Processing Child Care Subsidy (CCS) claims 007-17103136

An online or Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) for CCS/Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) cannot be submitted until all required supporting documents have been uploaded.

The exception is where the customer will provide bank account or Tax File Number details within 28 days. See Exemption from providing Tax File Numbers when claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

When a paper claim is scanned to the customer's record, a Social Online Application (SOA) is created. Staff must manually code the information directly into the SOA using details from the paper claim.

Service Centre Staff

• If the customer lodges an offline (paper) claim:
• Check all required evidence has been included with the claim
• Scan the paper claim together with any supporting documents to the customer's record. This will generate an activity which will be allocated to an appropriately trained Service Officer for processing
• If the customer is lodging evidence for a submitted claim:
• Scan the document onto the customer's record
• Access the customer's record in Process Direct
• Select the Transactions icon and the Claim ID hyperlink. The Claim Application screen shows
• Select the Tasks icon and update the status of documents required to Accepted. Select Save
• Select the Status icon. If all required documents have been provided and the Claim Status is On hold, update by selecting Edit and selecting In Process. Select Save.
  Note: if the Service Officer changes the claim status the work item will be assigned to them. If they are not trained to process the claim, the Service Officer will need to return the claim to the pool. Go to the work items list and select . Check the box for the relevant work item, and select Unassign to return the claim to the pool
• If a customer contacts because they have received notification that documents are outstanding but they state these have been provided, check the Tasks status within the claim
• If the document is still showing as Required, view documents scanned at a service centre or uploaded by the customer by selecting the Documents icon in Process Direct
• If the documents have been lodged, update the status to Accepted as above
• If not showing via Documents, request the customer upload the documents again

Most CCS online and ACCs are automatically assessed by applying the information provided with the eligibility criteria. Customers are advised of the outcome without the need for staff to manually review the claim.

Note: Straight Through Processing for CCS claims has been switched off since March 2023. Staff will be notified when this is turned back on again.

Claims that require exception management, validation of selected data items, and new claims after a customer has been cancelled due to the second deadline will not auto assess. These claims will be allocated via Workload Manager to staff with the appropriate skill tag to manage.

All ACCS applications (grandparent, transition to work, temporary financial hardship and child wellbeing) require appropriately skilled staff to validate the information provided within the claim for the claim to be assessed.

Does the claim need regenerating, reindexing, SOA indexing or Change of receipt?

• Yes, see Table 2
• No, proceed to CCS review claim and pre-processing checks. See Table 3

Regenerate will reset the claim to only have the information provided by the customer when they submitted the claim online.

If it is a paper claim, regenerating will remove all data entered by a staff member. This may be needed when Process Direct system fixes are released, or relationship linking was done after starting claim processing.

To regenerate:

• Go to the Transaction Summary (TS) screen
• Select > Regenerate Claim

Service Officers may need to re-index a claim if the customer has provided additional information after the claim is rejected, cancelled or there is an appeal. When the claim is re-indexed, it will include all the claim information.

CCS online claim re-index functionality is available to allow reassessment where the following criteria is met:

• The CCS Benefit Status is either Rejected or Cancelled. Note: where the rejection or cancellation is at the child level, re-index functionality is not available
• The CCS Claim has a status of Completed
• The customer has not withdrawn the original claim

To re-index an online claim:

• Select the original claim via the Transactions icon or by Inbox
• On the Transaction Summary (TS) screen, select > Re-Index Claim

This will generate a new work item using the claim information with a status of In Process.

As the work item is a change of circumstance activity (rather than a claim) it will show the following dates:

• Within the Claim Overview:
• Date of Receipt: the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR) is showing
• Creation Date: Date the claim was reindexed
• Claim Submission Date: date the original claim was submitted
• Claim Creation Date: date the original claim was created
• Within the Transactions (TS) overview:
• Date Submitted: the DDOR is showing. Note: this date will not affect the outcome of the assessment
• Receipt Date: the DDOR is showing

If a CCS claim is re-indexed:

• The reasons outlining why the claim requires reassessment should be clearly recorded in Progress and Claim Assessment Notes/DOCs
• When processing the recreated claim:
• check the Service Reason is CCP before selecting assess, and
• make sure the outcome is correct before finalising, including checking any CCS arrears generated
• See Payment of arrears after reassessment and stopping a payment
• If the incorrect outcome presents at Assessment Results, do not finalise the claim
• Check the Process Direct support page for any current issues. If the issue cannot be resolved, escalate to ICT via Roxy Digital Assistant

If a CCS claim requiring reassessment has a Current Benefit Status, re-index functionality is not available. For example, there is an incorrect rejection or period of cancellation at the child level. If a claim cannot be re-indexed to reassess entitlement, a CCS Social Online Application (SOA) can be indexed. Service Officers must manually input all relevant data to allow correct assessment. See Item 3 for more details on indexing a CCS SOA.

For claims requiring reassessment, a CCS SOA can be indexed if the following circumstances present:

• If reindex claim functionality is unable to be used due to the CCS Benefit Status. For example, when the customer has a Current Benefit Status
• A claim requires a backdated Date of Receipt (DOR). Note: for claims or SOAs requiring a Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR) more than 3 years in the past, see Item 4

A CCS SOA should not be used:

• in place of an Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) where customers have requested to lodge a verbal claim

To index a CCS SOA:

• Go to the Process Direct home page and select SOA Shell under the Reports tab. Complete the following fields:
• Benefit Type: Select Child Care Subsidy
• Customer CRN: Key the Customer Reference Number (CRN) without spaces
• Date of Receipt: Enter the date the claim was lodged as DD/MM/YYYY. Note: the date of receipt of the original claim will show as the Submitted date. Use this date, not the Received date, to make sure of the claim correctness
• If a CCS SOA is indexed, a CCP Claim Progress Note/DOC is auto-created. Record the reason, outlining why the claim requires reassessment, in Progress and Claim Assessment Note/DOC

When processing a CCS SOA:

• manually get the AIR data for each child in the claim to avoid gaps and make sure of the correct backdating of entitlement. While in the claim:
• take note of the postcode of the parent
• from the child/ren record, go to the CIM table via the Super Key and select Add
• select Get AIR Data and Save the result, confirming the provisional AIR date of notification now matches the date of receipt (DDOR) of the claim. Note: the immunisation link should already be established but if linking issues present enter the customer postcode first then, if needed, include the Medicare number if available
• check the Service Reason is CCP before selecting assess, and
• make sure the outcome is correct before finalising, including checking any CCS arrears generated
• See Payment of arrears after reassessment and stopping a payment
• If the incorrect outcome presents at Assessment Results, do not finalise the claim
• Check the Process Direct support page for any current issues. If the issue cannot be resolved, escalate to ICT via Roxy Digital Assistant

Note: if the wrong child is selected in the SOA claim, Service Officers will not be able to delete the provisional line on the Decision Unit (CCC) table. Service Officers will need to regenerate the claim and re-enter all required information.

If CCS entitlement has been incorrectly cancelled due to 26W - No session of care lodged in at least 26 consecutive weeks ’26 week rule’, additional coding steps are required. After indexing the SOA shell, staff must:

• regenerate the SOA, and
• access the Link Summary (LS) screen via the Super Key:
• Select Edit and Save for the relevant child as part of the SOA shell claim
• This will change Record Status from ‘Confirmed’ to ‘Changed’

Staff who try to process a claim where the DDOR is more than 3 years in the past will get error: E899AM - Receipt Date cannot be more than 3 years in the past.

If staff rightfully need to backdate a claim more than three years in the past in Customer First, they must escalate a request using Fast Note:

Select Auto Text, use Families > Claims > CCS claim with DDOR more than 3 years processing request.

• Fill out the below fields:
• Child(ren) Name(s) and CRN(s)
• Date from which entitlement is to be granted for each child
• Original Claim ID
• Reason for backdating more than 3 years. For example, Authorised Review Officer (ARO) decision
• Associated debts (copy for each debt)
• Associated debt ID
• Associated debt amount
• Debt status. For example, Determined - Written Off (DWO), Determined (DET)
• The system automatically adds keyword CCS3YR. This allocates the activity to a suitably skilled Service Officer. It removes the need to 'transfer' the Fast Note to a specific region.

Staff do not need to index a claim or a Social Online Application (SOA) before escalating the Fast Note.

Once the Fast Note has been sent

If the request is:

• a Secretary-initiated review, make 2 genuine attempts to contact the customer:
• Tell them the backdated period will be reassessed/granted, if eligible
• Record conversation details on the record. Include contact attempts
• for an appeal implementation, specialist staff will:
• index, assess and finalise the claim, and
• take the implementation DOC off hold (if there is one)
• The implementation DOC then re-allocates to the referring Subject Matter Expert (SME). The SME takes any extra action and runs the appeal decision implementation script as per SME explanations, ARO referrals and implementing ARO decisions

It may be necessary to change the DDOR for a CCS online claim, reindexed claim or CCS SOA before processing. This is not often required.

To change the DDOR:

• Make sure the claim status is In Process
• On the Transaction Summary (TS) screen, select > Calculate DDOR. The Enter Date of Receipt screen will show
• Select the new Date of Receipt (DOR) using the calendar to calculate the new DDOR. Note: if attempting to reassess a previously assessed claim, the date of receipt of the original claim will show as the Submitted date. Use this date, not the Received date, to make sure of the claim correctness
• After selecting the date, select Update to calculate and apply the new DDOR based on the 28 day rule
• The new DDOR will show in the Receipt Date field at the top of the screen. Note: the claim DOR shows as the 'Claim Submission Date' within the claim overview. This will not change as only the DDOR is being updated
• The claim will auto-regenerate

If the original DDOR needs to be restored, manually regenerate the claim. The Receipt Date field will update to show the original DDOR.

