Temporary write off of Centrelink debts 107-05130010

Code

List of codes

A - Z

BRP, BRT, DAC, DDE, DIS, DOS, IRT, NCE, NLS, ORA, OSA, POC, PRI, STH, TAX, WUN

Code

Description

BRP

Bankruptcy Pending

Use BRP when Services Australia receives:

• Declaration of Intention (DOI), or
• Debt Agreement proposal

Replace the code when bankruptcy, insolvency or a debt agreement is active.

This code is valid for individuals and organisations.

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period:
• Declaration of Intention (DOI) - 28 days
• Debt Agreement Proposal - 2 months
• Default end date: 2 months
• Maximum end date: 12 months
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: Yes

BRT

Bankruptcy Awaiting Estate

Use BRT when Services Australia receives notification that a customer is bankrupt and the debt is covered by the bankruptcy.

During this time, recovery of the debt will only occur by bankruptcy dividends.

Replace the code with a permanent write off once bankruptcy has ended. If the debt was due to fraud, restart recovery.

For more information, see What to do when a customer is bankrupt.

This code is only valid for individuals. For organisations, see IRT Insolvency - Temporary.

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period: Defined period of bankruptcy
• Default end date: 3 years
• Maximum end date: 6 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: No
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: Yes

DAC

Debt Arrangement - Current

Use DAC when a customer has a current:

• Debt Agreement, or
• Personal Insolvency Agreement. See What to do with Bankruptcy Act Part IX Debt Arrangements and Bankruptcy Act Part X Personal Insolvency Agreements (PIAs)

Details for DAC code:

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period: Defined period of agreement
• Default end date: 3 years
• Maximum end date: 5 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: No
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

DDE

Deceased Awaiting Estate

Use DDE when:

• awaiting settlement of a customer's estate, and
• no arrangement has been made with the executor

Follow the processes in Recovering debts from a deceased customer's estate.

• Debt ID specific: No
• Write off period: Until executor can determine payment arrangement from the estate
• Default end date: 2 months
• Maximum end date: 12 months
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: No
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

DIS

Disaster temporary write off (pause)

Use DIS when a customer is affected by a declared disaster event or has been granted a Crisis Payment in the last 14 days.

• Debt ID specific: No
• Write off period: Expected period of hardship caused by disaster event
• Default end date: 13 weeks
• Maximum end date: 6 months
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: No
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

DOS

Overseas

Use DOS when a customer has:

• left Australia
• no payment arrangement in place, and
• pursuing recovery is not cost effective

For actions to take before applying a write off, see General Centrelink debt recovery information.

Remove the code once the customer returns to Australia.

Continue to recover debt from overseas when possible. Some actions may become less cost effective. For international calls, see Calling a customer or returning a customer's call.

• Debt ID specific: No
• Write off period: Until expected return date
• Default end date: 12 months
• Maximum end date: 12 months
• Repayment restarts recovery: Yes
• Automatic withholdings: Yes
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: Yes
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

IRT

Insolvency - Temporary (Organisations)

Use IRT when an organisation is insolvent and Services Australia is waiting for dividends. Apply a Permanent write off if:

• no dividends are expected, and
• pursuit due to fraud is not applicable

Details for IRT code:

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period: Defined period of insolvency
• Default end date: 3 years
• Maximum end date: 6 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

NCE

Not Cost Effective

Use NCE when it is not cost effective to recover the debt. See Cost effectiveness when recovering debts.

• Debt ID specific: No
• Write off period: 6 years
• Default end date: 6 years
• Maximum end date: 6 years
• Recovery restarts repayment: Yes
• Automatic withholdings: Yes
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: Yes
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

NLS

Non-Lodger Separated

Use NLS where a debt relates solely to the ex-partner not lodging a tax return. The system will apply this using information from the screens:

• Marital Status (MS)
• FAO Non-Lodger Details (FNLD)

See Previous partners and Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Benefit (CCB) reconciliation.

When the ex-partner lodges a tax return, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) notifies Services Australia. Reconciliation takes place again. The system removes the write off if the:

• ex-partner lodges their tax return with the ATO, or
• customer's partnership recommences

See Australian Taxation Office (ATO) information not received for family assistance reconciliation or lump sum claim.

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period: 6 years
• Default end date: 6 years
• Maximum end date: 6 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: No
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

ORA

Outcome of Review/Appeal

Use ORA when the customer requests a pause of recovery while waiting for the outcome of an internal or external review. This is available for debts during:

• an explanation provided by a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
• a formal review by an Authorised Review Officer (ARO)
• a first review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), or
• a second review by the AAT only if:
• an officer from the Legal Services Division representing Services Australia in proceedings makes a request to pause recovery for a defined period, or
• the agency is issued with a Stay Order by the AAT

See Recovery of debts pending a reassessment, explanation or review of decision.

Payment Assurance Operations may use this write off code for specific debt investigations, such as fixing system issues.

