Claiming Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA) 009-04010000

A correspondence nominee can submit a claim for CP and/or CA on behalf of the carer, however, only nominee individuals can submit a claim online for CP and/or CA. Nominee organisations cannot lodge a claim for CP and/or CA online.

Note: lodgement of a Medical Report on its own is not considered a claim for CP and/or CA.

If a carer or their correspondence nominee contacts to claim CP and/or CA, an online claim must be offered first. Service Officers can explain the benefits of claiming online such as:

• help to apply for the right payment through streaming questions and early warnings if they may not be eligible
• less information for them to provide, as information from their Centrelink record will be pre-populated into the online claim
• they can monitor the progress of their claim through their Centrelink online account
• carer's can also use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app to monitor their claim progress

If the carer or their correspondence nominee declines the online claim offer, a Service Officer can use Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) to collect claim information from a carer or their correspondence nominee either over the phone or face-to-face.

When ACC is completed, tell the carer or their nominee of any outstanding documents they must provide, or action they have to take to submit their claim. Carers can submit the documents via their online account or Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

If ACC is used to submit a claim, a Service Officer must ask the carer or their nominee to accept a verbal declaration. A Customer Declaration Form (CDF) must be sent to the carer or their correspondence nominee for their signature if they are unable or decline to make a verbal declaration.

The First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow can only be used in limited circumstances when it has been determined this is the only method available to suit the carer's or nominee's needs. FCSO can issue CP and/or CA new claim forms for both adult and child care receivers. A CA adjusted taxable income details form (SA489) will always be issued with a CA or combined CP and CA claim without checking if the carer is exempt from providing their income details for the CA income test or if existing income details can be reused.

For details about payments and services available for carers, see Initial contact by a carer.

A new claim may not be required if:

• a carer or their correspondence nominee contacts:
• about the rejection of their CP and/or CA claim and additional information can be used to reassess the claim. See Reassessment of claims following rejection
• within 13 weeks of being notified of the cancellation of their CP and/or CA due to non-completion of a Medical Review - payment can be restored after the Medical Review is completed
• a care receiver is identified as being eligible for a Carers Child to Adult Transfer
• a carer is CA (Health Care Card only) current and wants to test eligibility for CA (payment) for the same care receiver, see Reassessment of CA Health Care Card (HCC) only entitlement to payment level CA for a child

Carers or their correspondence nominee must create a myGov account and link their Centrelink online account to it. Correspondence nominee individuals must have their own Centrelink online account and be registered for nominee online services.

Once the customer has linked their Centrelink online account to myGov, to start an online claim for CP and/or CA, carers or their nominee must:

• sign into myGov and access the linked Centrelink online account. Nominees need to select the person for whom they wish to make a claim
• select Payments and claims > Claims > Make a claim from the menu
• from the Make a claim page select Get started in the Carers category
• answer the streaming questions on the Check your Eligibility page to check their eligibility for CP and/or CA. If the carer will not be eligible for CP and/or CA based on the answers to the streaming questions, the online claim will advise why they may not be eligible and refer them to the Payment and Service Finder or advise them to contact Services Australia to discuss a more suitable payment. The carer or their correspondence nominee can select Back to return to the Make a Claim page to begin another claim type
• the Care receiver details page will be displayed with the carer's current links. They can update links or add new links to claim CP and/or CA for the required care receiver(s). After completing care receiver updates, select Claim now

The Next steps page advises the claimant of any further information or documentation required for their claim to be submitted.

Note: some modules may still require paper forms to be completed, which will be outlined at Next Steps.

A Medical Report from a Treating Health Professional (THP) is not considered a claim for CP and/or CA. Where a carer submits an online claim, Assisted Customer Claim or lodges a paper claim for 1 payment only, for example, the carer is claiming CA only and the Medical Report indicates it is a claim for CP and CA, only a claim for CA is to be assessed.

