Earnings Apportionment Tool (EAT) 107-03020010

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Compliance Program Service Desk

Calculators and Tools > Windows 10 > historical version Calculators and Tools

ICT Security Portal (ISP)

EAT Desktop Application (Windows 11)

To request access to the AP-G-Earnings-Apportionment-Tool-EAT resource:

go to ICT Security Portal (ISP) > Request resource
in these fields:

Reason, explain why the resource is required
Category, select Active Directory > Desktop Application
Filter by, select Description
Containing, key Earnings > Search

use > to add the AP-G-Earnings-Apportionment-Tool-EAT resource from the Search Results column to Resources to Request column
select Submit

Compliance Program Service Desk Request - Escalations

To submit an enquiry, complete a Compliance Program Service Desk Request. Staff must include:

a description of the action that was being taken when the issue/error occurred, and
attached screenshots of error messages or alerts which displayed. Note: attach files using the Edit > Attach file tab before completing the form. Do not add screenshots in the Enquiry Description field

User guide

$\\INTERNAL.DEPT.LOCAL\Shared\NAT\SERDELEXCEL\WORKPRODIMP\Operation Blueprint Migration\RDT Release Icons\32w\icon-attachment.png$ EAT user guide

Common errors when using EAT

Several common errors have been identified with earnings and debts due to incorrect wage details being keyed into EAT sheets. This incorrect EAT information can result in customers receiving an incorrect rate of payment or a miscalculated debt.

Main errors made in EAT sheets include:

typographical errors (especially employer pay amounts)
incorrectly using default pay period dates rather than correct start and end dates of employment, or dates worked
updating the Employment Income Details (EAN) screen with only partially verified earnings for the full fortnight
not checking the EAT tool before uploading income details to the customer's record
not checking the EAN screen after an automatic EAT upload

Common debt and earnings errors include:

not identifying and correctly recording the customer’s leave payments on the Income Maintenance Period (IMP) or Other Income Summary (OINS) screen
including certain non-assessable allowances
adjusting debts with arrears that are not legally payable (at the beginning and end of the calculation period)
not checking the benefit limiting date when investigating system calculated debts
overlapping debts not taken into consideration
not refreshing the record for cancelled PEN/PGA system customers to cause earnings reassessment (RCR action via the Benefit Action (BA) screen)

The information relating to common EAT errors is also useful for staff involved in the processing of earnings.

Note: staff can reduce the majority of earnings errors on customer records by double-checking the EAT sheet against both the employer report and the uploaded earnings on the EAN screen before finalising the income update activity.

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FAQs

Example question and answers to support Service Officers.

Item	Response
1	What is EAT? EAT is a spreadsheet that determines the amount of one-off (ONE or IOP) employment income to assess for each entitlement period. It uses verified employment income from the employer. This tool is only for customers whose employment income should be assessed as 'one off in the fortnight': pre Working Credit Newstart Allowance (NSA) customers all post Working Credit workforce age customers After entering verified employment income, the tool apportions the employment income over the entitlement periods. The spreadsheet 'talks' to the customer's Centrelink record. It uploads verified employment income details. EAT is not a decision making tool. It helps with data entry and processes. Staff must decide if they should apply the earnings assessment and adjustments. EAT can also determine if there is not going to be a debt. This would mean there is no need to run MultiCal. Common cases would be Youth Allowance (YA) or Austudy students whose employment income reduces their income bank.
2	How does EAT apportion earnings? The main function of EAT is to fit periods of employment income into the entitlement periods. If the earnings periods do not fit into 1 entitlement period, EAT will: work out the daily average of the employment income add the average for each day in the entitlement period Example Where a customer is paid for a period greater than their entitlement period, assess the income from their entitlement period start date for the same number of days as their employer pay period. For example, if a customer is paid monthly, assess the income for the same number of days (such as 30 or 31 days). Note: EAT is only as accurate as the data entered.
3	Can EAT be used for more than 1 employer? The EAN upload and download options work with only 1 employer per EAT. However, more than 1 EAT may be uploaded into the same activity.
4	Can EAT be used for couples if both have earnings? Yes, in the same way as dealing with more than 1 employer (see above). When uploading for the partner, select the activity for the customer and then switch to the partner record. Key 'SR' in Nxt to switch.
5	Can EAT be used for a started activity? Yes. First select the activity in the Centrelink system. Then run the upload for EAT.
6	Can EAT include a Working Credit calculator? The Centrelink system already has a good Working Credit calculator. When there is no debt, update earnings on the system to: adjust the Working Credit balance allow the system to calculate any future adjustments
7	Will there be further updates to EAT? There may be improvements, but most changes will be to fix problems. EAT is an interim product, pending a fully integrated system.
8	How are daily payslips pre 7 December 2020 assessed? Payslips sometimes show actual days or dates that the customer worked within the employer pay period. For example, for a weekly pay period from 5 October 2020 to 11 October 2020 with gross income of $485, the payslip may detail that the customer only worked on 7 October 2020 and 10 October 2020, with amounts earned each day. In this case, itemise each day, instead of using the weekly pay period of 5 October 2020 to 11 October 2020: 7 October 2020 to 7 October 2020: $200 10 October 2020 to 10 October 2020: $285 For weekly payslips that show days instead of the date, for example Tuesday and Saturday, break these down to daily amounts similar to the example above. Fortnightly or monthly payslips that show a day without a date cannot be coded in this way. Over a fortnight or month, there is no way to identify which Tuesday or Saturday the customer worked. Service Officers must decide the best method for assessing each customer's employment income. The same method may not be suitable in every case. Explain all coding decisions on a DOC.

Operational Information