If the DOR is changed, document the in Progress and Claim Assessment Notes/DOCs.

A CCS claim may generate a Virtual Service Reason (VSR) Update activity, which will show as a provisional activity in Customer First.

If the VSR activity is stopping further updates to the customer's record, the VSR can be cancelled.

To cancel the VSR activity, in Customer First:

• Select the VSR from the Activity List (AL) screen
• Select Cancel an Activity (C) and select Continue
• The Activity Cancel screen will present
• Cancel All Provisional Changes: select Yes - Cancel the Activity
• Cancellation Reason: select Process in PD. Note: No Longer Required must not be used as this will cancel the CCS claim in Process Direct
• Select Continue

As CCS claims only exist in Process Direct, there are no options to manually process the claim in Customer First, therefore the Handover to CF/CR option must not be used.

In the event Error WS999 - Activity has been handed over to CF/CR for processing presents, it indicates the Handover to CR/CR option has been incorrectly selected.

To rectify:

• Select the claim in Customer First
• Select the VSR from the Activity List (AL) screen
• Select Cancel an Activity (C) and select Continue
• The Activity Cancel screen will present
• Cancel All Provisional Changes: select Yes - Cancel the Activity
• Cancellation Reason: select Process in PD
• Select Continue

The WS999 error should no longer present when accessing the claim in Process Direct. The claim will need to be regenerated before processing.

If an open FAO DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD is allocated, note the CRN and complete the DOC in Customer First. Any relevant keywords will be added directly to the claim.

Locate work item in Process Direct. Note: there is no requirement to allocate the claim to self until it is determined that a hand-off is not required.

Online claim/ACC submitted

Select the work item to go to the Customer and Activity Information table on the Transaction Summary (TS) screen.

The icons at the top of the screen show the customer's information currently held on record in detail.

Review the information provided by the customer.

Select and to view the Claim Summary in a new window. If it is blank, press [F5] to refresh the page. If the claim remains blank, check the Keywords icon. If these keywords are present:

• MANSOA: a manual Social Online Application (SOA) has been indexed
• FA084: a paper claim has been lodged

Abridged Add Child to CCS Activity

An abridged or shortened CCS claim allows a customer to add another eligible child or children in care to their CCS entitlement without having to complete a full CCS claim.

View the Claim Summary. Add Child claim for CCS can be identified as the activity will have:

• only information about the child to be added, and
• the customers declaration

The claim does not include:

• Income Estimate
• Activity Test Details

The activity will include the keyword ADDCH.

If the customer has lodged an Add Child claim for CCS, see Add child claim for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Paper claim lodged

When a paper claim (FA084) is scanned to the customer's record, a SOA is created. Manually code the information directly into the SOA using details from the paper claim.

If no SOA shell exists, one can be manually indexed to allow claim assessment. See Table 2.

Supporting documents

Go to the Tasks icon to view documents requested online, via ACC or after the claim was submitted.

Check for any scanned documents lodged to support the CCS claim. To do this, select any of the following:

• the relevant document icons at the bottom of the expanded Claim Summary
• from the bottom of the open Process Direct window
• Documents icon

Documents lodged

If documents have been provided separately, for example, after the claim was submitted, select Tasks and update the Status of the relevant task to Provided.

Before assessing the CCS claim, processing staff will check Transactions in Process Direct for any additional CCS claims and lodgement of other Family Assistance claims. A further indicator that the CCS claim was lodged as a combined CCS/Families (for example, Family Tax Benefit (FTB)) claim is other families question sets in the CCS claim data. For example, Payment Choices for FTB appearing in the CCS claim overview.

If the customer has lodged multiple claims with different submission dates, claims will be processed in order of date submitted. Start with the earlier date. For example, FTB and CCS.

If there is a CCS claim and a Families claim on the record with the same submission date, the Families claim must be processed first.

If the customer has lodged more than one CCS claim, they will be processed in the order submitted (earliest date first).

Select the Notes icon or go to the Document List (DL) screen. Thoroughly review the customer's record and review all:

• Display on Access (DOA) DOCs
• previous claim Notes or DOCs
• requests for information issued
• notes that may help in assessing the claim
• outcomes of previous claims lodged

For more details about Progress Notes/DOCs and the information to be recorded, see Families and Child Care (FCC) processing principles.

If customer wants to withdraw their CCS claim, including where customers request withdrawal of an Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) component of their CCS/ACCS claim, see Withdrawal of claims.

Note: if the customer has withdrawn a combined claim (CCS/Family Tax Benefit (FTB)/Paid Parental Leave (PPL)), the withdrawal DOC on the customer's Document List will be titled FAO Online Claim Withdrawn.

Contact details updated online

If a customer has updated their contact details online after submitting the claim, complete the started Customer Details Cluster (CDC) activity before claim processing. If there is a started new claim (NCL) activity:

• Note the claim ID and cancel the claim off the Activity List (AL) screen
• Go to Customer First to complete the started CDC activity on the AL screen
• If updates do not show in Process Direct after the CDC activity has been completed, regenerate and process the claim in Process Direct

To regenerate the claim:

• Go to the Process Direct Landing Page
• Select Inbox
• In the Work Item Search, enter Claim Id > Go
• Select the Claim showing in the Work Items table
• Select > Regenerate

For details, see Process Direct navigation, common screens and functions

Paper claim:

If a customer has provided new contact details (for example, address details), verbally or in their paper claim, update these separately in Customer First before assessing the claim in Process Direct. This will stop any requests for additional information being sent to an incorrect address if a Request for Information needs to be sent.

Review the claim data to determine if there are any necessary processing hand off points. Expand one of the following sections if a hand off is required.

If no hand off is required, including instances where the Service Officer has the relevant skillset or delegation to action, go to Step 6.

CCS/ACCS combined claims are processed by the ACCS Processing Team (ACCSPT). Staff have no delegation to process ACCS claims unless they are members of an ACCSPT. This includes:

• combined CCS/ACCS claims where the ACCS component is embedded within the CCS claim
• CCS claims with 'I do not want to be assessed for Additional Child Care Subsidy (transition to work)' in the claim details and have a TTW keyword. This may occur when a customer starts to claim CCS and ACCS (transition to work) online, but change their response before submitting it, and
• CCS/ACCS claims where the customer has indicated they would like to withdraw the ACCS component

There is no need to reallocate the work item as it will be mapped to appropriately trained staff. If a staff member is allocated an ACCS work item they are not appropriately skilled to action, unassign it with reason User Unavailable. This returns it back to the national allocation pool. See Work Optimiser for staff for further information on unassigning a claim.

Note: if unsure a CCS claim has a combined ACCS component after reviewing the claim details, check for an ACCS keyword:

• Select the Claim ID
• Select Keyword
• The ACCS component type will show under the Description (Do not delete or add an ACCS keyword
• TFH (Temporary Financial Hardship)
• TTW (Transition to Work)
• GRDPT (Grandparent)

Complete the Plse action CCS Claim in PD Note/DOC (if not previously completed).

A handoff process applies for situations where combined claims (CCS and FTB/PPL/DAP) are allocated to a Service Officer trained in CCS only. Families claims are to be processed in the order of submission by the customer, except where there is a CCS claim and a Families claim (for example, FTB/PPL/DAP) on the record with the same submission dates. In this case the Families claim is to be processed first.

Note: this handoff process is to be used only when staff do not have all the skills required to action a customer's Families claim first before actioning the CCS claim. Service Officers proficient in all the payment types are to process all claim types in the required order at the time the claim is first allocated.

Staff skilled in CCS claims only and the above handoff process is required:

• If an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD is allocated, complete the Note/DOC (if not previously completed).
• Locate the CCS claim ID in Process Direct and select the claim:
• On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
• Select Add and select @FAO. The keyword will now appear in the claim
• Exit the claim by selecting Process Direct (go to Home Page)
• Do not place a CCS claim on hold when the customer has a Families claim on their record. This will make sure that the claim is available for allocation to a Service Officer with skills to action the claim type
• Annotate the existing CCS Progress Note/DOC advising the additional keyword has been added and the claim is to be assessed. If there is no existing Progress Note, create a new Note. Select the Notes icon select Add Note and record the following information:
• Category field: select Claim
• Summary field: CCS Claim Progress
• Content:
• Transaction ID: insert current claim ID number
• CCS claim handoff required. Relevant keyword added
• Select Save and complete the Note. Do not leave the Note open

If a combined claim has been lodged, before processing the CCS claim, staff must check Document List to confirm the claim has not been withdrawn. If a combined claim is withdrawn, the CCS claim is not automatically withdrawn. The CCS claim must be manually withdrawn where it has been lodged as part of a combined claim and if the customer wishes to claim CCS a new claim must be lodged. See Withdrawal of claims. Otherwise, procedure ends here.

If the customer has advised of a shared care arrangement or change of care in the claim, the shared care coding cannot be completed within the CCS Claim in Process Direct.

Has the customer advised in the claim they are a step parent, have a shared care arrangement, or a change of care?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, continue to process claim. Go to Step 11

Locate the customer's record in Customer First and access each child included in the CCS claim via the CHS screen.

From the Child Task Selector Menu Selector (CHTS) table select the In Customer Care, Shared care (FTB), Shared Care (SSA) and Care Align Details boxes.

