Requesting refunds and raising debts for deceased customer 107-04010110

Staff cannot process death actions when there are activities on the Activity List (AL) screen of the deceased customer.

If there is a debt activity on the AL screen, request the debt activity be completed. Staff must:

• create a Fast Note
• 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'
• use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Debt Raising > Debt Raising Deceased ACTion Request
• select Confirm
• include all necessary details in the text field
• select Continue

If the debt activity is not completed within the required time frame, the Team Leader should contact the nearest debt processing Payment Assurance Operations site.

Procedure ends here.

Due to the sensitive nature of this work, take extreme care when actioning these work items. If not sure, discuss with a Team Leader before proceeding.

Where the work item cannot be completed by the staff member who was allocated the work item:

• do not return it to the national pool
• the Team Leader will decide which staff member can complete the work item promptly and will reallocate the work item

See Work Optimiser for staff for how to reassign a work item to another staff member.

Is there an open Fast Note because there is a started debt activity on the deceased customer record?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 5

Payment Assurance Operations Debt Staff must action all started debt activities on the deceased customer record, including debt activities in region code XPT or categorised as:

• ZALL_DMN_XPT
• ZALL_PI_DEBT_XPT_P1/_P2/_P3.... /_P10

For all debt excluding XPT debts, if:

• no debt exists, finalise ‘no debt’ (FND), or
• a debt exists that meets the waiver criteria, waive the debt

Where there is a recoverable overpayment, or the debt is an XPT debt:

• finalise ‘no debt' (FND) the started debt activity using the reason code Multiple debt activities (MUL) so the death action can be updated
• in Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows to assess debt(s) 4 weeks after the customer’s death:
• Service Reason: DMN
• Review Reason: REV
• Due Date: 4 weeks after customer’s date of death. If 4 weeks has already passed, code 7 days from the date the debt is FND
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today’s date
• Notes: 'Debt investigation request.'
• Keyword 1: DTH
• Keyword 2: benefit type of the debt (such as JSP/FTB/CAR/AGE)
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: XWA
• the review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action
• clearly document the debt investigation and request that the debt activity for the deceased (and the surviving partner if applicable) be completed when the review is due. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Debt Raising > Debt Investigation-Debt staff only
• for debts under region code XPT (or categorised as ZALL_PI_DEBT_XPT_P1/_P2/_P3.... /_P10 include details of the WLM work type for the debt. For example, ZAL_PI_DEBT_P3). This information must be documented in the Fast Note

Where there is a no arrangement activity:

• manually code a Deceased Awaiting Estate (DDE) temporary write off for 4 weeks, see Temporary write off of Centrelink debts

Surviving Partner record (if applicable)

Held debt activities on the partners’ record do not prevent a death action from being completed.

Where the partner has an undetermined debt, do not finalise unless:

• no debt exists. See Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' debts that are not legally recoverable, or
• the debt will be waived

Where there is a recoverable overpayment:

• place the debt on hold until 4 weeks after the customer’s date of death. If 4 weeks has already passed, code 7 days from the date the debt is held
• when due, complete the debt activity as per normal debt raising processes

Note: once the death action has been coded, important debt investigation screens can no longer be viewed.

When all debt activities have been appropriately actioned on the deceased customer record (and surviving partner record if applicable):

• annotate the initial Fast Note noting debt activities actioned, and
• close the Fast Note

To notify that death action is required, check the office code in the initial Fast Note. For:

• office code MDC:
• use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Updates > Complete death action
• add keywords IQPDTH and RGNMDC
• transfer to office code MDC
• all other office codes:
• use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Updates > Complete death action

Procedure ends here until review becomes due.

If the:

• customer was entitled to the payment, manually finalise the debt as ‘no debt’ (FND). Procedure ends here
• debt is legally recoverable, and the excess payment was received:
• before the date of death, see Table 4, Step 1
• after the date of death, see Table 3, Step 1

Before requesting a refund, check the record to determine if a refund is appropriate. In some circumstances, it may be more appropriate to raise the debt. For example:

• where the executor has contacted Services Australia to request the debt be raised, or
• the customer passed away several months ago and it is clear the bank account is closed

If it is more appropriate to:

• raise the debt, see Table 4, Step 1
• proceed with a refund request, go to Step 2

Request a refund from the financial institution where a payment was made after the death of a customer.

If the request for refund relates to:

• a Child Care Subsidy (CCS) payment, go to Step 3
• a group payment made to an organisation, go to Step 4
• an international financial institution, go to Table 5 Confirmation of the death of an adult or child
• a Payment Nominee for the deceased customer, go to Step 5

For all other reviews and/or teams, go to Step 6.

