Change of circumstances for Dad and Partner Pay (DAP) 007-05040030

Change in circumstances can be advised before or after the DAP period nominated start date, however customers must notify a change in circumstances for DAP as soon as possible. For a change in circumstances to be recorded the customer must have submitted a DAP claim and the claim status must be either PAY, ASS/PND or NCL.

Customers may contact to advise a change in circumstances online, by phone or in person. Encourage customers to update their tax rate, date of birth or entry into care, care arrangements and work/leave details online.

Note: Claims with a status of DAP/NCL can only be updated by a Service Officer.

For claims with a DAP/REJ or DAP/NEF status, see Not effective, rejection or withdrawal of claim for Dad and Partner Pay (DAP).

Those who have claimed or been paid DAP may contact to update 1 or more of the following:

• the nominated tax rate (prior to payment of DAP), see Item 3
• details of work or paid leave during the DAP period, see Item 4
• the DAP period nominated start date, see Item 5
• details about having care of a child for DAP purposes, see Item 6
• DAP income test details, see Item 6
• DAP work test details, see Item 6
• expected date of birth or entry into care, see Table 2, Item 2
• If allocated a Fast Note/Handoff or Work Item regarding a change in circumstances for a DAP customer, see Item 2
• If an online update is not auto-finalised:
• customers will receive the message 'Your update was not able to be completed. Your information has been saved and a Service Officer will complete the update', and
• the Work Item will be allocated in Customer First. For DAP trained staff to action the Work Item, see Item 2

Fast Note/Handoff received

Upon receipt of a handoff relating to a DAP claim that has not yet been assessed, process the DAP claim based on the new information provided. See Assessing Dad and Partner Pay (DAP) claims.

If the claim cannot be processed, create or annotate a progress DOC to include the changed information and place the claim on hold for the required timeframe.

To change the nominated start date after DAP has been paid, see Item 4, Table 2.

Work Item received

A DAP Change of Circumstances (CoC) activity can generate when:

• a customer
• updates their circumstances online but the update is unsuccessful
• accesses the online service and no updates are made but it is submitted by the customer
• a Service Officer starts a DAP Change of Circumstance and doesn't complete the change

All DAP CoC work items are actioned in Customer First.

There are two different work item types that could be allocated for manual completion:

• ZIAM_FCC_REA
• ZCOC_ZDAP

The work items may be duplicated, therefore it is important to check for and complete both the:

• Integrated System (ISIS) activity (viewable via Activity List (AL) screen), and
• any associated Customer First SAP Interaction Record/s

If a DAP circumstance guided procedure is started and not complete, the activity often updates to 'in process' to continue to action the Change of Circumstances (CoC) interaction activity.

Change the activity back to 'in draft' to enable updates, and finalise the activity.

Online updates that do not auto-finalise will be allocated via a Work Item with ID ZCOC ZDAP (Family Related Change of Circumstance). See Workload Management.

Check information about the online update in the Notes section. Any urgent information or errors will appear at the bottom of this section.

If details have been updated online and have not been finalised, additional required action is detailed in the Staff Tasks section. The relevant guided procedure must be used to finalise these tasks:

• Changing payment destination
• Changing address (CLK)
• Changing relationship status, dependent child or family details
• Change to their level of care of a child

Once all Staff Tasks are completed, finalise the Work Item by changing the status from Completed to Finalised.

• Scroll to the top of the Work Item information screen and select Save
• Confirm changes applied successfully. A green tick will appear towards the top right hand corner of the screen
• Select Cancel to exit Edit mode, or Back to go to the Inbox

DAP has a default tax rate of 15% automatically applied. Customers can nominate a different rate of tax between 0 - 50%, however the changes can only be applied prior to the nominated start date (NSD). If a customer contacts after their nominated start date (NSD), changes to their tax rate cannot be made.

Is the customer contacting to change their nominated tax rate before their nominated start date?

• Yes, see Managing Australian Taxation Office (ATO) tax deductions
• No, advise the customer changes to their tax rate cannot be made as their DAP payment has already been paid. Procedure ends here

DAP customer must be:

• on unpaid leave and
• not working for each day in the DAP period

The customer may still be eligible for the DAP period if they have returned to work for an allowable exception reason or for a permissible purpose.

Is the customer advising they worked or will work for an allowable exception reason or permissible purpose during their DAP period?

• Yes, the customer is still eligible for the DAP period. To record the details, see Table 2, Item 4
• No, as the customer will be performing qualifying work or receiving paid leave during their DAP period they are not eligible for DAP
• Discuss whether there is another period where the customer will not be working or taking paid leave
• If it is determined the customer is eligible to DAP for another period, recommend they change their nominated start date, see Item 5

Customers can change their nominated start date (NSD) prior to or after the DAP period. Changes to a DAP nominated start date may result in a reassessment of the customer's eligibility.

