Actioning third party debts 107-04010100

If actioning:

• an undetermined third party debt, go to Step 2
• a response from a financial institution following a Request for Refund (RFR) or QSS40, go to Table 2
• a customer contact about a third party determined debt, go to Table 3

If the financial institution does not return the payment to the agency by the end of the review period, the system will create an undetermined debt with a keyword of '3rdparty'.

Note: if the financial institution has returned the payment in full after the review due date, finalise ‘no debt’ (FND) the related debt shell if created.

See Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' debts that are not legally recoverable.

If the financial institution has not returned the original payment in full, or has not responded to the Request for Refund (RFR) letters, check if a QSS40 letter has been sent to the financial institution.

Has a QSS40 letter been sent to the financial institution?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No:
• send a QSS40 letter requesting the return of the funds and the details of the bank account owner
• place the debt on hold for 31 days
• procedure ends here until response is received or activity becomes due

Has the financial institution responded to the Request for Refund or QSS40 letter with details of a third party?

• Yes:
• if the identified third party is under 16 years (a minor), go to Step 4
• for all other cases, go to Table 2 > Step 1
• No, go to Step 5

Note: staff must check all scanned documents on the record for the relevant period. The RFR/QSS40 letter may have been returned by the financial institution but scanned to the record under the incorrect category.

Investigate the record to determine if the RFR/QSS40 requests were sent to the correct financial institution and address.

The QSS40 should have been sent to the same address as the RFR letter.

Was the correspondence sent to the correct financial institution and address?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No:
• resend the QSS40 to the correct financial institution and address
• place work item on hold for 31 days

If the financial institution:

• responds, go to Table 2 > Step 1
• does not respond, go to Step 5

If the financial institution does not respond to correspondence or provide sufficient details to identify the third party, attempt to contact the customer before raising the debt, see Table 1 in Debt raising support for customers.

Note: check for any indicators that the customer’s details have not been updated around the time that the payment was transferred to a third party account before attempting to make customer contact.

Was contact with the customer successful?

• Yes. If the customer:
• advises they did not receive the payment, go to Table 3
• does not dispute receiving the payment, go to Table 2 in Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• No, go to Table 2 in Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)

Procedure ends here.

Did the financial institution confirm the customer received the payment?

• Yes, attempt to contact the customer before raising the debt, see Table 1 in Debt raising support for customers. If the customer:
• advises they did not receive the payment, go to Table 3
• does not dispute receiving the payment, go to Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS). Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

The undetermined third party debt on the customer’s record must be finalised 'no debt' (FND) before locating the correct third party’s record.

Use the Debt Action script to FND the undetermined debt on the customer’s record. If the script is not available:

• 'S'elect the undetermined debt activity DMN/NDB on the Activity List (AL) screen
• go to the Modify/Assess Debt (OPMA) screen and complete the following:
• Calculated Amount $ field, key '0'
• FND Reason field, key the reason why the debt amount is zero. See the Resources page in Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' debts that are not legally recoverable
• Addtnl Reference No field, key the third party Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• press [Enter] twice to confirm the recalculated debt amount
• on the Assessment Finalisation (OPAF) screen, in the Finished? (Y/Q/N) field, key:
• 'Y', or
• 'Q' if the activity is to be Quality On Line (QOL) checked
• press [Enter]

Record the details on a DOC.

If the payment has not already been reissued to the customer, see Reissue a payment at a customer's request.

Where a third party has been identified as receiving the payment, undertake a thorough search to identify if the third party has an existing customer record. See Searching for a customer on the system.

Does the third party have an existing customer record?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, create a new record for the third party. See:
• Adding a customer to the system
• Creating a new organisation debt record on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• go to Step 4

Can the debt be raised using the Debt Action script?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 6

Recreate the debt shell on the third party record using the Debt Action Script in Customer Record but do not finalise the debt:

• ensure the CRN of the intended party is recorded on the Debt Comments (OPDC) screen. Do not include the CRN or other identifying details of the intended party in the debt DOC
• if the third party bank account has joint account holders, raise the debt against all parties, see Recovery from mutually liable co-debtors

Attempt to contact the third party before raising the debt, see Table 1 in Debt raising support for customers. If the third party:

• advises they did not receive the payment or they do not have legal access to the bank account, go to Table 3 > Step 1
• contacts were unsuccessful, see Table 2 in Debt raising support for customers
• does not dispute receiving the payment, go to Table 2 in Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)

Procedure ends here.

Manually recreate the debt shell on the third party record but do not finalise the debt. See Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS).

The Benefit Type is the type of payment incorrectly paid.

