All current payments should be suspended except Family Tax Benefit (FTB). This payment cannot be suspended. If the customer receives FTB, see Death of a family assistance or Paid Parental Leave scheme customer for appropriate action.

• Suspend the customer's payment until the death can be confirmed
• Date of effect is the later of date of the unconfirmed death or DPT+1
• Create a DOC on the deceased customer's record, ensuring it meets Quality standards in service delivery for significant decisions and actions. DOC must include:
• Suspension date
• Include unconfirmed date of death
• notification date
• Significant decisions
• If a provisional debt activity has been created, the updates/changes that lead to the debt activity
• Actions required on the customer's record that may be recorded within:
  Documents icon in Process Direct or Document Tools in Customer First for an SA116 - Advice of Death or letter, Document List (DL) screen for any other notification received, and review
• Record a manual review in Customer First using review reason SOR Bereavement, for no more than 7 days from suspension to check if death has been confirmed
• Do not issue a Q134 suspension letter. Cancel the triggered suspension OTH advice activity on the AL screen

Note: Request an urgent QMA or QOL if the transaction or activity submits to QMA or QOL, so the death action can be finalised.

The death must be confirmed and actioned as a matter of urgency. When the death is confirmed, go to Step 4

Was the deceased carer receiving CA or CP?

• Yes:
• for CA only or CA and CP, go to Step 5
• for CP only, go to Step 1 in Table 2
• No:
• but claim for CA and/or CP has been lodged and not yet processed, refer to Processing a claim lodged after the death of a customer
• carer was receiving another payment type (e.g. JobSeeker Payment (JSP)) and had not made a claim for CP and/or CA; see Death of an income support customer and their partner for the relevant procedure

CA is payable up to the date before the carer's death. Regardless of when notified, any payment of CA made from the date of death is a legally recoverable debt. See Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' debts that are not legally recoverable.

Note: the exception to this is where CA (auto) is paid for a care receiver child. CA is paid until CP ceases as part of the CP bereavement process.

Was the deceased also in receipt of CP?

• Yes, go to Step 1 in Table 2
• No, go to Table 3

Was the deceased person a member of a couple?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, CP for the entitlement period in which the carer died is payable and credited to the account of the deceased. Go to Table 3

The surviving member of a couple is entitled to an LBP if, at the time of death, each member of the couple was either a pensioner for LBP purposes or a long-term social security recipient. However, where the surviving partner is not in receipt of a pension or was not a long-term social security recipient, there is no entitlement to an LBP.

• Yes:
• Any bereavement payments owing to the partner will be paid depending on what payment they receive. See Death of an income support customer or their partner. Go to Table 3
• The partner is in receipt of Parenting Payment see Death of a Parenting Payment customer, their partner or their child. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

CP is payable for the entitlement period in which the carer died and is usually credited to the account of the deceased.

The partner may be entitled to receive JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) so that they can access Partner Bereavement Payment and other bereavement provisions.

Go to Table 3.

Before processing a death action, all transactions or activities on the customer and/or partner's records must be completed. When using the Notification of death workflow in Process Direct or the Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First, a message displays prompting there are outstanding transactions or activities on the customer and/or partner's record.

Service Officers must check:

• Transactions icon and go to the Activity List (AL) screen to check all outstanding transactions / activities are processed
• Documents icon in Process Direct /Document Tools in Customer First for any outstanding documents or information that may not have been actioned
• Notes/Document List (DL) screen for any information that may have previously been provided and not updated
• Update the customer record with the appropriate information obtained before coding the death action
• Run the Daily Driver in Customer First by keying 'DDR' in Next

If there is a debt activity on the AL screen, staff must:

• Create a Fast Note - select Auto text > Debts > Debt Raising > Debt Raising ACTion DOC Request
• Select the correct Service Reason relating to the payment of the debt activity on the AL screen: for example, JSP / FTB / CAR / AGE. To find the correct Service Reason, select the debt from AL screen the payment is displayed as Benefit Type
• Make sure Document Completion is marked as 'No'
• Include all necessary information in the text field advising them of the death and requesting the debt activity be completed as a matter of urgency
• Select Confirm
• Select Continue

Have all started transactions and activities been completed?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 2

If there is an outstanding transaction or activity that cannot be actioned, Service Officers must:

• Create an open work item using Fast Note - select Auto text, use Generic > Update > Death Notification (Adult) - ACTION REQUIRED
• Manually suspend the payment using the reason code OTH (Other) pending completion of the outstanding activity. The suspension date of effect if the death
• is confirmed - is the confirmed date of death
• unconfirmed - is the date paid to plus 1 (DPT + 1)
• Record a DOC on the customer's record, including:
• Suspension Date
• Include <confirmed> <unconfirmed> date of death notification date
• Significant decisions
• If a provisional debt activity has been created, the updates/changes that lead to the debt activity
• Further actions required on the customers record, found in Document Tools, DL screen or a review

Service Officers must cancel the triggered suspension OTH advice activity on the AL screen.

If an open DOC or work item about the death notification has not already been created to have the death action completed once all outstanding activities have been completed:

• generate an open work item by running the Notification of death
• if the Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First is not available, create an open work item using Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > Update > Death Notification (Adult) - Action Required

The death action must be completed when all outstanding activities are complete.

Once all pre-checks and outstanding transactions and activities have been completed on the customer and/or partner's record, go to Step 3.

Is payment suspended?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

Restore payment if suspended:

• Determine if any arrears are payable, taking the confirmed date of death into consideration. CP customers are payable up to the end of the entitlement period in which they died. CA customers are payable up to the day before the date of death
• Inhibit the restoration advice - it is not appropriate to send a letter to a deceased customer
• Death action is to then be processed immediately

Was deceased customer due to report or lodge a reporting statement?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 8

Is the deceased customer's employment income for the last reporting period known or can the person notifying of the death provide the customer's employment income for the last reporting period?

• Yes:
• process the reporting statement. Note: the date of lodgement on the Entitlement Delivery (RAD) screen may need to be changed first to the day before the date of death. See Changing Entitlement Period End Dates (EPED)
• Go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 7

Stimulate the payment. See Recording and correcting employment income details.

Take the deceased customer off reporting by updating the Reporting Regime Details (RPRD) screen.

Run the Notification of death. If the Notification of Death guided procedure in Customer First is not available, manually code the death action in Customer First.

When recording a death for a CP customer, the Notification Handler (NOHL) is incorrectly using the date of notification as the date to increase the survivor's rate to the single rate. If coding the death action manually, the workaround for this is to record the date of receipt (DOR) as the later of date of death or date paid to + 1.

If the deceased customer received CP and the surviving partner is eligible for Lump Sum Bereavement Payment (LBP), check the LBP amount for correctness.