If the customer is providing a new nominated start date (NSD):

• complete the abridged eligibility test before changing the NSD for DAP. This is to confirm they will meet the eligibility requirements in their new DAP period
• check if the new DAP period is in a different financial year and ensure the customer provides the new DAP income details

If the customer is contacting to change their nominated start date and the DAP status is:

• DAP/NCL (new claim) has not been completed, see Table 2, Item 1
• DAP/ASS (assessed) or DAP/PND (pending), see Table 2, Item 2
• DAP has already been paid and new nominated DAP period has been provided, see Table 2, Item 3

If the customer advises a change in circumstances that affects their eligibility for DAP during their DAP period and the change in circumstance results in the customer receiving a reduced DAP period or becoming ineligible for DAP, discuss whether there is another period where they meet the eligibility requirements for DAP.

Changes that can result in a change in eligibility can include:

• changes to the care they are providing for their child, or
• working or paid leave during their DAP period and an exception does not apply,
• changes to the income estimate, or
• no longer meets the DAP work test

Complete the abridged eligibility test to confirm they will meet the eligibility requirements in the new DAP period. If the customer is eligible to DAP for another period recommend they change their nominated start date.

Customers who are eligible for DAP for another period and are able to change the nominated start date

If their DAP benefit status is:

• NCL (new claim) that has not been completed, the change in circumstances can be completed as part of the claim processing. See Table 2, Item 1
• ASS (assessed) or PND (pending), see Table 2, Item 2
• PAY (paid), DAP has already been paid and new nominated DAP period has been provided, see Table 2, Item 3

Customers who are not eligible for DAP for another period or they are unable to change their nominated start date

Customers who do not have another eligible DAP period will have their claim rejected, e.g. they now fail the work test, income test.

If their DAP benefit status is:

• PAY (paid), ASS (assessed) or PND (pending), see Table 2, Item 2
• NCL (new claim) that has not been completed, the change in circumstances can be completed as part of the claim processing. See Processing DAP online and assisted customer claims

Service Officers not trained in DAP claim processing

If the abridged eligibility test:

• has been completed and all details are in a Progress DOC, handoff to a trained Service Officer. Use Fast Note. In Customer First, select Auto Text - use Families > Updates > Change of Circs DAP action required
• has not been completed, complete it. Include all details in a Progress DOC. Handoff to a trained Service Officer using Fast Note. In Customer First, select Auto Text - use Families > Updates > Change of Circs DAP action required

FCC processing staff

Before actioning the change in circumstance or changing the customer's nominated start date for DAP, check if the abridged eligibility test has been completed to confirm the customer will meet the eligibility requirements in the new DAP period.

If the:

• customer wants to change any information they advised in their DAP claim and the claim can be completed, the change in circumstances can be completed as part of DAP claim processing
• relevant financial year has changed, update the PPL Income Details (P1INC) screen with the updated income estimate within the new claim

Procedure ends here.

Before finalising a change in circumstance, if the change results in a new start date being nominated for DAP, the abridged eligibility test must have been completed to confirm the customer will still meet the eligibility requirements in the new DAP period.

Customers who do not meet the abridged eligibility test will have their claim rejected, e.g. they now fail the work test, income test. Record the relevant change in circumstances so the claim rejects for the appropriate reason.

Run the DAP Circumstances guided procedure In Customer First to update the change:

• Launch the DAP circumstances guided procedure
• Select the relevant claim from Claim Selection to go to the Claim Summary
• Select Next
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector. This displays all circumstance tasks that can be updated. Select the appropriate task/s:
• Claim details: expected date of birth or care date (pre-birth claims only), change DAP start date. Note: if the child's expected date of birth or adoption is on or after 1 July 2023, advise the customer they may prefer to claim PPL after their child is born or comes into care instead. If the child's actual date of birth or adoption is on or after 1 July 2023, the DAP claim will be rejected once proof of birth/entry to care is provided. The rejection letter will invite the customer to claim PPL
• DAP Income: DAP income estimate, view Financial year ending and Adjusted taxable income
• Work details: view work history test, view or update return to work, including paid leave or record a return to work exception
  Note: the return to work exception reason 'Essential worker responding to state, territory or national emergency' can only be recorded if the customer returned to work on or after 12 March 2020
• Advise child not in care: update child in care details
• Select the Launch Staff Task icon
• On the Activity Details screen:
• Select the Staff Tasks tab to display tasks based on the selections made on the Task Selector
• If a relevant task is not displayed, select Back to return to the Task Selector
• Select the hyperlink for each task. Once inside the task, use the New button to update the change in circumstances:
• Claim details: The Dad and Partner pay period start date to update with a new start date. The question 'Child was/will be in care every day between <date A and date B> will default to Yes. If the customer has advised they will not have care of the child for all days, select No. This will allow the first date the child was not in the customer's care to be recorded. To update a field, select and key the changed details or use the calendar function. Once updated select Finish
• Work details: update return to work details, including paid leave or record a return to work exception. Once updated select Finish
• DAP Income: DAP income estimate can be updated once the DAP status is ASS (assessed) or PND (pending)
• Advise child not in care: update child in care details
• If necessary, manually change the status of workflows to Required or Not Required. This should only be done if the status of the staff workflow is preventing the claim from being processed
• Select the icon in the Change Status column in Staff Workflows
• This will change the status to Required or Not required
• Once all updates are made, to complete the DAP Circumstances guided procedure, run the Finalisation guided procedure from Staff Tasks
• Continue to navigate through screens by selecting 'Next' until on the Finalisation page, check the expected outcome on the AR is correct. Once updated select finalisation and Finish
• If the activity has not auto completed, select the activity from the Activity List (AL) screen and finalise on the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Updates > Change of Circs > DAP/PPL to record all details of the update
• Advise the customer of the change in circumstances outcome
• A letter will be issued advising the change and outcome

If the DAP Circumstances guided procedure has been started, but the Service Officer determines it is no longer required (based on customer conversation) within the Change of Circumstance interaction:

• select the Edit icon, and
• update the status to Cancelled

This ensures the started interaction record is completed.

Procedure ends here.

Before finalising a change in circumstance for a customer who has already been paid DAP and if the change results in a new start date being nominated for DAP, the abridged eligibility test must have been completed to confirm the customer will still meet the eligibility requirements in the new DAP period.

Customers who do not have another eligible DAP period will have their claim rejected, e.g. they now fail the work test, income test etc. Record the relevant change in circumstances so the claim rejects for the appropriate reason. Run the DAP Circumstances guided procedure In Customer First to update the change See Item 4.

• If the customer has provided a new nominated start date (NSD), check if the new DAP period is in a different financial year and ensure the customer provides the new DAP income details
• The original DAP claim must be manually rejected reason 'OTH' before a new claim can be indexed and assessed. If a debt is raising as part of the activity, when the rejection activity is finalised a debt shell will automatically be created and allocated to the appropriate debt team for investigation. Check region code for Processing Services details for: Debt Raising
• The original DAP claim can then be re-indexed. See Not effective, rejection or withdrawal of claim for Dad and Partner Pay (DAP) > Table 3 Item 5 for re-indexing of a previously rejected post and pre-birth DAP claims
• The date of receipt (DOR) is the date the customer requested the change in circumstances
• For information on how to change the DOR for reindexed post birth claims see Pre-processing checks for standalone and combined claims for family assistance and/or Paid Parental Leave payments
• Ensure the record is documented with the change

Non-FCC processing staff

Once the claim has been reindexed or a new claim activity has been created using the ACC, the activity will be allocated by WLM to Families processing staff to process. Procedure ends here.

FCC processing staff

• If the change in circumstances results in the Nominated Start Date changing to a future date, finalise the claim and advise the customer of the overpayment that will be raised for the previously paid DAP payment:
• Use Fast Note. Select Auto Text > Debts > Debt Raising > Debt Raising ACTion DOC Request
• Add the details to the DOC including the AMR number, the Debt ID and the reason why the debt needs to be raised
• If the change in circumstances results in the Nominated Start Date changing to a past date, before finalising the activity, check if an overpayment for the previous DAP period for the child is on the overpayment debt list (OPDL) screen

If the debt:

• has not been repaid, then the DAP arrears on the One Off Payment (OOP) screen must be adjusted accordingly to recover the debt as the customer has already been paid their DAP entitlement
• has been repaid, then the DAP arrears are to be released:
• In Customer First, on the AR select 'Dad and Partner Pay' from the right hand side menu bar and select 'One Off Payment' (OOP). Adjust the amount followed by a reason for the change (OTH)
• In Process Direct, on the ELD screen go to the OOP screen and adjust the amount followed by a reason for the change (OTH). Then select Update from the bottom of the screen followed by Finish or navigating back to the ELD screen to check the update has applied successfully
• Use Fast Note. Select Auto Text. Use Debts > Debt Raising > Debt Raising ACTion DOC Request. Add the details to the DOC including the AMR number, the Debt ID and the reason why the debt needs to be zeroed. Send to the debt team to advise that the debt is to be adjusted to finalise no debt 'FND'
• DOC the customer record stating the change in circumstance and reason for rejecting the original claim. If required, send a Q999 detailing the outcome. See the Resources page for an example
• The initial claim can be re-indexed. See Not effective, rejection or withdrawal of claim for Dad and Partner Pay (DAP) for re-indexing previously rejected post and pre-birth DAP claims. The date of receipt (DOR) is the date they requested the new nominated DAP start date. See Pre-processing checks for standalone and combined claims for family assistance and/or Paid Parental Leave payments for information on how to change the DOR for reindexed post birth claims