Select [Enter] to view current care assessment on file.

Is the customer a step parent?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 9

A workaround may need to be completed where care has not applied correctly when the customer is a step parent.

If the customer is a step parent, and they and/or the other biological parent are a Child Support mutual customer, the P24845 work around is required.

If the workaround has been previously applied, the FSC screen will show 3 or more carers with shared care.

If the step parent assessment:

• has been coded and the claims details match the details in the customer first file:
• assign the claim to self via the Assign to me button in Work Optimiser, and
• go to Step 11
• has been coded and the claim details do not match the details in the customer first file, go to Step 10
• has not been coded, go to Step 10
• is not required, go to Step 10

Does shared care information in the claim match the details in the Customer First file?

• Yes:
• assign the claim to self via the Assign to me button in Work Optimiser, and
• go to Step 11
• No, go to Step 10

Expand one of the following sections based on relevant skillset.

• If an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD is allocated, complete the Note/DOC (if not previously closed)
• Locate the CCS claim ID in Process Direct, and select the claim:
• On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
• Select Add, and search for and select SHARED. The keyword will now appear in the claim
• To exit the claim, select Process Direct (go to Home Page)
• Annotate the existing CCS Progress Note/DOC advising the additional keyword has been added and shared care is to be assessed. If there is no existing Progress Note, create a new Note. Select the Notes icon select Add Note and record the following information:
• Category field: select Claim
• Summary field: CCS Claim Progress
• Content:
• Transaction ID: insert current claim ID number
  CCS claim handoff required. Relevant keyword added
• Select Save and complete Note. Do not leave Note open
• For more details, see Workload Management. Procedure ends here

If skilled or trained to undertake shared care assessments:

• Shared care will need to be coded in Customer First, including any required step-parent coding
• Once this has been completed in Customer First:
• regenerate claim, and
• continue with claim processing

Note: from 27 June 2022, where a customer is partnered, and does not meet care requirements, the system will automatically check if their current partner has the child/ren coded in their care (ICC) with 14% care or more.

If care is disputed, and the child has 14% care or more currently recorded on file (regular care child with no disqualifying payment), and upon resolution of dispute the care will still be greater than 14%, there is no need to hold the claim pending shared care assessment. Continue to process the claim if relevant coding exists on file to assess. For example, customer has 50% care and 5% is in dispute with another carer, customer will still have an FTB child in care upon resolution of dispute.

Once shared care assessment has been finalised:

• assign the claim to self via the Assign to me button in Work Optimiser, and
• go to Step 11

If the system identifies a change of environment is required for the customer or the child (due to a past or current change of address) Process Direct will trigger the need to initiate an interstate transfer via an error message.

Check the Benefit Status line.

Does the customer have CCP/CAN-2DL showing?

• Yes, go to Step 12
• No, go to Step 13

A customer cannot reclaim CCS until they meet all the CCS income requirements for outstanding financial years and any outstanding CCS debts fully repaid or have an adequate repayment arrangement in place.

Note: an outstanding financial year is one where the either the first or second deadline has been applied. For example, customers who received entitlement during 2018-19, must have met the reconciliation conditions for this year in order to re-claim CCS during the 2020-21 year.

Reindex claim or SOA functionality cannot be used instead of a CCS claim in this instance. The customer must reclaim via an online claim, paper claim or Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) if criteria is met.

Check if the customer meets CCS income requirements for previous financial years:

• Exit out of the claim by selecting Home
• Select the CCS Reconciliation Dashboard tile from the Process Direct homepage
• Enter in the customer's CRN and select the previous financial years

For any of the previous financial years, is the most recent instance a reconciliation instance which has replaced a 2DL instance?

• Yes, for the financial years that show the last instance as a reconciliation instance preceded by an instance of Non Lodger: Deadline 2:
• In the most recent window banner, select the date hyperlink
• Select the Tax Return Status
• Take note of the latest date under the Income Lodgement Date column
• Return back to the claim by returning to Inbox from the Process Direct Homepage then entering in the CRN or claim id
• Go to Step 13
• No, and the latest instance is Non Lodger: Deadline 2, check if income requirements have been met:
• In the most recent window banner, select the date hyperlink
• Select the Tax Return Status

If anyone is showing as Adequate Income rule not met, complete additional checks, including any coding on FAO Income for Previous Year (FIPY) and Non Lodger Exemption (FNLE) screens for the relevant year. If both FNLE and FIPY are not coded, the claim is to be made NEF:

• Return back to the claim by returning to the Inbox tile from the Process Direct Homepage
• Key the CRN or claim id, then

Go to Table 6, Step 7

Check if the customer has an existing nominee arrangement:

• Review the Links Summary (LS) table on the Transactions (TS)screen. Nominee arrangements will show with a link type as:
• NOP (Payment Nominee)
• NOC (Correspondence Nominee), or
• NOB (Correspondence and Payment Nominee)
• Go to the Nominee link summary (NOLS)

Check the claim data to determine if the customer has appointed a new payment nominee or has cancelled a previous arrangement.

If the customer has not nominated a payment nominee, or has not cancelled an existing nominee arrangement, or if payment nominee details have not changed, go to Step 14.

See Cancelling a nominee arrangement if the customer has requested an existing payment nominee arrangement to be cancelled.

If a customer appoints a payment nominee in the claim and that payment nominee arrangement is not yet in place, the customer must provide bank account details to receive payments, before processing of the nominee application.

Has the customer completed and lodged the Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313) form?

• Yes, see Adding or rejecting a nominee request to assess the SS313 form before assessing the CCS claim. Once the nominee is appointed, go to Step 14
• No, the bank account details advised within the claim will be used for CCS purposes until the form has been lodged and processed. Make sure a FAO bank account has been recorded on the Payment Destination Details (PAS) table within the claim. Go to Step 14

Go to the Tax File Number Authorisation (TFN) screen on the customer (and partner) record. Check if TFN(s) have been recorded. If the TFN(s) are already recorded, go to Step 15.

Customers are required to provide a TFN for themselves, their partner, former partner or deceased customer (as applicable) when claiming CCS. See Exemption from providing Tax File Numbers when claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if a TFN is required for someone other than the customer.

• Claims via online account: cannot be submitted without providing a TFN for all relevant parties. In these cases, the customer may contact to advise they are unable to obtain the third party's TFN. Service Officers can finalise the claim via the Assisted Customer Claim (ACC)
• Claims via ACC: can be submitted without TFN details being recorded. This will allow the customer time to obtain the third party's TFN, or have a request for an exemption assessed
• Paper claims: must be checked before lodgement to make sure that TFN details are supplied. If TFNs are outstanding, a Request for Information letter is needed

A claim submitted via ACC where the customer's TFN is missing should already be placed on hold until day 29.

• If the claim was originally allocated via an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD, and shared/hierarchy handoff is not required:
• Make sure the Note/DOC is completed
• On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
• Select Add, and search for and select OPSPLAN84. The keyword will now appear in the claim
• Annotate the existing CCS Progress Note/DOC advising the additional keyword has been added and claim was placed back on hold, awaiting TFN

If customer's TFN has not been provided by day 29, process claim as normal as the system will automatically NEF.

Go to the Residency Details (RSLEG) screen Check the visa subclass is between 500 and 599. If the visa subclass for the customer or partner is not between 500 and 599, go to Step 16.

Customers (or partners) who are not an Australian resident may still be eligible for CCS if they or their partner are a foreign sponsored student undertaking a course of study in Australia for which they receive financial assistance from the Commonwealth (the person will hold a visa subclass between 500 and 599).

In all cases, customers must provide written evidence addressed to them from the relevant Commonwealth agency, such as a Letter of Award or Offer Letter Contract, outlining if they are receiving their scholarship funding directly or indirectly from the Commonwealth. Check the documents scanned to the customer's record and refer to Receive financial assistance from the Commonwealth to determine if sufficient evidence has been provided.

If the customer or partner is a foreign sponsored student undertaking a course of study in Australia for which they receive financial assistance from the Commonwealth, and:

• evidence requirements have not been met. To make sure the claim is streamed and only one letter is sent to the customer if other supporting evidence needs to be requested, go to Step 16
• evidence requirements have been met, but the claim has not been forwarded to the Level 2 Policy Help Desk. These cases must be referred to Level 2 Policy Help Desk for confirmation of eligibility for CCS. A referral to the help desk is only to be made once residence, visa and arrival information have been updated on the records and an appropriate letter of offer and letter of contract has been provided by the customer and scanned to the record.
• Place the claim on hold for 7 days
• If the claim was originally allocated via an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD, and shared/hierarchy handoff is not required:
  - Make sure the Note/DOC is completed
  - On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
  - Select Add, and search for and select OPSPLAN84. The keyword will now - appear in the claim
• Annotate the existing CCS Progress Note/DOC advising the additional keyword has been added and claim was referred to Level 2 Policy Helpdesk. Send a referral via the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk webform. See Residence assessment for customers claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Families and Child Care (FCC) processing principles
• the Level 2 Policy Help Desk has confirmed the customer is undertaking a course of study for which they receive financial assistance from the Commonwealth, go to Step 16

If customer (or partner) is not directly funded by the Commonwealth, go to Step 16.

Customers need to advise when their child starts attending primary school. They will be prompted to advise the future school start date for children when claiming CCS.

To be eligible for CCS, a child must be aged 13 years or under, and not attending secondary school, or have an exemption.

