Carer Allowance (CA) carer is absent 009-06030010

If the carer or care receiver is overseas or going overseas, see Carer Payment (CP) Carer Allowance (CA) interaction of portability and temporary cessation of care (respite) rules.

Is the carer's absence because they are in prison or psychiatric confinement in connection with an offence?

• Yes,
• staff undertaking Compliance intervention processes and F2F Incarcerated Customer Servicing teams, see the Cancellation or suspension when carer is in prison or psychiatric confinement table in Cancellation or suspension of Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA)
• all other staff, go to Step 5 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 2

• Yes, and the carer:
• will resume caring, go to Step 3
• will not resume caring, cancel CA
• No, go to Step 3

Is the expected length of the absence greater than 14 days?

• Yes, go to Step 1 in Table 2
• No, the carer will resume caring, go to Step 1 in Table 2

Has the carer been hospitalised or admitted to an institution?

• Yes, and the carer:
• will resume caring, go to Step 2
• will not resume caring, cancel CA
• No, go to Step 2

Update all absences in Customer First using the Temporary Cessation of Care workflow.

In Customer First:

• run the Temporary Cessation of Care workflow. The Temporary Cessation of Care Summary page will show. This is a display screen only
• expand the page for the applicable care receiver by selecting the arrows (>>) next to the care receiver's name to display the historical summary of absences for the period displayed. Note: if a different period is needed use the drop down box in the Period to Display field at the top of the page. Select Continue to view the Care Receiver Absence Update page

Go to Step 3.

If the workflow is not available or not working, update the absence manually. Go to Step 5 in Table 3.

Update the absence by:

• selecting the appropriate care receiver from the drop down box in the Care Receiver field
• complete the Start Date and End Date fields for the period of absence. Code the End Date field if known. Regular absences do not require an end date to be coded for the activity to accept
• update the type of absence in the Absence Type field as 'RSP' (Respite). Note: if the care receiver is a child care receiver who is in the care of the carer's partner the absence must be coded as 'CWP' (Respite for Carer Payment only - child with partner). If a child care receiver is in the care of the partner, this is not an absence for CA purposes, but it is an absence for CP. Use code 'CWP' to ensure each system maintains an accurate count of absence days used. 'CWP' counts against the respite allowance for CP only

If the absence is:

• to be regular, update the Regular 24hr Period PFN field with the number of hours per fortnight
• an extended absence, select the Absence Extended field

When completed, select Update. Check for accuracy and select Update again to view Absence Updates Summary page.

If more absence updates are required, complete the Care Receiver Absence Update section of page with the additional absences (see Step 7).

If there are no more updates, select Continue.

When the Assessment Results for Activity page displays, finalise activity.

Ensure all updates are correctly noted on a DOC.

Procedure ends here.

Only staff undertaking Compliance intervention processes and F2F Incarcerated Customer Servicing teams can suspend and/or cancel CP and/or CA if the carer enters prison or psychiatric confinement.

For urgent cases where immediate action is required, contact the relevant state  F2F Customer Servicing team  directly.

For all other cases, check the Correctional Facilities page to locate the relevant F2F Incarcerated Customer Servicing Team and send an email to the relevant F2F Incarcerated Customer Servicing Team requesting follow-up and suspension of payment.

The email must contain the:

• customer’s name
• Customer Reference Number
• date they entered prison or psychiatric confinement and
• any other relevant information

Procedure ends here.

Manual updates can be done in Customer First via Customer Record. When possible use the Temporary Cessation of Care workflow in Customer First.

If the carer or care receiver is overseas or going overseas, see Carer Allowance (CA) and Carer Payment (CP) interaction of portability and temporary cessation of care (respite) rules.

Is the carer absent because they are in prison or psychiatric confinement in connection with an offence?

• Yes, see Step 5 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 2

Has the carer been hospitalised or admitted to an institution?

• Yes, and the carer:
• will resume caring. In the Care Receiver Summary (CRS) screen, 'S'elect the appropriate care receiver from the list in the Care Receiver Task Selector (CETS) screen. Go to Step 3
• will not resume caring, cancel CA
• No, go to Step 3

Is the expected length of the absence greater than 14 days?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, but carer will resume caring. Go to Step 4

Update all absences in Customer First using the Temporary Cessation of Care workflow. For workflow instructions, see Step 1 in Table 2.

Note: only code manually when the workflow is unavailable or not working.

While in the care receiver's record, go to Care Receiver Summary (CRS) page/screen and select the 'self' line. In:

• the workflow, select the Continue button, or
• Customer Record, press [Enter]

Check the Care Receiver Task Selector (CETS) page/screen when displayed.