If the customer is not entitled to the equivalent DAP payment that was paid in the previous DAP period for example the customer received:

• the full DAP period initially and the new DAP period is only for 7 days, they will have an overpayment for the difference
• 7 days of DAP in the initial period and now they are eligible to full DAP period, the amount on the OOP screen will need to be adjusted accordingly

Procedure ends here.

Run the DAP circumstances guided procedure In Customer First to update the change.

• Discuss the change
• Launch the DAP circumstances guided procedure
• Select the relevant claim if prompted to go to the Claim Summary. This displays circumstance information that can be updated
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector. This displays all circumstance tasks that can be updated. Select the appropriate task/s:
• Claim details: expected date of birth or care date (pre-birth claims only). Note: if the child's expected date of birth or adoption is on or after 1 July 2023, advise the customer they may prefer to claim PPL after their child is born or comes into care instead. If the child's actual date of birth or adoption is on or after 1 July 2023, the DAP claim will be rejected once proof of birth/entry to care is provided. The rejection letter will invite the customer to claim PPL
• DAP Income: DAP income estimate, can be updated once the DAP status is ASS (assessed) or PND (pending)
• Work details: view work history test, view or update return to work, including paid leave or record a return to work exception
  Note: the return to work exception reason 'Essential worker responding to state, territory or national emergency' can only be recorded if the customer returned to work on or after 12 March 2020. For claims requiring a return to work exception prior to 12 March 2020, code the Paid Parental Leave Exemption (P1EX) screen using the exemption reason as DWO –-Disregard Work. The P1EX screen is not to be used for coding the DWO exception after 12 March 2020
• Advise child not in care: update child in care details
• Select the Launch Staff Task icon
• On the Activity Details screen:
• Select the Staff Tasks tab. The Staff Tasks will be displayed based on the selections made on the Task Selector
• If a relevant task is not displayed, select Back to return to the Task Selector
• Select the hyperlink for each task. Once inside the task, use the New button to update the change in circumstances. To update a field, select and key the changed details or use the calendar function
• If necessary, manually change the status of workflows to Completed, Required or Not Required. This should only be done if the status of the staff workflow is preventing the claim from being processed
• Select the Icon in the Change Status column in Staff Workflows. This will not change the status to Completed, Required or Not required
• If the change is resulting in a favourable outcome for the customer, check that the customer's nominated DAP tax rate is applied within the activity. For more information on how to update ATO tax deductions see Managing Australian Taxation Office (ATO) tax deductions
• Once all updates are made, to complete the DAP circumstances guided procedure, run the Finalisation guided procedure from Staff Tasks
• If the activity has not auto completed, select the activity from the Activity List (AL) screen and finalise on the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Updates > Change of Circs > DAP/PPL to record all details of the update
• Advise the customer of the change in circumstances outcome
• A letter will be issued advising the change and outcome

Note: where the DAP Circumstances guided procedure has been started, but the Service Officer determines it is no longer required (based on customer conversation):

• select the Edit icon, and
• update the status to Cancelled

This ensures the started interaction record is completed.

A 2 year limiting date ensures reassessments of older DAP claims do not automatically apply a retrospective change to a customer's record. These changes must be manually coded.

Is the customer notifying a retrospective change in circumstances for a DAP child whose date of birth or entry into care is more than 2 years from today's date?

• Yes, see Item 5
• No, procedure ends here

For a change in circumstance for a DAP claim where the child's date of birth or entry into care is more than 3 years in the past.

The system will only apply the reassessment on the DAP child if the user is selecting the applicable DAP child and the relevant DAP claim (e.g. when a retrospective change in circumstances needs to be coded).

Once the relevant updates have been coded on the customer's record, manually code the reassessment.

To manually code a reassessment, within Customer First select the Claim Contacts > Paid Parental Leave Claim summary option.

The PPL Claim Summary (P1CS) screen will display with the current DAP claim information. Code an 'A' to navigate to the PPL Claim Action (P1CA) screen to key the reassessment details

On the P1CA screen key the fields:

• Action: select REA (reassessment)
• Reason: no reason is required to perform this action
• Effect Date: the Date of Effect of the changes to the DAP claim
• Notes: outline the relevant details for the cancellation

Check details before finalising activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen.

Record details on a DOC.