Review child school status within the claim and information held on the customer's record to determine if child school status has been accurately advised and recorded correctly:

• select then select the relevant child(ren)
• go to the Child Education Details (CED) screen

If all children claimed for are aged 13 years or under and are not attending secondary school, go to Step 18.

Customers can request an exemption to the school status or age and school status rule if the child cannot be left unsupervised and there is no suitable adult over the age of 18 available to care for them. The child must also be:

• 13 years or under attending secondary school, or
• 14-18 years with a disability attending secondary school (16, 17 or 18 years only approved in exceptional circumstances)

Review evidence requirements for the relevant exemption request. See Updating school status, and assessing age exemptions for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

If the customer has requested a school status or age and school status exemption, and:

• evidence requirements have not been met. To make sure the claim is streamed and only one letter is sent to the customer if other supporting evidence needs to be requested, go to Step 17
• evidence requirements are sufficient, though a referral has not been sent to Level 2 policy Helpdesk. Most school status or age exemptions require Level 2 Policy Helpdesk confirmation of eligibility for CCS at the child level. A referral to the help desk is only to be made once evidence and statutory declarations, (which must be written on a Commonwealth statutory declaration form), have been provided and scanned to the record.
• Place the claim on hold
• If the claim was originally allocated via an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD, and shared/hierarchy handoff is not required:
  - Make sure the Note/DOC is completed
  - On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
  - Select Add, and search for and select OPSPLAN84. The keyword will now appear in the claim
• Annotate the existing CCS Progress Note/DOC advising the additional keyword has been added and claim was referred to Level 2 Policy Helpdesk
• Send a referral via the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk webform. For more details see Updating school status, and assessing age exemptions for Child Care Subsidy (CCS)

If no school status or age and school status exemption has been requested, go to Step 17.

If the customer is FTB current, or the claim was lodged as a combined CCS/FTB claim, review the progress DOC, claim assessment DOC and FAO Taxable Income (FTI) to determine if the customer has revised or updated their income estimate since lodging their claim. See Date of event (DOV) for family assistance income estimates to make sure the correct date is applied.

If the income estimate is deemed unreasonable, see Helping families provide a reasonable annual income estimate for family assistance payments for more details in a genuine attempt to contact the customer to provide a revised estimate.

If the customer is subscribed to Desktop Messaging, send a pre-call notification SMS through Desktop Messaging before calling them. For pre-call messages, allow a lead-in time of 5 minutes in case there is a delay sending the message

If the customer cannot be contacted, and they have a previous reasonable estimate recorded, the provisional unreasonable estimate line is to be deleted.

To delete the provisional data:

• within the CCS claim, key FTI into Super Key > [Enter]
• delete the provisional unreasonable estimate line for the customer or partner (if applicable)
• record information about why the estimate was not in the claim assessment DOC

Under no circumstances is the CCS claim to be rejected. If the customer does not have a previous reasonable estimate recorded, the CCS claim can still be processed using the unreasonable estimate. The customer's correct entitlement will be assessed when reconciliation occurs.

Does the customer's Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR) start in the previous CCS financial year?

• Yes, go to Step 18
• No, go to Step 19

There will be a period of nil entitlement between the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR) and start of the new CCS year when a customer:

• does not have a family income estimate recorded on FAO Taxable Income (FTI) before the start of the new financial year, and
• they lodge a Child Care Subsidy (CCS) claim with a DDOR that falls in the previous CCS year

For example, A CCS claim lodged 15 July 2023 has a DDOR 26 June 2023. As there is no family income estimate recorded for the 2022/2023 financial year, the period 26 June 2023 to 9 July 2023 will be assessed as a nil rate period.

In these cases,

• finalise the claim with the nil rate period
• any gap in entitlement is adjusted during the CCS Balancing for the financial year when actual income is known

Go to Step 19.

If the customer is partnered, or has had a recent marital status change, there may be overlapping periods of CCS where the partner/ex-partner was already CCS current for one or more children the customer is claiming for.

Check the:

• Marital Status (MS) screen
• information supplied within the customer's claim

Note: for partner linking/unlinking, see Table 4.

Does the customer's claim start date or Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR) fall on a CCS Monday where the customer was partnered?

• Yes, go to Step 20
• No, go to Step 22

Check partner/ex-partner's CCS. In Process Direct:

• Locate the partner/ex-partner record
• Go to the child care Entitlement table (CCP/CCS):
• Determine if the partner is/was CCS current for the same child/ren the customer is claiming for (from the CCS Monday claim start date)
• Check for any weeks where the partner's CCS was cancelled mid-week and the customer's CCS start date is the CCS Monday of the same fortnight

If the partner has not been CCS current for the same child/ren from customer's claim start date, go to Step 22.

Only one member of a couple can be current for a particular child whilst partnered. A customer and partner can both be CCS current but not for the same child/ren.

If the:

• Customer's start date (CCS Monday) is before the ex-partner's separation date:
• The customer's CCS start date will need to start from the CCS Monday following the separation. For details on how this is coded, see Table 5. Go to Step 25
• Customer's start date (CCS Monday) is before the partner's cancellation date:
• The customer's CCS start date will need to start from the CCS Monday following the cancellation. For details on how this is coded, see Table 5. Go to Step 25
• Partner's CCS cancellation has already been coded, and recorded from an incorrect date. That is, a date which is not a CCS Sunday. A SOA may need to be indexed on the partner's record to reassess the period between the date of original cancellation and the CCS Sunday:
• To index a SOA from the date of original cancellation on the partner's record, see Table 2
• If the partner's entitlement was cancelled via the Benefit Action (CCS_BA) screen, select Edit to change the End date to the CCS Sunday before the customer's CCS Monday start date
• Go to the Decision Unit line to show Change Child in CCS Claim (CCC). Select Edit on the relevant line to change the End date to the Sunday before the customer's start date
• Save the changes and Finalise the activity, making sure there is no gap in entitlement
• Record a reassessment document in Notes
• Partner is CCS current for the same child/ren the customer is claiming for:
• Determine which member of the couple should cancel their CCS by checking attendance details on both the customer and partner's record for the same child
• Go to Step 21

Staff must establish the most beneficial arrangement for ongoing CCS entitlement, including transfer of entitlement dates, before contacting the customer.

If the attendance is:

• Recorded on the partner's record, the partner is CCS current and there is no attendance on the customer's record:,
• If customer is to have ongoing CCS entitlement, the partner's CCS should cancel from the last CCS Sunday. Check this is not a CCS mid-fortnight Sunday
• If partner is to retain ongoing entitlement, the customer's CCS claim will need to be withdrawn
• Recorded on the customer's record and the partner is CCS current, though no further attendance has been lodged from a certain date:
• For the customer to receive ongoing entitlement from the CCS Monday before the attendance lodgement
• Following confirmation, the partner's CCS should be cancelled from the CCS Sunday before the customer's CCS Monday start date
• Lodged on both customer and partner's record from partnered or claim start date, for example, both have attendance lodged on their records for the same child in the same period
• One member of the couple will need to cancel their CCS. If contact is successful with the customer/partner, CCS cancellation will need to occur on a CCS Sunday
• The customer may need to discuss entitlement for specific CCS fortnights with their provider if both customer and partner have attendance lodged. The provider may transfer attendance, if requested, though is not legally obliged to fulfil this request

Contact the customer and/or partner to discuss (Check PPE before discussing specifics) the option of:

• partner cancelling their CCS, see Cancellation of Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• customer withdrawing their claim to allow partner to continue to receive CCS entitlement, see Withdrawal of claims

The cancellation or withdrawal will need to be confirmed by the respective party as PPE or nominee provisions do not cover this authority.

If the customer is subscribed to Desktop Messaging, send a pre-call notification SMS through Desktop Messaging before calling them. For pre-call messages, allow a lead-in time of 5 minutes in case there is a delay sending the message.

Note: the party who is to become/remain CCS current will need to contact their service provider(s) to make sure the child's enrolment and session reports are under their CRN. That is, the enrolment has both the child CRN and the correct parent CRN from the right date.

If unable to contact customer or partner:

• issue a Q164 to both parties, and
• record a DOC on their record with the following text, 'Customer and partner are CCS current for the same child, [list child's name]. Customer/Partner has attendance lodged, therefore require confirmation to cancel customer/partner's CCS entitlement for [child's name] from XX.XX.XXXX [CCS Sunday before the CCS Monday grant date].
• place claim on hold pending response

If the claim was originally allocated via an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD, and shared/hierarchy handoff is not required:

• Make sure the Note/DOC is completed
• On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
• Select Add, and search for and select OPSPLAN84. The keyword will now appear in the claim

If the customer has not contacted about the Q164 by the due date, make 2 genuine attempts to contact the customer by phone.

• If the contact is unsuccessful, the claim should be made Not Effective. Go to Step 25.

If error SR906 MY CHILD CARE please remove CCP current child from this claim presents, it will indicate overlapping periods where both customer and partner are current for the same child. See Table 5, Step 25.

Go to Step 22.

Customers are responsible for self-assessing their (and their partner's) hours of recognised activity. See Activity Test for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for more information.

From 10 July 2023, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are eligible for a base level of 36 hours of CCS per fortnight, regardless of the family’s activity test result. For information about Activity Test changes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children or how the Activity Test is used to determine the number of subsidised hours a customer is entitled to receive, see Activity Test for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Go to Step 23.

If more information is required to assess the claim (for example, further evidence required to support an age/school status exemption), request documents from the customer.

If a CCS claim has come off hold after a request for information has already been sent and the required documents have not been provided, the claim is to be made Not Effective. Go to Step 25.

