Initial contact by customers claiming Double Orphan Pension (DOP) 007-01010050

Customers may be eligible for DOP if the child’s parents or adoptive parents have both died, or where one parent has died and the other parent is:

• in prison for at least 10 years
• in custody and could be sentenced to 10 years’ incarceration
• in a psychiatric institution or nursing home for an indefinite period
• unable to be located, or their whereabouts are unknown

Customers need to have claimed Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for the child to be eligible for DOP. If the customer has yet to submit a claim for FTB, Service Officers should advise them to do so.

See Eligibility and coding claims for Double Orphan Pension (DOP).

A DOP child must meet FTB child requirements.

DOP can also be paid to an Approved Care Organisation (ACO) rather than an individual. See Double Orphan Pension (DOP) claims made by Approved Care Organisations (ACOs).

Some customers may be eligible for an additional DOP component. This is calculated when there is a difference between the current carer's and previous carer's FTB Part A legislative rates.

DOP cannot be paid for a young person who is:

• receiving a pension under the Veteran’s Entitlement Act, or
• getting an Orphan Pension from Department of Veterans Affairs

Customers must submit a Claim for Double Orphan Pension (SC003). All relevant questions on the claim should be answered and the claim must be signed by the customer.

All contact from customer’s or their representatives in relation to DOP new claims, must be documented on their record. If the SC003 is lodged within 14 days of the first contact date, the customer may be eligible to have their DOP backdated to that first contact. See Intent to claim and vulnerable customers for further information.

When claiming DOP, the customer needs to provide:

• Proof of the child's birth (if not already provided), and
• Evidence that the child is a DOP child

If supporting a customer to complete the DOP claim form, Service Officers must not underline, make any notations or comments of any sort on a claim form. These must be made on a separate sheet of paper and attached to the customer’s claim form if required.

DOP can be backdated to the day of qualification if the customer makes a claim within 13 weeks of the:

• birth of the child, or
• death of the person receiving DOP for the child

DOP and Bereavement Smart Centre Processing staff complete all processing for DOP claims.

The Resources page contains links to the Services Australia website, relevant claim forms for DOP and contact details for the Bereavement/Double Orphan Pension helpdesk.