Select:

• Absence Enquiry
• Absence Detail
• Assessment Results (for Carer Allowance only)

In Customer First select the Continue button or in Customer Record press [Enter].

Customer First - manual coding

On the Temporary Cessation of Care Update screen, ensure the correct care receiver is displayed in the Care Receiver field. If not, use drop down box to select correct care receiver. Go to Step 7.

Mainframe - manual coding

In Customer Record, the Absence Enquiry Screen (ABCE) screen is displayed. Note: in Customer Record, the field help for the ABCE screen and the Absences Details (ABSN) screen refers to absences as 'nights'. This will be revised in a future release to clarify that these are 24 hour periods, (midnight to midnight). This screen provides the summary of the absences taken in the current calendar year.

The ABCE screen provides the summary of the absences taken in the current calendar year:

• key 'Y' in the Go to Absences Details Screen (Y/N) field
• press [Enter] to view the ABSN screen
• update the Absence Type field as 'RSP' (Respite)
• ensure all updates are correctly noted on a DOC

Procedure end here.

Is the care receiver a child care receiver who is in the care of the carer's partner?

• Yes, the absence must be coded as 'CWP' (child with partner) on the ABSN screen. If a child care receiver is in the care of the partner, this is not an absence for Carer Allowance purposes, but it is an absence for Carer Payment. The child care receiver can be in the care of either parent for Carer Allowance to be payable and Temporary Cessation of Care provisions to not apply. Use code 'CWP' to ensure each system maintains an accurate count of absence days used. 'CWP' counts against the respite allowance for CP only. Go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 8

Is this a one-off absence?

• Yes, go to Step 1 in Table 4
• No, it is a regular absence. Go to Step 2 in Table 4

Has the carer been hospitalised or admitted to an institution?

• Yes, and the carer
• will resume caring. In the Care Receiver Summary (CRS) screen, 'S'elect the appropriate care receiver from the list in the Care Receiver Task Selector (CETS) screen. Go to Step 2
• will not resume caring, cancel CA
• No, go to Step 2

For a:

• one-off absence, go to Step 3
• regular absence, go to Step 4

'S'elect 'Absence Details', and on the ABSN screen code the Start Date field with the date of the first day of the absence and code the End Date field with the date of the last day of the absence.

In the Absence Type field in Customer First, or the Reason field in Customer Record, the reason must be coded as 'RSP' (Respite) unless it is appropriate to code 'CWP' for reasons mentioned in Step 8 in Table 3.

In Customer First select Continue or in Customer Record press [Enter].

See the Resources page for an example of when to update respite care as started and ending. See Coding a one-off absence for Carer Payment (CP)/Carer Allowance (CA) when the care receiver is absent.

Go to Step 5.

Go to the Care Receiver Summary (CRS) screen and 'S'elect the appropriate care receiver from the list.

On the Care Receiver Task Selector (CETS) screen, 'S'elect 'Absence' details and on the ABSN screen code the Start Date field with the date of the first day of the absence and code the End Date field with the date of the last day of the absence

In the Absence Type field in Customer First, or the Reason field in the Centrelink system, the reason must be coded as 'RSP' unless it is appropriate to code 'CWP' for reasons mentioned in Step 8 in Table 3.

Code the End Date field if known. Regular absences do not require an end date to be coded for the activity to accept

In Customer First select the Continue button or in Customer Record press [Enter].

See the Resources page for an example of when to update respite care as started and ending. See Coding a regular absence for Carer Allowance (CA)/Carer Payment (CP) when the care receiver is absent.

In Customer First - the Temporary Cessation of Care Update page will redisplay:

• if required, record additional absences on the Care Receiver Absence Update section of the page. When updates are completed, select the Update button
• go to Step 6

In Customer Record - the ABSN screen will redisplay with the absence accepted and a new input line:

• if required, record additional absences
• when updates are completed, press [Enter] again

In Customer Record only, the carer's record will now display in the Activity List (AL) screen.

• select the activity
• 'S'elect the care receiver for whom this absence is for on the CRS screen
• on the CETS screen, check the calculation on the ABCE screen 'S'elect the Absence Enquiry field. The ABCE screen will show the updated data

Customer First

The Care Receiver Assessment Results (CJAR) screen displays the results of the assessment and the AR page/screen displays the assessment results.

Note: the ABCE screen will only show updated data after accessing the AR screen.

Finalise the activity on the AR page/screen.

Note: for CP the 'AR' must be manually coded in the Nxt field or the system will default to the AL page/screen and the activity will need to be re-selected.

Record details on a DOC in the carer's record including:

• if the end date is keyed as a result of an estimate by the carer, include this in the DOC
• if an extension was considered, the reason for either granting or rejecting the extension must be included in the DOC

Procedure ends here.