Can the claim be processed without further documents/evidence?

• Yes, see Table 4, Step 1
• No, go to Step 24

Requests for information that require documents must be by written notice. If the matter is urgent call the customer, and also send a written request.

If the customer is subscribed to Desktop Messaging, send a pre-call notification SMS through Desktop Messaging before calling them. For pre-call messages, allow a lead-in time of 5 minutes in case there is a delay sending the message.

To request more documents or information for CCS/ACCS:

• issue a Q888 as set out in Operational Blueprint letters and electronic messaging
• use approved text only, see Request for Information - CCS and Additional CCS
• annotate the existing CCS Progress Note/DOC or record a new Notes to indicate what information was requested. Place the combined claim or standalone application on hold until day 23

If the claim was originally allocated via an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD, and shared/hierarchy handoff is not required:

• Make sure the Note/DOC is completed
• On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
• Select Add, and search for and select OPSPLAN84. The keyword will now appear in the claim

Procedure ends here.

If the only information missing is a TFN or bank account details, staff must attempt to finalise the claim as the system should automatically NEF.

If other requested documents have not been returned within the correct timeframe, the claim should be made Not Effective.

• Select Status icon
• Select Edit
• Change Status to Not Effective

For standalone claims, check the AL screen for an open FAO DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD. Complete this in Customer First if this is still open.

Two outbound attempts must be made to tell the customer of the adverse decision. For more information, see Making an Unfavourable decision (CLK).

Document the outcome via Notes with the following:

• CCS/ACCS NEF: s85AA to 85GB FA Act 1999
  Claim ID:
  Claim date: [insert date claim completed by the customer]
  Children: [insert names of child/ren for which claim is made NEF]
  Reason: required documents/information has not been provided therefore no decision can be made about the customer's entitlement and so it is not possible for a customer to ask for a review of a decision about their entitlement. The claim is taken not to have been made. The customer can ask for a review of the decision which made the claim not effective. If the claim is still found to be not effective, a new claim will need to be lodged. A new claim is made not effective if requested documents were lodged late and this decision cannot be reviewed.

Procedure ends here.

If a new claim has been lodged and the child has not been adopted, go to Step 3.

The following procedure supports linking of a child for CCS only claims. If the customer has submitted:

• combined claims (CCS and FTB/PPL/DAP), the child linking processes must be completed as part of the Families legacy claim process. See Step 4 in the Linking a child to a customer's record
• a CCS only claim, go to Step 2

If a child has been adopted:

• create a new child record before linking the customer. This protects the privacy of the adoptive parent, the birth parent and the child. For coding and referral see Claiming payments for children entrusted to care as part of the process of adoption or surrogacy
• any other Customer Reference Number (CRN) issues about pre-adoptive care, child names, aliases and privacy issues must be referred to the Families Level 2 Helpdesk via the request form. The Resources contact a link to the request form

Go to Step 3.

Partner and child relationships must be reviewed/updated before starting to process a CCS claim.

Relationship updates must be done before selecting Process, otherwise significant errors will present during claim processing.

View/update details on the Transaction Summary (TS) screen in the following tables:

• Link Summary (LS). This has all records linked to the customer including children, parents, nominees and organisations
• Marital Status (MS). This has all current and historical partner records

For further information on these tables, see Process Direct navigation, common screens and functions.

Relationship details only need updating if the tables has different information to the information provided in the claim. Relationship data (including partners and children) should only be deleted or edited if recorded in error. If the relationship data is no longer applicable, (for example, the customer has become married), add a new line.

In an online claim, updates will automatically populate on the LS and MS tables:

• Confirmed lines happen when the system has matched the child details from the claim to the child record
• Provisional lines happen when the system has matched the child details from the claim to the child record and has created a new CHI/PAR link line
• Unconfirmed lines happen when the system could not match automatically. This may include name and date of birth details mismatch between the claim data and system data
• Changed means existing information which has been changed by claim data

Check:

• the customer is partnered to the correct person (if partnered), If the customer has been assessed as single under any of the following Relationship Qualifiers, they are to be treated as a single for the purpose of the CCS claim:
• Section 24 - The customer will have S24 displayed on the Relationship Qualifier Code column in the Marital Status (MS) table. If the customer has had a change of circumstances that indicates they are no longer eligible for a S24, see Member of a couple reviews - Section 24
• Separated Under One Roof (SUOR) - The customer will have SUR displayed on the Relationship Qualifier Code column in the Marital Status (MS). If the customer has had a change of circumstances where a SUOR exists, see Member of a Couple (MoC) and Separated under one roof (SUOR) assessments
• the date and status of the relationship is accurate
• for any children the customer is claiming for, check the Start Date for the LS line is:
• on or after the child's Date of Birth (DOB), and
• no later than the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR)
  Note: the DDOR is showing as the Receipt Date at the top of the screen, next to the Super Key
• there is an LS line for all children the customer is claiming CCS for, and
• the LS and MS lines are showing as Confirmed/Provisional

Are all relationship details, including dates, showing correct?

• Yes, go to Table 5
• No, go to Step 4

If all child LS lines are showing as Confirmed with correct start dates, go to Step 5.

If an Unconfirmed line exists for a child, check the LS table for an existing Confirmed line for same child.

If the child has an existing line:

• Delete the Unconfirmed line
• Select > Apply CCS Child Data to show Confirm Child Link
• Select the correct Customer Reference Number (CRN) and child
• Select Link the Child to apply the claim data to the child
• Note: if Apply CCS Child Data does not present, check the status of the claim is 'In Process'

If there are no existing Confirmed lines:

• Edit the Unconfirmed line to show Change Link Summary
• Select the Destination CRN field
• Do a thorough search for the child's record. See Searching for a customer on the system
• If the correct child record can be located, select the child and Save
• If a record cannot be located, and the child does not have an existing record:
• The child must be added to the record in Customer First before the claim can be completed in Process Direct
• To add the child to the record, follow Table 1 of Linking a child to a customer's record in Customer First

For SOA processing:

• Select Add to show Create Link Summary
• Link Type: select CHI - Child Link
• From SVC Reason: select PAR - Parent/Guardian
• To: select CHI - Child
• Code the Start Date as the latter of:
• the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR)
  Note: the DDOR is showing as the Receipt Date at the top of the screen, next to the Super Key
• the child's DOB
• Select the Destination CRN field
• Do a thorough search for the child's record. See Searching for a customer on the system
• If the correct child record can be located, select the child and Save
• If a record cannot be located, and the child does not have an existing record:
• The child must be added to the record in Customer First before the claim can be completed in Process Direct
• To add the child to the record, follow Table 3 of Linking a child to a customer's record in Customer First

Note: multiple records increase the risk of payment errors, intertwining and potentially fraud. Multiple records may also impact the confidence people have in the quality and correctness of the information Services Australia holds.

If the child LS line start date has an incorrect date recorded:

• Edit the LS line to show the Change Link Summary screen
• Change the start date to the latter of:
• the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR)
  Note: the DDOR is showing as the Receipt Date at the top of the screen, next to the Super Key
• the child's DOB
• Select Save

Are any partner relationship updates required?

• Yes, and the customer is advising they are now:
• partnered, go to Step 5
• separated, go to Step 10
• No, see Table 5, Step 1

Check the information provided in the claim and compare to partner data on the Marital Status (MS) screen.

• If a customer advises they are partnered and:
• the customer or partner are currently receiving another payment,
• the customer or partner is linked to a previous partner, or
• the partner is/was CCS current from the marital status start date onwards,
• all linking activities must be finalised in Customer First before assessing the CCS claim in Process Direct

If the:

• customer/partner is:
• receiving another payment, go to Step 6
• still linked to previous partner, go to Step 7
• partner CCS current from the marital status start date, go to Step 8

Otherwise, go to Step 9.

If the customer or partner is receiving another payment, see Change in relationship status from single to partnered to confirm the relationship and undertake any pre-linking action required.

Once the marital status is updated, in Process Direct, select > Regenerate Claim and continue processing.

Go to Step 9.

See Change in relationship status from single to partnered to confirm the relationship and undertake any pre-linking action required.

Once the relationship is confirmed, end date the previous relationship outside Process Direct before linking the new partner in Process Direct:

• In Customer First, unlink the previous partner on the Marital Status (MS) screen.
• If the new partner is linked to another person on the system, separate the records using the date of separation
• If a separation date cannot be provided, use the day before the customer became partnered to the new partner
• Finalise activity on the Assessments Results (AR) screen.

Once the previous relationship has been ended, relationship details need to be refreshed within Process Direct. Select > Regenerate Claim.

Go to Step 9 to link new partner.

If the partner is or was CCS current from any period following the partnering date, see Family assistance customer becomes partnered to make sure that:

• the Activity Test details are updated correctly, and
• there are no overlapping periods of CCS for the same child

Once the marital status is updated, in Process Direct, select > Regenerate Claim and continue processing.

Go to Step 9.

See Change in relationship status from single to partnered to:

• confirm the relationship, and
• undertake any pre-linking action required

Before linking, search for the partner's record. See Searching for a customer on the system.

Multiple records:

• increase the risk of payment errors, intertwining and potentially fraud, and
• may also impact the confidence people have in the quality and correctness of the information Services Australia holds

Within the Marital Status (MS) table on the Transaction Summary (TS) screen:

• Edit the relevant line, including any Unconfirmed lines, and
• record any necessary updates

If a new line is necessary, which will be common for SOA processing, select Add in the Marital Status (MS) table on the Transaction Summary (TS) screen.