However, the carer must be given an opportunity to lodge or complete a claim for the other payment. If the carer lodges a claim for CP and is eligible for both CP and CA, determine if 'special circumstances' are applicable to the start date.

Carers and care receivers aged 16 years or more are required to provide identity documents when:

• the carer is claiming CP and/or CA, and
• their identity is not already confirmed

See Identity Confirmation for details on:

• care receiver identity linkage requirements, and
• care receiver under the age of 16 years identity requirements

There is no requirement to complete an identity document linkage for care receivers. Linkage is only required where they claim or receive a payment in their own right. See the Payments and services that require Identity Confirmation table.

When a customer has difficulty providing identity documents, see Alternative Identity.

Identity documents must be original and unaltered. A carer can lodge documents:

• in person at a service centre or Agents and Access Points (remote area only)
• via a nominee
• by post, or
• online, if the carer has photo identification verified at a service centre and is claiming CP and/or CA

If a carer has photo identification verified at a service centre, carers may choose to upload other identity documents against the claim's Next steps page using Upload documents service online.

If the care receiver wants to lodge their identity documents, they will need the Claim ID number connected with the carer's online claim. The Claim ID is located on the Next steps page on the customer's task list.

The online claim will expire after 13 weeks if not submitted.

Note: if a CP and/or CA claim has been submitted, where:

• the care receiver's Identity Confirmation request is displayed as a supplementary task, and
• their identity documents are not provided, Service Officers are to:
• request care receiver's identity documents, and
• place the claim on hold

Do not reject the claim 'Failed to Reply to Correspondence' (FRC) unless the carer has failed to reply to the request.

The care receiver's identity documents may display on the carers record. This can occur when the carer uploads the documents for the care receiver. Service Officers must check the carer receiver's record before rejecting the claim.

Service Officers can run an ACC with the carer or their correspondence nominee to obtain and record the claim information. ACC is similar to the online claim and contains the same questions to ask the carer. Service Officers can assess ACC via the ACC desktop icon, enter the carer's Customer Reference Number (CRN) and run ACC.

Service Officers can start ACC with the carer or their nominee and encourage them to complete their claim online, where appropriate. By submitting their claim online, carers and their nominees can monitor the progress of their claim through their Centrelink online account. Note: excluding nominees, carers can also use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app to monitor their claim progress.

To submit their claim, the carer must:

• answer all mandatory questions
• provide all their required documents
• confirm their and their care receiver's identity (if there is no ICI recorded)

Some exceptions apply.

Note: some modules may still require paper forms to be completed, which will be outlined at Next Steps.

Customer declaration and claim submission

When ACC has been completed by the Service Officer, the claimant must either:

• access the draft claim through their Centrelink online account or Express Plus Centrelink mobile app to upload their documents and submit the claim, or
• accept a verbal declaration and provide all required documents before submitting their claim. When the verbal declaration is accepted, and ACC submitted a new claim activity will be created in the Process Direct Inbox:
• Process Direct notes, and/or
• Customer First Super Case, and/or
• the Customer Claim Summary

If the carer is unable or declines to make a verbal declaration, the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow will need to be run and a paper claim for Carer Allowance/Carer Payment issued to the customer.

The claim will expire after 13 weeks if not submitted.

If a carer or their correspondence nominee has previously been issued a paper claim form via the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow, all forms are required to be completed and lodged by the claimant to assess a claim for CP and/or CA.

Note: a claim is not considered lodged until it is fully completed, and all supporting documentation is supplied. This does not include supporting documents from a third party, for example, waiting for a medical report from a Treating Health Professional (THP).The below forms may be lodged separately and the date the first form is lodged is deemed to be the date of lodgement of the claim. Lodging the following forms will constitute the lodging of a claim:

• Claim for Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance (SA404)
• Claim for Carer Allowance (SA409)
• Claim for Carer Allowance following Carer Payment review (SA341)
• Claim for Carer Payment (SA410)
• Claim for Carer Payment and Carer Allowance (SA411)
• Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance - caring for a person 16 years or over (SA406)
• Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance - caring for a child under 16 years (SA407)
• Any legacy Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance claim forms, for example SA336 or SA337
• Assessment for Carer Payment under an international Social Security agreement form (AUS156)

CP and/or CA medical reports and CNA forms are available on the Services Australia website, but the claim forms are not. Medical reports are available on the website for health professionals.