Do not recall CCS payments from the Payment Summary (PS) screen.

See Reissue a payment at a customer's request.

Procedure ends here.

Record a negative adjustment against an organisation when a customer has:

• died, and an instalment of their pension has been paid to the organisation after their death, or
• been underpaid because of a payment being paid incorrectly to an organisation

Record these adjustments at any time during the pension fortnight.

The system will combine and deduct money due to the negative adjustment from the next group payment to the organisation.

Adjustments must be recorded against an organisation when a:

• customer leaves the organisation before a payment is made, and the organisation still receives the payment
• customer dies and the money is still paid
• group payment is made in error, or
• request for a refund from a group payment to an organisation is required following the death of a customer

For details on coding, see Reissuing a group payment paid to an organisation in error.

Procedure ends here.

Nominee arrangements cease on the date of death of the customer. Payments made to former payment nominees after a customer’s date of death should be actioned as an incorrect payment to a third party.

For incorrect payments made to a third party, see Actioning third party debts.

If the payment nominee was an organisation see Nominee organisations

Procedure ends here.

Do not undertake this process until 4 weeks have passed since the customer's death. An automatic advice is sent to the deceased estate.

When requesting a refund from the financial institution for all other reviews and/or teams:

• do not use the Request for Refund (RFR) process to recall part payments. Raise any debt shells for partial payments only
• request a refund from the financial institution before raising a debt if the overpayment includes at least one full Entitlement Period End Day's (EPED) payment

On the customer's record:

• go to the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• select the payment/s to be returned by keying 'F' next to the payment line
• press [Enter]

The RFR screen shows the refund details of the:

• payment type
• amount
• payment destination

Check the details to ensure the correct payment is being refunded.

• make sure the Reason for Refund field defaults to DCD (deceased)
• complete the Source and Date of Receipt (DOR) fields
• key 'Y' in the Finished? (Y/Q/N) field
• if the activity is to be Quality Online (QOL) checked, key 'Q' in the Finished? (Y/Q/N) field
• press [Enter]. The system displays the warning 'W030PL. If this is a deceased customer, code the DEA screen first'
• press [Enter]. On the PS screen, the payment displays the code RFR

Have any deductions been made from the customer's payment, or does the total overpayment include a partial payment?

• Yes, if there are any deductions:
• complete the Debt Investigation Fast Note and attach it to debt shell activity
• place the activity on hold for 28 days
• when the activity comes DUE, go to Step 7
• No, the undetermined debt should be manually finalised 'no debt' (FND). The system will create a new debt shell if financial institution does not return the payment after 28 days. Procedure ends here

Does the payment show on the PS screen as returned by the financial institution?

• Yes, and the payment was:
• returned in full within 28 days, procedure ends here
• returned in full after 28 days, the undetermined debt should be manually finalised 'no debt' (FND)
• returned in part, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 8

If the financial institution states the payment cannot be returned, the financial institution will advise if the payment/s:

• have already been withdrawn and give the name of the person who withdrew the payment (if known)
• have been redirected to another account and give the BSB, account number and the name of the person who redirected the payment (if known), or
• have been returned to Services Australia by cheque and give the cheque number
• cannot be returned for any other reason

If funds are not returned and was paid into a joint account, the joint account reverts to the surviving party. The debt should be finalised 'no debt' (FND) on the customer’s record and raised on the surviving party’s record, see General debt raising information.

If the financial institution claims to have returned the payment and the PS screen does not reflect this, see Recalled payments not received by Services Australia.

No action is required from the agency if money is sent to the customer’s correct account but was later withdrawn/transferred by a third party without authority, this needs to be pursued by the estate.

Investigate the debt if all or part of the payment is outstanding. See Table 4, Step 1.

Note: assess the gross amount received by the customer. Any deductions from the gross amount paid are a matter for the estate. Services Australia must recover the gross amount paid after death.

Was the payment incorrectly paid to a third party?

• Yes, see Actioning third party debts
• No, see Table 4, Step 1

Has the death been confirmed?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No:
• record the executor’s name, address, and contact details on the Death and executor information (DEA) screen in Process Direct or Death/Executor (DEA) screen in Customer First
• to notify that death action is required, use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Updates > Complete death action
• where possible, include the executor reference number, solicitor or Trustee details and any additional details given by the executor

Go to the Death and executor information (DEA) screen in Process Direct or Death/Executor (DEA) screen in Customer First to locate the date of death.

If 4 weeks have passed since the date of the customer's death, go to Step 3.

