Family Tax Benefit (FTB) reconciliation or lump sum claim pending 007-11010020

For enquiries about reconciliation results for periods:

• on or before 30 June 2010, manually go to the FAO Reconciliation and Claim Summary (FRCS) screen
• from 1 July 2010 onwards, use the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Benefit (CCB) Reconciliation workflow
• select the relevant financial year from the Reconciliation Year drop down menu

To view pending reason manually

Go to the FRCS screen.

Financial Year: defaults to the previous financial year, input year required.

Calculation Status: on FRCS screen

'S'elect the FTB reconciliation pending or Lump sum claim pending line to go to the LRPF screen.

The LRPF screen displays:

• the reason FTB instalment or lump sum claim reconciliation has not been finalised
• the deferred debt amount if the reconciliation pending reason is Debt Deferral

The pending reason displayed on the Family Tax Benefit reconciliation results screen in Customer First or LRPF screen may not indicate all the information required for reconciliation or the lump sum claim to be finalised.

Only 1 reason can display.

The reason displayed is based on a priority order. This means that other information may be needed as well as the reason identified.

For example, if the pending reason is TIM (Timing) because the last FTB payment for the relevant financial year has not yet been made, actual income details may also be required before reconciliation can occur. In that case, the pending reason will be updated to INC (Income) once the last FTB payment has been made.

Timing

Debt Deferral (DDE)

Blend - No reconciliation attempt for ex-partner (XRA)

Cross Year FIGP

Check if other information is also required, for example, actual income details.

Reconciliation has been attempted but not completed because the last FTB payment for the relevant financial year has not yet been made. Check the Payment Summary (PS) screen.

Tell the customer that reconciliation will automatically be attempted once their final payment for the previous financial year has been paid.

Advise the customer that reconciliation will occur when this information and all other required information is available.

For disaster events declared prior to August 2022, the agency temporarily stopped raising debts for customers in affected Local Government Areas.

Impacted customers FTB reconciliation outcomes remained pending Debt Deferral (DDE) where a debt was calculated.

This process is no longer utilised for new events declared from August 2022.

If a customer has a reconciliation outcome pending DDE from a previous debt pause, this debt should be now be raised.

See Table 5.

If a customer was paid as a member of a blended family during the relevant financial year and separated from their partner before the end of that financial year, reconciliation will remain pending until reconciliation has been attempted (not necessarily finalised) on the ex-partner's record. This pending reason will only exist until bulk reconciliation is finalised, as all records will have had reconciliation attempted by the end of the bulk reconciliation period.

If reconciliation remains pending due to this reason, a review will be automatically set up to attempt reconciliation in 2 weeks' time. This process will repeat until the bulk reconciliation process has attempted reconciliation on the ex-partner's record.

From 1 July 2018, an FTB Part A rate reduction is applied to a customer's rate of FTB Part A for children that do not meet immunisation requirements. The rate reduction commences after a 63 day FTB immunisation grace period.

If a customer is serving an FTB Part A immunisation grace period on 30 June, FTB reconciliation will not occur until the child meets the immunisation requirements or the FTB immunisation grace period ends (whichever occurs first).

Reconciliation/lump sum claim will remain pending if the customer/partner/ex-partner received a non-taxable pension or benefit and the non-taxable pension/benefit information is not yet available from the Taxation History file.

The system will use the higher of either the estimate or the amount recorded as being paid by Services Australia.

Check if other information is also required, for example, actual income details.

Advise the customer that reconciliation/lump sum claim assessment will occur when this information and all other required information is available.

If actual income details are needed:

• If using the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Benefit (CCB) Reconciliation workflow in Customer First, select the activity number relating to the Reco Pending Income activity. The FTB Reconciliation Pending Summary page displays whose income details are still required for reconciliation to occur or the lump sum claim to be finalised
• For FTB reconciliation up to June 2010 - go to the FRCS screen, input financial year required and 'S' the pending reconciliation or lump sum claim line, to link to the LRPF screen. The LRPF screen will display who has lodged and whose income is still pending

If navigating reconciliation screens manually, the LRPF screen displays whose income details are still required:

• 'S'elect the reco/LSC pending line to go to the LRPF screen, or
• view income tax return lodgement status by typing 'L' next to the line on the FAO Reconciliation and Claim Summary (FRCS) screen to go to the FAO Non Lodger Details (FNLD) screen

If the customer advises they or their current partner/ex-partner are not required to lodge a tax return according to ATO rules, see Recording not required to lodge advice and previous year income.

If the customer states the tax return has been lodged and the Notice of Assessment received, see Australian Taxation Office (ATO) information not received for family assistance reconciliation or lump sum claim.

Partial reconciliation can occur from 1 July using estimates as provided for the customer and ex-partner for the ex-partner period if only actual income details for the ex-partner are still required. Single Income Family Supplement (SIFS) will not be paid for any partnered period if partner income is not known. See Previous partners and Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Benefit (CCB) reconciliation.

Advise the customer of any actual income details still required. For customers to receive their full annual FTB entitlement, income lodgement requirements must be met by the end of the lodgement year or the income confirmation special circumstances extension end date.

SIFS is assessed using taxable income, not adjusted taxable income (ATI) as for Part A and Part B. This means that FTB reconciliation could result in only SIFS entitlement being assessed.