CP and/or CA medical reports and CNA forms are not accepted as a claim for CP and/or CA.

It is possible for a carer or their correspondence nominee to lodge one of these forms and think they have lodged a claim. If there is no record of a claim previously submitted, the carer or their correspondence nominee must be contacted and asked to complete an online claim or ACC.

Carers currently receiving CP that is fully-funded through the Home Equity Access Scheme may wish to claim CP when their assets are under the limit. Carers with a benefit status of CAR/CZR- PLS are:

• unable to submit a CP online claim
• unable to have ACC run, and
• advised in the CP online claim to contact Services Australia

To issue the appropriate claim forms, run the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow.

If a new medical report has been provided following the rejection of the CP and/or CA claim not meeting the Adult Disability Assessment Tool (ADAT) or the Disability Care Load Assessment (child) Determination (DCLAD) qualifying scores, do not adjust the existing Treating Health Professional (THP) scores on the carer/care receiver's record. A new line must be created and new medical responses added.

This could occur in the following circumstances:

• original claim has been rejected Failed to Reply to Correspondence (FRC) and a new medical report has been provided
• original claim has been rejected due to THP score and a new medical report has been provided
• original adult claim has been rejected due to combined ADAT score and a new medical report has been provided
• original child claim has been rejected due to Insufficient Care Load and a new medical report has been provided

If new medical information is obtained through a verbal conversation with a THP, Service Officers may adjust the existing information by changing the confirmed line of medical information and documenting this on the carer's record.

If the carer submits a new CNA within 13 weeks of the rejection and the claim can be reopened, the existing CNA that resulted in the initial rejection of the CP and/or CA claim can be amended with the new Date of Receipt (DOR) of the submitted form/s.

If the carer provides additional information during a phone conversation, it must be recorded to ensure the carer's record reflects their most recent circumstances. As the information provided is to reassess the rejection, it is not referred to an Authorised Review Officer (ARO) unless the carer clearly indicates they want to apply for a formal review of the decision.

The Process page explains how to code medical information for a reassessment of a rejected claim.

See Calculating the ADAT score or Calculating the total DCLAD (2020) score for more details.

An early claim is a claim made by a person before being qualified and/or payable for that payment. If they will qualify for the payment within 13 weeks of lodgement, accept the claim.

Early claims can be completed online or via ACC.

Re-use provisions allow eligible Treating Health Professional (THP) medical reports and/or CNAs previously supplied to be used for a subsequent claim. The Carer Online Claim and ACC will identify the option to re-use this previous data for the child care receiver if the most recent reports meet the re-use provisions.

Re-claim provisions allow qualifying THP medical reports and CNAs previously supplied to be used for a subsequent claim. Re-claim provisions are automatically assessed during Carer Online Claim and ACC.

From 20 September 2018, carers who are not exempt from providing their income for the CA income test will be required to provide their income details as part of their claim.

Customers may be presented with pre-filled Single Touch Payroll (STP) data during their online claim. Employer details, name and ABN, will be presented to the customer if STP data has been provided to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) within the 8 weeks prior to claim.

Customers will have the option to confirm the employer within the claim. If a customer confirms the employer, once on payment, STP pre-filled income will be presented to the customer when they report. If the customer does not confirm the employer, once on payment, we may present the STP employer again when the customer reports.

A customer will automatically be placed on reporting if STP data is presented to the customer within the claim, regardless of the employer status.