Mandatory continuous adjustment of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) 007-07060030

MCA applies to FTB instalment customers only if a potential overpayment is identified when the customer's current financial income is revised, such as:

• when recording a revised family income estimate (the Family Income and Choices workflow will show the continuous adjustment calculation)
• when estimated annual maintenance income is recalculated, per child support entitlement or disbursement data transferred from Child Support, or when recording actual maintenance income details advised by the customer

To see the effect of the income or maintenance update on the customer's ongoing FTB rate:

Process Direct:

• Go to the Family Tax Benefit mandatory continuous adjustment (FTBMCA) screen complete the following:
• Activity: choose activity types to review
• Financial year: select the relevant financial year
• Select Search

Customer First: Select Family assistance > Family Tax Benefit mandatory continuous adjustment

The following information in regards to the customer's FTB will be available:

• their legislative rate
• adjusted rate
• current year-to-date deductions
• the potential overpayment
• the date and activity numbers that have triggered the changes

Historical data can be viewed on the FTB Continuous Adjustment Explanation Summary (FCAES) screen.

The FTB Notional Explanation (REXFTBC) screen will show any fortnightly reduction due to MCA.

The Resources page contains a link to a user guide which may assist in determining MCA.

Is FTB rate reduced by MCA?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, check the customer's income estimate is reasonable and they are aware of payment choices to reduce the risk of overpayment. Use the Family Income and Choices workflow in Customer First, if the customer wishes to update their estimate or payment choice. Procedure ends here

Check the customer's income estimate is reasonable and they are aware of their FTB payment choices to reduce the risk of overpayment. Use the Family Income and Choices workflow in Customer First if the customer wishes to update their estimate or payment choice.

If a customer claims an income support payment and an FTB MCA is in effect, it may be beneficial for the customer to provide a revised estimate in order to recalculate any amount withheld due to a continuous adjustment. The revised estimate must be reasonable.

Customers whose FTB rate has been reduced due to a change in child support income from Child Support may wish to change the way their maintenance income is assessed.

Advise the customer their correct FTB rate will be calculated during the FTB reconciliation process after the end of the financial year. FTB supplements and any Single Income Family Supplement will be included at that time and any extra FTB will be paid if entitled.

Record details of the conversation with the customer on a DOC.

Switching MCA deduction off

The MCA assessment process can only be manually switched off if it has not been correctly applied to the customer's rate of FTB. In most cases the MCA will have been applied correctly and cannot be switched off.

MCA applied later in the financial year can have a greater impact on fortnightly payments of FTB received as there are fewer days left in the financial year to recover potential overpayments

Before requesting approval to the Families and Childcare Level 2 Policy Helpdesk to have the MCA switched off, ensure the record has been thoroughly investigated. Service Officers are required to have consulted with their Local Peer Support (LPS) or Service Support Officer (SSO) prior to escalation.

Service Officers must either go to the FTBMCA screen in Process Direct or run the Family Tax Benefit mandatory continuous adjustment guided procedure in Customer First. This will provide all information relating to the activity that prompted MCA to be switched on. Clicking the twisty against the relevant activity and steps will assist in determining why MCA was applied.

The Resources page contains a link to a user guide which may assist in determining MCA.

If a Service Officer believes MCA has been applied incorrectly, they must undertake the following procedure:

Refer to the local LPS. Where the LPS determines MCA has been incorrectly applied, they are to escalate this enquiry to their Service Support Officer (SSO), using the Direct Referral to SSO webform, located under Intranet Links on the Resources page. The SSO will refer the case to either mySupport or the Families and Childcare Helpdesk, depending on the reason MCA has been applied incorrectly.

Contact the Technical Support Line for assistance. If the LPS requires further assistance, see Tier 0 technical support - self-sufficiency.

Has MCA been incorrectly applied?

• Yes, and this is due to:
• a system issue, go to Step 5
• incorrect coding or child support changes, go to Step 6
• No, record details of the conversation in a Note/DOC. Note: there are no hardship provisions if the MCA has been applied correctly. These cases should not be referred to the Helpdesk. Procedure ends here

If a system issue has been identified where MCA has been applied or is assessing incorrectly:

• Refer the case to mySupport
• See the Resources page for a link to mySupport
• Procedure ends here

If MCA is not being correctly applied to a customer's FTB rate due to either incorrect coding or child support changes, a manual override is required to turn off MCA calculations. Ensure evidence of any investigation is provided, including any screens accessed. Cases should only be referred to Level 2 Policy Helpdesk where the investigation has determined the application of MCA is incorrect.

A manual override can only be completed by a Families override contact following approval from the Families and Childcare Level 2 Policy Helpdesk.

See the Resources page for a link to the Helpdesk Online Query form.

The Service Support Officer will refer the case to the Families and Childcare Helpdesk.

Refer the case to the Families and Childcare Helpdesk with all details of the incorrect application.

Once approval has been received from the Families and Childcare Level 2 Policy Helpdesk, forward it to the Families Override Contacts.

For Families Override Officers only

MCA can be switched off by the Families override contacts only after approval is received from the Families and Childcare Helpdesk.

Process Direct

• Go to the Mandatory Continuous Adjustment Override (MCAOVR) screen:
• Select Add
• Update the following:
• Override Type: OFF. This is a customer level override that applies to the current activity and all subsequent activities during a specified period. MCA calculations can still be viewed however no further MCA deductions will be made until the end of the financial year or the end of the override.
• FFA, PFA are an activity level override applied for a specified activity only. MCA calculations will automatically be applied to subsequent activities
• If Override Type: is OFF - MCA coded for specific period of time record a Start date and End date
• Select Save
• Update the Receipt Date and Channel fields, select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings
• Select Finish
• Record details of the update
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction

Customer First

On the Mandatory Continuous Adjustment Override (!MCAOVR) screen, select the Override Type option:

• Customer level override applies to the current activity and all subsequent activities during a specified period. MCA calculations can still be viewed however no further MCA deductions will be made until the end of the financial year or the end of the override:
• To code a customer level override, select the 'Prevent Mandatory Continuous Adjustment for a period of time' option from the 'What kind of Mandatory Continuous Adjustment override do you want?' drop down list
• Financial Year field: select the financial year the override needs to apply for
• Override Start Date: enter the date the override will take effect from. This date must be in the same financial year selected and within the customer's current entitlement period
• Override End Date field: enter the date the override will stop. Generally this will be 30 June of the financial year selected
• Insert any relevant notes into the Activity Notes, these will remain on the !MCAOVR screen for future reference
• Complete the Source: and Receipt Date: fields
• Select Add then Continue
• Activity level override is applied for a specified activity only. MCA calculations will automatically be applied to subsequent activities.
• Within the started activity, on the !MCAOVR screen select the 'Prevent/Force Mandatory Continuous Adjustment for this current activity' option from the 'What kind of Mandatory Continuous Adjustment override do you want?' drop down list
• Select the override type for the activity
• Insert any relevant notes into the Activity Notes, these will remain on the !MCAOVR screen for future reference
• Select Add then Continue

Select the FAO/REA activity from the Activity List (AL) screen and go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen to finalise.

An automatic DOC will be created when the !MCAOVR screen has been coded. Any information recorded in the Notepad will be transferred to this DOC. Annotate if necessary.