Third party debt Reason codes are:

• CTD - Centrepay Third Party debt
• RFO - Incorrect bank account (Third Party)

Do not include the CRN or other identifying details of the intended party in the Debt DOC. Instead:

• go to the Debt Comments (OPDC) screen
• record the CRN of the intended customer

Attempt to contact the third party before raising the debt, see Table 1 in Debt raising support for customers. If the third party:

• advises they did not receive the payment or they do not have legal access to the bank account, go to Table 3 > Step 1
• contacts were unsuccessful, go to Table 2 in Debt raising support for customers
• does not dispute receiving the payment, raise the debt manually:
• if the third party bank account has joint account holders, raise the debt against all parties. Go to Recovery from mutually liable co-debtors
• procedure ends here

Be aware if the customer says:

• they are victims of unauthorised access to their online account
• their payment destination(s) have been changes without their consent or knowledge, or
• the bank account was opened in their name without their knowledge or consent

If the customer has advised any of the above, staff must follow the Identity fraud procedure to:

• undertake all required remediation and escalations on the customer’s record
• go to Step 2

If the customer advises they have legal access to the bank account and received the payment, the debt is legally recoverable:

• raise the debt, see Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• procedure ends here

Tell the customer to address the overpayment by:

• contacting the bank immediately to advise that they did not receive the payment, and
• providing the agency with suitable evidence that they did not receive benefit of the payment

Evidence may include:

• a copy of a police report (including case number). Police reports can be made with the local state or territory police or via the Police assistance line
• a statutory declaration. Customers can now complete Digital Commonwealth statutory declarations in myGov
• a Commonwealth Victims’ Certificate

Undetermined debts

Where the customer has agreed to provide evidence for an undetermined debt:

• from the Activity List (AL) screen ‘H’old the undetermined debt activity
• update the Resubmit Date, see Table 4 on the Resources page in Requesting information (CLK) to determine the appropriate Resubmit Date
• complete the 3rd Party Debt Fast Note and attach to undetermined debt shell
• issue customer a Q999 letter for Actioning 3rd party debts - Customer agrees to provide evidence
• follow the Identity fraud procedure and only where appropriate:
• ask the customer if they would like to speak to the Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk (SAITH)
• if the customer agrees, transfer the customer to SAITH
• when the activity becomes due, go to Step 3

Determined debts

Where the customer has agreed to provide evidence for a determined debt:

• pause recovery of the relevant determined debt for 6 months. See Step 7 and Step 8 in Temporary write off of Centrelink debts and in the Reason field, key ORA
• issue customer a Q999 letter for Actioning 3rd party debts - Customer agrees to provide evidence
• follow the Identity fraud procedure and only where appropriate:
• ask the customer if they would like to speak to the Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk (SAITH)
• if the customer agrees, transfer the customer to SAITH
• when the activity becomes due, go to Step 3

Where the customer has not agreed to provide evidence for an undetermined or determined debt, tell the customer the debt will be raised on their record based on the existing evidence available. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS).

If the customer contacts before the activity becomes due to request an extension to provide the evidence, the activity will need to be held again.

Does the customer know when they can obtain the evidence by?

• Yes, hold activity for (insert amount) of days
• No, hold activity for 14 days and advise the customer to contact us again if request a further extension if required

Annotate the 3rd Party Debt Fast Note with details of the contact.

If the activity becomes due and the customer has:

• provided evidence, go to Step 4
• not provided evidence, go to Step 5

Review the evidence provided to confirm:

• it relates to the identified payment which has caused the debt
• that the customer does not have legal access to the bank account where the payment was issued
• the police report, if provided, includes the case number

Does the evidence provided confirm the customer did not receive the benefit of the payment?

• Yes:
• refer to Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' debts that are not legally recoverable
• annotate the existing 3rd Party Debt Fast Note using the relevant documentation template on the Resources page
• No. If the customer provided:
• no evidence, go to Step 5
• insufficient evidence, seek assistance from a QDO if required. Go to Step 6

Check the 3rd Party Debt Fast Note to see if the customer requested an extension for providing the evidence.

If the activity becomes due and the customer has not provided evidence, raise the debt on the customer's record. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS).

Note: a customer can provide evidence to review the debt at any time.

Three contact attempts to the customer’s primary number must be made to discuss the evidence.

If the customer is subscribed to Electronic Messaging (EM), staff must send a Pre-call notification SMS before each attempt.

• Was contact with the customer successful?
• Yes:
• confirm if the customer will be providing suitable evidence to support recalculation of the debt. If so, extend the temporary write off or held activity for a further 29 days
• annotate the 3rd Party Debt Fast Note with the relevant documentation template on the Resources page
• if the customer is not going to provide evidence, raise the debt on the customer's record. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• annotate the 3rd Party Debt Fast Note with the relevant documentation template on the Resources page
• No:
• raise the debt on the customer's record. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS), or
• follow debt recovery process to apply to determined debt

Note: a customer can provide evidence to review the debt at any time.