• Event date: Record the Marital Status DOV in dd/mm/yyyy
• Marital Status: select the relevant status from the drop down box
• Partner CRN: select the field to populate the Search and select CRN popup. Select the partner record
• Partner Permitted to Enquire: Select from the drop down list
• Relationship Qualifier Code: leave blank unless customer is to be assessed for a Qualifier code. See Assessment of relationship status - processes, roles and responsibilities

If a customer advises they have separated in their claim, see Change in relationship status from partnered to single. Use this to work out if:

• the separation will need to be verified, and
• any further action is needed

If the separation verification requires follow up, place the claim on hold for 14 days:

• Select Status icon
• Select Edit
• Change Status to On Hold
• Select Awaiting ripple confirmation from Legacy System
• Key the On Hold Expiry Date
• Save the status

If the claim was originally allocated via an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD, and shared/hierarchy handoff is not required:

• Make sure the Note/DOC is completed
• On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
• Select Add, and search for and select OPSPLAN84. The keyword will now appear in the claim

If it is determined the claim meets conditions where separation does not need to be verified, review the marital status details provided in the claim and in the MS table. Update if necessary.

Go to Step 11.

After completing pre-claim relationship check, from the Transaction Summary select Process located in the bottom right hand corner to start the new claim. The claim will show the Message Log and Task Selector tables on the Errors (SWE) screen.

Does either 'SR146:MY CHILD CARE:Relationship start date XX.XX.XXXX is later than Child in claim start date XX.XX.XXXX' or “E587CU - This date may not be in the future for a CHI link” error present in the Message Log?

• Yes, go to Step 12
• No, see Table 5, Step 1

'SR146:MY CHILD CARE:Relationship start date XX.XX.XXXX is later than Child in claim start date XX.XX.XXXX

This error happens when the child LS Start Date is after the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR):

• Select Back to return to the LS screen
• Edit the LS Start Date
• Go to Step 4

'E587CU - This date may not be in the future for a CHI link'

This error happens when the confirmed child LS Start Date is changed to a date greater than or equal to the existing date:

• Select Back to return to the LS screen
• Edit and change the LS Start Date to an earlier date (such as one day earlier, or the child’s DOB)
• Go to Step 3

Select Process. The claim will show the Message Log and Task Selector tables on the SAP Warning and Errors (SWE) screen.

Message Log

This section shows any errors with existing coding. These must be fixed before the claim can be assessed.

Select messages to view/update the relevant details. An error or warning will show if information has not loaded correctly from the online claim or ACC.

Task Selector/s

• A flag shows against listed screens containing data uploaded from the online claim, or added by a previous staff member
• If processing via SOA, minimal tasks will be pre-selected as all information must be manually input
• Regenerating the claim will clear any previous data coded, including Calculate DDOR changes
• Select screens to be checked/updated. There is an option to select all screens

The Task Selector does not list all screens that may have provisional or confirmed data. For online claims, check the Claim Overview to see if other information has been provided that may need to be updated.

Select Next to go to the selected screens.

If the claim is:

• a SOA, go to Step 2
• an online claim, go to Step 3

Select the following screens from the Task Selector:

• ATD - Activity Test Details
• CCC - Child in CCS Claim
• CRES - Country of Residency
• FTI - Annual Income
• HERITAGE - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage
• PAS - Payment Destination Details
• RSIM - Immigration Movements
• RSIMME - Immigration Enquiry
• RSLEG - Residency Details
• TFN - Tax File Number Authorisation

Select the following screen, if relevant:

• CWS - Commonwealth Sponsored Student

Note: the ACCS Processing Team (ACCSPT) only holds delegation to process Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) claims. Therefore, the ACCS related tasks should not be selected. If a claim has an ACCS component, see Table 3 for the hand off process.

Select Next to go to the selected screens.

When progressing through the screens staff will see information with a status of:

• Confirmed - information previously verified about the customer
• Provisional - new information updated in the claim transaction
• Unconfirmed - the system could not match automatically. This may include name and date of birth details mismatch between the claim data and system data
• Changed - existing information which has been changed by claim data

Information can be added, deleted or edited, as needed. The information held in the FA084 or claim will need to be checked to determine if an update is required. If the information is already accurately recorded, no updates are required.

If the customer is partnered, select to switch between the customer and partner records if having to correct or update information. When the partner's record is selected, the switch should occur on the same screen, for example if in the Activity Test Details (ATD) screen on the customer record, it will switch over to ATD on the partner record. Once partner updates are completed, select the customer to switch back.

Go to Step 4.

The following screens from the Task Selector may be pre-selected. If the screens are not pre-selected, manually select the tasks:

• ATD - Activity Test Details
• CCC - Child in CCS Claim
• CRES - Country of Residency
• FTI - Annual Income
• HERITAGE - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage
• PAS - Payment Destination Details
• RSIMME - Immigration Enquiry
• RSLEG - Residency Details
• TFN - Tax File Number Authorisation

The following screen will not pre-select. Manually select:

• RSIM - Immigration Movements

Select the following screen, if relevant:

• CWS - Commonwealth Sponsored Student

Note: the ACCS Processing Team (ACCSPT) only holds delegation to process Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) claims. Therefore, the ACCS related tasks should not be selected. If a claim has an ACCS component, see Table 3 for the hand off process.

Select Next to go to the selected screens.

When progressing through the screens staff will see information with a status of:

• Confirmed - information previously verified about the customer
• Provisional - new information updated in the claim transaction
• Unconfirmed - the system could not match automatically. This may include name and date of birth details mismatch between the claim data and system data
• Changed - existing information which has been changed by claim data

Information can be added, deleted or edited, as needed. The information held in the FA084 or claim will need to be checked to determine if an update is required. If the information is already accurately recorded, no updates are required.

If the customer is partnered, select to switch between the customer and partner records if having to correct or update information. When the partner's record is selected, the switch should occur on the same screen, for example if in the Activity Test Details (ATD) screen on the customer record, it will switch over to ATD on the partner record. Once partner updates are completed, select the customer to switch back.

Check/record relevant fields on the ATD screen:

• Activity Type: select from the drop down box
• Activity Start Date
• Activity End Date: if activity is continuous, record 31/12/9999
• Activity Type
• Casual Employment
• Total Hours: per fortnight
• Improves skills or employment prospects: Other Activity type only

See Coding Activity Test details for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for details on how to record updates to Activity Test Details, including:

• Changes to an existing activity
• Starts an activity
• Decrease in hours
• Stops an activity
• To correct the details of an activity that has only been advised by the customer on the same day, or to make a correction to an activity that has been advised for a new CCS year which has not yet started
• To code an Activity Test exemption

If the customer:

• does not have a partner, go to Step 5
• has a partner, review their activity details by selecting their record in . If the customer has advised of a change to partner's activity test details, follow the same process above relevant to the change. Go to Step 5
• was partnered and has now separated, the Activity Test Result will need to be applied to the customer’s record with Exceptional Circumstances coding. See Table 1 in Coding Activity Test details for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) to determine the correct coding

CCS current children will have a Confirmed Record Status line already coded. Confirmed Record Status lines will rarely require updating/editing.

If the customer claims for a non-current child, a Provisional line will be recorded. The system will calculate the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR) and will apply the correct Start Date.

If SOA processing, Add a line for the child being claimed for.

Check/record relevant fields on the Child in CCS claim (CCC) screen:

• Record Status
• Start Date:
• This can only be backdated a maximum of 28 days, and will fall on the Monday of a CCS fortnight. This is the DDOR
• The system will calculate the DDOR and will apply the correct date. However, if staff think the DDOR is incorrect, manually regenerate the claim as Calculate DDOR functionality may have altered this date
  Note: the DDOR is showing at the top of the screen under Receipt Date
• End Date:
• This will default to 31/12/9999, unless adding a line manually
• The end date can also be edited
• Child CRN. This should match the child being assessed for. Note: if the child does not present as an option in the drop down box, see Table 4 and make sure the child shows in the Links Summary (LS) table on the Transactions (TS) screen

Restoring CCS for a child who has incorrectly cancelled mid-week

If it is determined a child has incorrectly cancelled CCS mid-week, that is, the end date of the existing CCC line will be a mid-week date (not a CCS Sunday), and CCS needs to be restored for the child.

Staff do not have access to delete provisional updates on the CCC table, and will need to contact a SSO to complete this task. Note: SOAs will not have a provisional line recorded. If any incorrect children are added, regeneration of the SOA will remove them.

Contact a SSO via the local escalation processes and request to:

• Delete the provisional line. Note: SOAs will not have a provisional line recorded
• Select Edit on the relevant confirmed Decision Unit line within the show Change Child in CCS Claim
• Change the mid-week end date. Use 31/12/9999 if CCS is to be continuous, otherwise select the relevant end date
• Save the changes

Once the SSO have advised action is complete continue with next step.

Changes will be lost if claim is regenerated and the process will need to be repeated if this happens.

Is the customer cancelled 2DL?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 7

If the customer is cancelled 2DL, the new CCS claim can only be backdated to the later of:

• the date the customer met all the CCS income requirements
• by using the 28 day backdating rules

If the latest date under the Income Lodgement Date column noted from Step 1 in Table 6 is later than the date CCS would grant using the 28 day backdating rules:

• Edit the Unconfirmed Decision Unit line
• Correct the Start Date for each child within the claim to the first CCS Monday after the income lodgement date

The CRES screen is used to record the country in which a person is currently residing and historical details of other countries they have lived in since birth. All countries a customer has ever lived in during their lifetime should be recorded.