If 4 weeks have not passed since the date of the customer’s death and if determined debts exist:

• temporarily write off the debt(s) using reason code Deceased Awaiting Estate for 4 weeks from the date of death
• DOC the temporary writes off using the W/O Awaiting Estate Fast Note
• finalise any recovery activity on the Activity List (AL) screen
• a No Arrangement activity will generate and be allocated to an appropriately skilled staff member when the temporary write off expires

For manual reviews:

• confirm the information on the Debt Investigation DOC
• create a manual debt shell using the debt investigation details:
• do not finalise the debt shell prior to attempting contact with the executor

For undetermined debts:

• investigate the debt. See:
• Debt investigation
• Debt identification
• Calculating Centrelink entitlements and gathering information when investigating debts
• document the investigation clearly. Use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Debts > Debt Raising > Debt Investigation-Debt staff only

For debts due to payment made after death:

• the system will generate one debt activity for each RFR requested
• only raise and recover one debt with the gross amount paid
• all other debt activities relating to the RFR should be manually finalised 'no debt' (FND)

Note: the estate may be due a refund if both the estate and the financial institution have returned the payment(s). See Refunding debt repayments.

For determined debts:

• confirm details of any outstanding debts on record
• annotate the Debt Investigation DOC with the details

Go to Step 4.

Make genuine attempts to contact the executor prior to raising any undetermined debts. Do not discuss the debt until the executor is authenticated

Annotate the Debt Investigation DOC with the outcome of each contact attempt on the customer's record.

Authenticate the executor details with the information on the:

• Death and executor information (DEA) screen in Process Direct or Death/Executor (DEA) screen in Customer First
• Document Tools
• Document List (DL) screen
• state probate website (or probate advertisements for listed executors progressing probate), see links on the Resources page

Note:  staff do not need to request proof of executor status:

• where it has already been scanned to record, or
• where it has been recorded on a  DOC  that was sighted during the coding of Death/Executor (DEA) screen

An executor is acting on behalf of a deceased customer. If an executor can be located and authenticated prior to raising a debt, they must receive:

• an explanation of the debt/s and how it occurred
• an opportunity to provide further information
• an explanation of their review and appeal rights, where it is determined a debt will be raised. See First contact about a decision and the internal review process
• consideration of a waiver, and
• referral to internal or external support services (if appropriate). See Specialist officers and other internal supports for customers and Referral to external support services

If the executor cannot be located, attempt to contact a third party to obtain details of the executor. Third parties may include:

• next of kin
• funeral director
• person who notified Services Australia about the death
• State’s public trustee
• probate office where the estate’s probate has been lodged

If the executor details are unable to be located, raise the debt. Additional attempts to locate the executor will occur when recovery action takes place on the deceased customer’s record.

For Income Management (IM) customers, go to Step 6.

For all other customers, go to Step 5.

Raise the undetermined debt(s) manually. Complete the following:

• suppress the Account Payable letter on the Account Payable (OPAOD) screen
• if the executor is unknown:
• prepare a DRC to relative of deceased estate, executor unknown (Q464) letter
• prepare a DRC Advice of Account to executor (Q080) letter. Seal it in a separate envelope addressed to the executor and enclose it in the Q464's envelope
• send the letter to the Next of Kin or the deceased customer's last known address recorded at the time of death
• if the executor is known, issue a Q080 letter that captures all outstanding debt details on record (if possible)
• check that the manual advice has been issued on the Key Date (OPKD) screen

Procedure ends here.

Were the customer's payments being income managed at the time of their death and is the debt raised due to late notification of death?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, take recovery action. See Recovering debts from a deceased customer's estate

Only offset the debt with the funds paid incorrectly due to late notification of death. This means:

• funds are paid into the IM account after the customer's date of death
• funds are available in the IM account
• reason for debt is late notification of death

Are there any funds in the customer's IM account?

• Yes, send an email to the Income Management Payment and Contact Team (IMPACT). Request the team to offset the debt with the applicable amount of income managed funds. Procedure ends here
• No, recovery action will proceed. See Recovering debts from a deceased customer's estate. Procedure ends here

Do not proceed unless:

• the death action is complete
• the Request for Refund process is complete (requesting a refund from a financial institution), and
• a payment is received after death

Is the excess payment legally recoverable?

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

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, see Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' activities that are not legally recoverable. Procedure ends here

Has the cheque been returned?

• Yes:
• process the returned payment
• finalise the debt activity as 'no debt'. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

Has the cheque been cashed?

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

Note: for help, contact the Cash Management Team.

Did an authorised representative of the deceased customer cash the cheque?

• Yes, raise the debt against the estate. See Table 4, Step 1
• No, see Table 3, Step 8

Note: for help, contact the Cash Management Team.

See Treasury – Cheques index.

Finalise the debt activity as 'no debt'.