Await partner claim

Non-taxable pensions and benefits check review

Care/ Income./ Awaiting Link with AIR (CC1 or CC2)

Care/Income (CI1 or CI2)

Care (CA1 or CA2)

Income/ Awaiting Link with AIR (IAA)

Income

Awaiting Link with AIR (AWA)

This pending reason only applies to blended families.

The customer has lodged an FTB lump sum claim, but the claim cannot be assessed until a claim is received from their partner.

Check with the customer about whether their partner has lodged a claim and invite claim if appropriate.

Claim assessment is pending because the following information is required:

• Adequate care details
• On their claim the customer advised that they (or their partner) had a child support assessment during the relevant financial year
• Care assessment data is required from Child Support but had not yet been received. It generally takes 3-5 days from when the request was made
• Child not linked with AIR
• A link between Centrelink and the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) has not been established

On the LRPF screen the results code will be one of the following:

• CC1 if the claim has been pending for any reason for less than 32 days
• CC2 if the claim has been pending for any reason for 32 days or longer

Claim assessment is pending because the following information is required:

• Adequate care details
• On their claim the customer advised that they (or their partner) had a child support assessment during the relevant financial year
• Care assessment data is required from Child Support but has not yet been received. It generally takes 3-5 days from when the request was made

On the LRPF screen, the results code will be 1 of the following:

• CI1 if the claim has been pending for any reason for less than 32 days
• CI2 if the claim has been pending for any reason for 32 days or longer. The claim will remain pending until adequate care details are available

Claim assessment is pending because adequate care details are not available for a child (or children).

The customer advised on their lump sum claim that they (or their partner) had a child support assessment during the relevant financial year. Care assessment data is required but has not yet been electronically transferred. It generally takes 3-5 days from when the request was made.

On the LRPF screen, the results code will be one of the following:

• CA1 if the claim has been pending for any reason for less than 32 days
• CA2 if the claim has been pending for any reason for 32 days or longer. The claim will remain pending until adequate care details are available

Claim assessment is pending because the following information is required:

• Child not linked with AIR
• A link between Centrelink and the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) has not been established
• Income details and/or Maintenance information
• On their claim the customer authorised the agency to obtain child support data from Child Support and this has not yet been received

On the LRPF screen, the results code will be IAA.

Claim assessment is pending because the following information is required:

• Child not linked with AIR
• A link between Centrelink and the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) has not been established.

On the LRPF screen, the results code will be AWA.

If a link with the AIR is not established after 14 days, the claim will be assessed and the FTB Part A rate reduction due to immunisation applied to the entire claim period.

Note: this pending reason only applied when debt raising and recovery was paused for customers impacted by a declared major disaster or emergency event prior to August 2022.

If the Debt Deferral pending reason:

• is being applied with the current activity go to step 2
• already applies go to step 3

If the customer wants to know why the amount of debt is being calculated and the Debt Deferral pending reason is being applied for the first time within the current activity (for example, when recording non-lodgement of a tax return):

• Go to the Activity List (AL) screen
• Select 'v' to view Activity Details (AY) screen and select continue
• Select the keywords twisty
• Add #NODDE in New Keywords and select continue
• Return to the AL screen, select the activity and go to Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Navigate to FRCS screen for the relevant financial year to view the reconciliation details. Do not complete the activity
• Explain the debt amount to the customer

Has the customer asked for the debt to be raised immediately?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No,
• Go to AL and select 'k' for keywords. Tick the #NODDE keyword and select Delete
• Go to AR screen - the reconciliation status should be pending Debt Deferral again
  If the status has not returned to pending Debt Deferral, select 'do not finalise' then return to the AL screen. Select the activity and go to AR again
• If the activity is on the partner’s record it will be necessary to switch to the customer’s record within the activity to add or remove the #NODDE keyword
• Note: remind the customer the debt amount is subject to change if further information is received that changes the result. For example, revised income or loss of care of child
• Procedure ends here

If the customer wants to know why the debt is being calculated and pending Debt Deferral already applies:

• Navigate to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• Code an FTB REA activity with the date of effect of 1 July of the financial year displaying pending Debt Deferral
• Navigate to the AL screen
• Select ‘v’ to view activity details on the AY screen
• Select the keywords twisty
• Add #NODDE in New Keywords. Select Continue
• Return to the AL screen, select the activity and go to the AR screen. This will display the debt amount calculated
• If the status remains pending, select ‘do not finalise’ and complete the above steps again
• The FAMIV screen will display, with the reason ‘cust may be impacted by Natural Disaster/Emergency’. Continue to the AR screen
• Select 'v' to view the FRCS line and navigate to the reconciliation debt result
• Investigate the reconciliation result and explain the debt amount to the customer

This debt needs to be raised immediately.

Go to Step 4.

As debt pauses are no longer in use and all existing debt pauses have expired, the customer's debt is to be raised immediately.

Select debt activity and go to AR screen

FAMIV screen will display - check there are no Manual Intervention (MIV) reasons, other than “Cust may be impacted by Natural Disaster/Emergency“.

If there are additional MIV reasons:

• use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Reconciliation > ‘Cus requests Families debt to be raised’ to record details of the conversation
• see Manual Intervention into family assistance reconciliation

If there are no other MIV reasons:

• continue to the AR screen and complete the activity
• use the Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Families > Reconciliation > ‘Cus requests Families debt to be raised’ to record the details of the conversation

Advise the customer an Account Payable Notice will be issued.

If a customer is dissatisfied about the debt decision, see Request for an explanation or application for a formal review.

See the Resources page of Manual intervention into family assistance reconciliation for previously declared major disaster and emergency events.