See Assessing if a customer is an Australian resident or Residence assessment for customers claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for help to assess residency.

Check/update relevant fields on the CRES screen:

• Country of Residence
• Start Date. The date the customer started residing in the relevant Country of Residence

Consider other immigration screens. Check the Immigration Movements (RSIM) and/or the Travel Outside Australia Summary (TOAS) screens to make sure the customer meets the residence criteria.

If the customer is partnered, check partner's residency details are up to date.

If the customer is not a Commonwealth Sponsored Student, go to Step 9.

The CWS screen requires Level 2 Policy Helpdesk approval before it is coded. See Residence assessment for customers claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for full details, including referral and coding instructions.

The FAO Taxable Income (FTI) screen records the adjusted taxable income for CCS purposes for the relevant financial year.

Check the customer's estimate of adjusted taxable income for the relevant financial year. If the estimate is deemed not reasonable, see Step 17 in Table 3.

Check/update relevant fields on the FTI screen:

• Start Date: for the correct date to use, see Date of event (DOV) for family assistance income estimates
• Financial Year: select relevant year
• Income Source: defaults to Customer Provided
• Income Status: defaults to Estimated Income
• Income components for:
• Taxable income
• Exempt Adjusted Fringe Benefits
• Other Reportable Fringe Benefits
• Reportable Superannuation Contributions
• Total Net Investment Losses
• Tax Free Pensions/Benefits
• Foreign Income
• Tax Exempt Foreign Income

If the customer:

• does not have a partner, go to Step 10
• has a partner, review their income estimate by selecting their record in . If the customer has advised of a change to the partner's income estimate details, follow the same process above relevant to the change. Go to Step 10

For claims submitted before 8 July 2024, the CCS claim will not ask the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage question within the claim. There is no requirement to review the data provided, including confirmed lines. Go to Step 11.

For claims submitted after 8 July 2024, customers will be presented with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage question within the claim and a Provisional line may be recorded with the customer response.

Evidence to verify the response is not required and not to be requested under any circumstance.

HERITAGE details are to be recorded in the CCS customer’s record, not the child’s record. Ensure Process Direct displays the customer's details at the top of the screen.

Check/update relevant fields on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage (HERITAGE) screen for each child:

Note: to ensure debts are not raised, new or updated responses are recorded in a new line within the table. The system will automatically end date previously confirmed lines, as necessary, i.e. there is limited need to edit previously confirmed lines.

• Benefit: CCP
• Start Date: If the customer has provided a:
• new response, confirm the claims Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR) has populated. The date of effect will be the earliest CCS Monday within 28 days of the date of receipt recorded in the HERITAGE screen
• response that differs to a previously confirmed response (that will result in the base 36 hours ceasing), change the start date to today’s date to ensure debts are not raised
  (e.g. Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage changed to either ‘Do Not Wish to Answer or Not Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander)
• End Date: new entries will pre-populate to 31/12/9999. (Note: no manual coding/editing of confirmed lines is required, the system will end date as necessary)
• Date of Receipt: the system will pre-populate to the claim submission date
• Heritage: select customer’s response/s from the dropdown box
• Reason: this field will only display for the response of ‘Do Not Wish to Answer’
• Heritage of: select relevant child from the dropdown box

See Coding Activity Test details for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if further details on how to record updates to the HERITAGE screen is required.

Check/update relevant fields on the PAS screen:

• BSB:- select Browse to populate BSB Search
• Institution Name: auto populates based on the BSB selection
• Account Number
• Account Name/Title: the account is to be held in customer's name solely or as a joint account. The exception is when a payment nominee arrangement is in place on the customer's record
• Country: staff in International Services (CIS) should only code overseas payment arrangements
• Benefit System: for the purposes of CCS, make sure FAO - Family Assistance Office is recorded
• Payment Method: direct credit will auto populate

The RSIM screen will record the child's absences from Australia since 1 September 1994 obtained directly from the Department of Home Affairs records.

If there is an active immigration link in the Immigration Link table, Edit the limiting date field.

The Immigration Movements table is display only.

Check/update relevant fields on the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen:

• Country of Birth table:
• Country of Birth
• Travel outside Australia table:
• Lived or travelled outside Australia since 1 Sept 1994
• Check information held on RSIM screen
• Immigration Enquiry table:
• Travel Document Number
• Type of document: select the relevant option
• Country of Issue: select the relevant option
• Channel

Select Request Immigration Data. Customer Immigration Link status will automatically update in the Immigration Enquiry table. Go to the RSIM screen to view.

If the customer is partnered, check the partner's Immigration Enquiry details are up to date.

Residence details may be populated from the Request Immigration Data request on the RSIMME screen.

Check/update relevant fields on the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen for both the customer and partner (if partnered):

• Citizenship Details table:
• Country of Citizenship
• Start Date
• Visa Details table:
• Visa number: optional
• Visa Sub Class Code
• Grant Date
• End Date: optional
• Application Date: optional
• Select Assurance of Support Indicator (for AoS staff only)
• Channel: prepopulates to Customer Service Officer (CSO) where manually recorded
• Visa Qualifier Details table:
• Visa Qualifier Code
• Start Date
• End Date
• Channel
• New Zealand Residence Status
• NZ Residence Status
• Status Active

If the information has been automatically populated by the immigration link (the associated channel code will be IMM) and staff are satisfied with the residence information, go to Step 15.

If the information has:

• not been automatically populated by the immigration link, and
• the customer has indicated in their claim they hold a visa subclass 403, and
• they (or their partner) are a Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme worker who has been approved for Family Accompaniment, then:
• the Visa Qualifier Details table will need to be updated by Centrelink International Services (CIS) before claim can be finalised, and
• a Manual Follow Up (MFU) activity will be generated for CIS to action

Phone CIS to ask the MFU be actioned immediately. See Centrelink International Services (CIS) - contact details for staff.

Once CIS have completed required action, go to Step 15.

Check/update relevant fields on the TFN screen:

• TFN details table:
• Customer TFN
• Exemption: leave blank. If the customer is seeking a TFN exemption, see Exemption from providing Tax File Numbers when claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• TFN Authorisation Details table:
• Date claim lodged: defaults to the Deemed Date of Receipt (DDOR)
• Date of Receipt: defaults to the DDOR
• Service Reason: select CCP
• Authorisation: select Y-Yes

If the customer is partnered, check partner's Tax File Number Authorisation details are up to date.

If the claim is:

• a SOA, go to Step 16
• an online claim, go to Step 17

Select . Select the child the customer is claiming CCS to go to the SWE screen. The claim will show the Child Message Log and Task Selector tables for the child.

Choose Select all tasks to select the following screens on the Task Selector:

• CED - Child Education Details
• CHC - Child in Care
• CIM - Immunisation
• SCA - Shared Care Assessment

Select Next to go to the selected screens.

When progressing through the screens staff will see information with a status of:

• Confirmed: information previously verified about the customer
• Provisional: new information updated in the claim transaction
• Unconfirmed: - the system could not match automatically. This may include name and date of birth details mismatch between the claim data and system data
• Changed: existing information which has been changed by claim data

Go to Step 18.

Select . Select the child the customer is claiming CCS for to go to the SWE screen. The claim will show the Child Message Log and Task Selector tables for the child.

The following screens from the Task Selector may be pre-selected. If the screens are not pre-selected, manually select the tasks:

• CED - Child Education Details
• CHC - Child in Care
• CIM - Immunisation
• SCA – Shared Care Assessment

Select Next to go to the selected screens.

When progressing through the screens staff will see information with a status of:

• Confirmed: information previously verified about the customer
• Provisional: new information updated in the claim transaction
• Unconfirmed: - the system could not match automatically. This may include name and date of birth details mismatch between the claim data and system data
• Changed: existing information which has been changed by claim data

Check/update relevant fields on the CED screen:

• Child has not started school:
• Start date: child's date of birth
• Education level: select Has not started studies
• No further details need to be entered
• If a Provisional line has not been recorded, there is no requirement to add one
• Primary School:
• Start date: date the child did or is expected to start primary school
  Note: this is not the start of the calendar year. See the Resources page in Updating school status, and assessing age exemptions for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for a link to term dates for public schools. Use this to help customers with the correct start date
• If the customer has advised they are delaying the child's entry into primary school, start a new line with the new primary start date. This lets the customer access additional pre-school hours (if applicable) when the child is repeating preschool
• Education level: select Primary education
• No further details need to be entered
• Secondary School:
• Start date: date the child did or is expected to start secondary school
  Note: this is not the start of the calendar year. See the Resources page in Updating school status, and assessing age exemptions for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for a link to term dates for public schools. Use this to help customers with the correct start date
• Education level: select Secondary education
• Disabled child: select Yes or No (leave blank if not known)
• Adult available to care: select Yes or No (leave blank if not known)
• Unable to be left alone: select Yes or No (leave blank if not known)
  Note: Yes confirms the child cannot be left unsupervised

See Updating school status, and assessing age exemptions for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Check/update relevant fields on the CHC screen:

• Start Date - Make sure the child is coded In Customer Care (ICC) and the correct Event Date is recorded:
• Date child entered customer's care/new care arrangements started, if the date is different from child's date of birth
• Date of birth if the child was born overseas and is considered temporarily absent from Australia. All residency screens need to be coded for the child if the child arrives from overseas
• If the child is born overseas and has newly arrived in Australia to live with the customer for the first time, use the date of the child's arrival
• If the child is born overseas, and both the child and the parent are newly arrived in Australia, use the child's date of birth
• Customer Name/CRN: parents linked to the child record will present in the dropdown box
• Care Status: select status

Do care details need to be updated?