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period:
• Stay Order - Defined period of stay order
• On Debt Program - As advised by Debt Program
• Review: 6 months for all debts
• Default end date: 1 year
• Maximum end date: 6 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: No
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Display on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: Yes

OSA

Overseas Review/Appeal

Only International Services (CIS) can use the OSA code for a review of a Ministry of Social Development (MSD) debt.

Services Australia recovers NZL debts on behalf of New Zealand.

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period: As determined by CIS
• Default end date: 5 years
• Maximum end date: 5 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: Yes
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: No
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: Yes

POC

Proceeds of crime

Do not apply POC write off unless directed by Legal Services Division.

Apply a POC write off while Proceeds of Crime is under investigation.

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period: As directed by Legal Services Division
• Default end date: 12 months
• Maximum end date: 6 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): No
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: No
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: No
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

PRI

In Prison

Use PRI when a customer is in prison and they have no capacity to pay.

When a customer is released from prison, a 28-day short-term hardship write off may be applied. Apply these actions by bulk action script via data matching. If bulk action script continues to action a record incorrectly, send an email to Debt and Compensation Recovery with:

• Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• an explanation of the correct action to take

Details for PRI code:

• Debt ID specific: No
• Write off period: Until expected release date
• Default end date: 12 months
• Maximum end date: 5 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: Yes
• Automatic withholdings: Yes
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: Yes

STH

Short Term Hardship

Use STH in circumstances where recovery would:

• put a customer into hardship, or
• increase a customer's hardship

If recovery would not have these effects, do not apply a short-term hardship write off. See Negotiation of debt repayments with customers.

Financial Hardship

Consider write off if:

• the customer does not have any excess income, or
• recovery could put a customer into financial hardship

Assess the customer's financial situation. Apply write off to give them time to reorganise their finances before discussing a suitable payment arrangement.

Review history of short term hardship to determine if maximum write off period has been exhausted.

Prison Release

After prison releases a customer, pause recovery of a debt for 28 days. Service Officers in Face to Face Incarcerated Customer Servicing Team have access to the Debt Recovery script to action the temporary write off. If a prison write off is removed by bulk action script, the 28 days may commence from the date the write off is removed.

Immigration Detainees

Pause recovery of a debt as long as the customer is confined.

Customers staying in a medical facility

Pause recovery of a debt while a customer is staying in a:

• rehabilitation facility
• hospital
• aged care facility
• mental health institution, or
• similar facility

Obtain the length of stay and write the debt off for that period.

Family and Domestic Violence, customers talking about suicide or self-harm, and other circumstances

Debt Staff may consider pausing recovery of a debt using the write off reason STH. The period of the pause depends on the customer's circumstance, and cannot be for more than 12 months.

FTB top-up, lump sums and arrears payments

A manual exclusion will exempt recovery, where special circumstances exist. Users with specific delegation access (DMISAO via ISP) can view, add, extend and end manual recovery exclusions via the Recovery Exclusion Details (OPEXD) screens, see Debt offsetting during family assistance reassessment, reconciliation and claim processing.

Details for STH code:

• Debt ID specific: No
• Write off period: Expected period of hardship
• Default end date: 3 months
• Maximum end date: 12 months
• Repayment restarts recovery: No
• Automatic withholdings: No
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: Yes

TAX

Exclude from Tax Garnishee Process

TAX code is not a write off but is an administrative way to exclude debts from the tax garnishee process.

Customers are subject to garnishee if they have other debts that meet business rules for Services Australia to recover via the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This includes:

• refunds, or
• credits

See Tax garnishees to recover debts.

• Debt ID specific: Yes
• Write off period: 12 months
• Default end date: 12 months
• Maximum end date: 12 months
• Repayment restarts recovery: Yes
• Automatic withholdings: Yes
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: No
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No

WUN

Whereabouts unknown

Before pausing a debt for an overseas customer, see the Process page in General Centrelink debt recovery information.

Use WUN when Services Australia has taken reasonable effort to locate a non-current individual customer and if:

• they cannot be located, and
• all contact details have been ended

See:

• Updating telephone details and/or paying Telephone Allowance (TAL), and
• Updating address details

If an organisation is insolvent or closed, see IRT Insolvency - Temporary.

Once a customer is located, restart the recovery of the debt. Updates can occur if the customer:

• updates details online
• provides details to the agency, such as a new claim form

Details for WUN code:

• Debt ID specific: No
• Write off period: 6 years
• Default end date: 6 years
• Maximum end date: 6 years
• Repayment restarts recovery: Yes
• Automatic withholdings: Yes
• Automatic FTB offsetting (including ATO tax refund): Yes
• Automatic recovery of FTB instalment arrears: Yes
• Automatic tax garnishee: Yes
• Displayed on Money You Owe: Yes
• Debt due date extended if only informal account payable issued: No