• Yes, see Step 6 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 20

Manually get the AIR data for each child in the claim to avoid gaps and make sure of the correct backdating of entitlement.

While in the SOA claim:

• take note of the postcode of the parent
• from the child/ren record, go to the CIM table via the Super Key and select Add
• select Get AIR Data and Save the result, confirming the provisional AIR date of notification now matches the date of receipt (DDOR) of the claim. Note: the immunisation link should already be established but if linking issues present:
• enter the customer postcode first then, if needed,
• include the Medicare number if available

CCS will reject for children who do not meet the immunisation requirements at the time of claim determination, unless an immunisation exemption is approved or the child is under 3 months. If a claim is rejected, staff must not hold the claim to wait for the customer to meet immunisation requirements.

Claims should not be rejected where the immunisation status is unknown because a link with the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) has not been established. If a 'W' (wait) response is received from AIR, place the claim on hold for two business days. This allows time for AIR to attempt to manually complete the link, regardless of the age of the child.

Check the CCS AIR link has been successfully established for the child on the Child Immunisation Details (CIM) screen.

If the child record:

• is linked with the AIR, the following will show:
• Status: Yes or No
• Reason Code: 5 digits, starting with 10
• AIR Response: A (Accept)
• has not linked with the AIR, the following will show:
• Reason Code: 5 digits, starting with '9', '8' or '7'
• AIR Response: R (Reject) or W (Wait)
• Status: no information will exist

For help to establish the link, including where Medicare details have not been provided, see the Establishing a CCS link with the AIR table in Immunisation requirements for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Check relevant fields on the SCA screen:

• Families Shared Care table:
• Start Date
• Nights in Care
• Care Percentage (%)
• Assessment Method
• Carer
• Apportioning Indicator
• Preliminary Indicator
• More than 2 Carers
• Agency
• SSC Shared Care table:
• Start Date: date of birth/entry into care
• Principal Carer
• SSA Care Percentage
• Carer

If shared care details require updating, see Table 3, Step 6. The shared care assessment is to be updated in Customer First before coding the CCS claim.

If there is no shared care arrangement in place, tables can be left blank.

The claim will return to the Child Task Selector on the SWE screen once the user has progressed through all the previously selected screens.

If the customer is claiming CCS or is CCS current for another child, repeat steps 16-20 to check/update the information recorded.

Return to the customer's SWE screen to view errors, warnings and messages in the Message Log. These messages inform the items that need to be addressed to prepare to finalise the claim.

Select to launch the Digital Assistant Roxy. Key the error message into the Digital Assistant for help.

See:

• Using Digital Assistant Roxy in Process Direct
• Process Direct navigation, common screens and functions

If claims are to be held pending issue resolution, information is to be updated in relevant progress Notes/DOCs.

If the claim was originally allocated via an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD, and shared/hierarchy handoff is not required:

• Make sure the Note/DOC is completed
• On the Transactions (TS) screen select Keyword
• Select Add, and search for and select OPSPLAN84. The keyword will now appear in the claim

Check Process Direct - Current Issues for known errors and approved workarounds.

For either:

• Mainframe errors:
• If the error has been resolved, it will continue to show until the user goes back to the SWE screen and select Assess
• Once all errors have been addressed, select Assess then proceed to Step 1 in Table 6
• Immunisation related warnings, go to Step 24
• SR906 error, go to Step 25

Follow Digital Assistant Roxy help text instructions if any of the following messages appear:

• SR210 MY CHILD CARE: Child DOB mismatch between CLK and AIR
• SR212: MY CHILD CARE: WAIT for AIR manual matching to complete
• SR215:MY CHILD CARE: Immunisation status not received: Eligibility for (Child Name) may cease (see specific instructions if child is under 3 months of age)

For further information see Immunisation requirements for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

After addressing the data validations, select Assess. Any errors, warnings or messages show and may need to be addressed. If there are no errors, the Assessment Results screen will show.

See Table 6, Step 1.

SR906 error will present where:

• the partner is CCS current for a child that the customer is claiming for, or
• an ex-partner was CCS current for a child that the customer is claiming for. For example, where the customers separation date is after their CCS claim DDOR

Only one member of a couple may be CCS current for a child

• If a customer has lodged a claim or has become partnered and the partner is already CCS current, the:
• current member of the couple will need to cancel their CCS entitlement for the child from a CCS Sunday following last attendance lodged to allow the customer to claim from the next CCS Monday, see Table 3, Step 20, or
• customer will need to withdraw their CCS claim for the child to allow partner to remain CCS current, see Table 3, Step 20
• party who is to become/remain CCS current will need to contact their service provider(s) to make sure the child's enrolment and session reports are under their CRN. Contact with customer/partner is required to determine who remains CCS current
• If the customer's start date (CCS Monday) is before the:
• ex-partner's separation date, the customer's CCS start date will need to start from the CCS Monday following the separation, or
• partner's cancellation date, the customer's CCS start date will need to start from the CCS Monday following the cancellation
• The start date of the claim will need to be adjusted to a later CCS Monday:
• Go to the Decision Unit line to show Change Child in CCS Claim (CCC). Select Edit on the relevant line to change the Start date to the CCS Monday following the partner's cancellation or separation date

For example, where the customer and partner separated 5 February 2023 and the claim was submitted 13 February 2023, the DDOR applied by the claim is 23 January 2023. As the DDOR for the customer falls on a date where the ex-partner was CCS current for the child, the SR906 error correctly presents. To resolve this error, the CCC start date should be changed to 6 February 2023, which is the first CCS Monday following separation.

If the customer and partner are switching entitlement from one party to the other and the cancellation has already been recorded, but has not been recorded from a date other than the requested CCS Sunday, a SOA may be required to reassess the period between the date of cancellation and the CCS Sunday. See Table 3, Step 20.

The Assessment Results screen shows the Customer tab (see screenshot).

Note: this is not the final outcome as the Assessment Results take a moment to load.

Do not take any action until information shows in the Eligibility and Entitlements tables on the SSP tab. These show automatically (see screenshot).

When the Eligibility table to indicate when the screen has finished loading

• Check the date of grant is correct and that backdating provisions have been applied correctly
• Check that all children claimed have been included in the assessment
• If the assessment result shows a CCS status of 'not eligible' and a reason of 'immunisation not met' check that a successful AIR link has been established. See Immunisation requirements for Child Care Subsidy (CCS)

On the Entitlements table:

• Check the CCS percentages and Activity Test Fortnight Hours have applied correctly and from the right dates
• Determine if the claim is reassessing any past periods of CCS:
• Reassessments will show under the Planned Payments table. If the table is blank, the claim is not reassessing past periods of CCS
• See Reviewing assessment outcomes for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for further information

Select the Customer tab and Partner tab to check the effects of the CCS claim on other payments.

If an incorrect update within the CCS claim has affected eligibility to previous payments, a negative adjustment shows (see screenshot example where an incorrect residency update is causing partner DAP debt).

• Check details provided in the CCS claim. If the:
• claim residence details differ from those previously recorded on the residency screens, correct to align with previous coding
• new information is correct, contact the customer to confirm before accepting the new information, and tell the customer the impact this will have on their other payments

With outcomes confirmed and necessary corrections done, return to the SSP tab to finalise the activity.

Is the claim being processed after the customer was cancelled due to the CCS second deadline (2DL)?

• Yes, and the claim:
• is now granting at a percentage higher than 0% for any children, go to Step 6
• is granting with 0% for all children, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 6

Check for any outstanding CCS debts

Check if the customer has any outstanding CCS debts:

• Exit out of the claim by selecting Home
• Select Customer Summary from the Process Direct homepage
• Enter in the customer's CRN and select the customer from the Search Results
• Select the Debt icon then launch Debt Management

Does the customer have any CCS debts with a Status of Determined with an Outstanding Amount of more than $0?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, claim can be finalised. Go to Step 6

Before CCS can be re-granted, an adequate repayment arrangement needs to be in place. Customers have an adequate repayment arrangement when:

• a current repayment arrangement exists on the OPAL screen in Customer First
• if CCS current at more than 0%, automatic nominated withholdings of 20% are deducted

As the customer's CCS is granting at 0%, staff need to check if a repayment arrangement exists in Customer First by navigating to the Payment Arrangement List (OPAL) screen.

Is there a repayment arrangement on the OPAL screen with a status (STS) of CUR?

• Yes, the customer has a current repayment arrangement in place, claim can now be finalised. Go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 4

The customer will need to negotiate a repayment arrangement with Payment Assurance Operations before CCS can be re-granted, see Procedures for arranging withholdings to recover debts. Attempt to contact customer by phone to discuss:

• If the customer is subscribed to Desktop Messaging, send a pre-call notification SMS through Desktop Messaging before calling them. For pre-call messages, allow a lead-in time of 5 minutes in case there is a delay sending the message
• Attempt to make one genuine attempt to contact the customer by phone

Was contact successful with the customer?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, claim is to be made not effective (NEF). Go to Step 7

After identification/authorisation of the person on the phone has been established tell the customer:

• Their CCS had been previously cancelled due to not meeting their income requirements by the second deadline
• They now met the income requirements however, they have an outstanding CCS debt. There is no repayment arrangement in place. Before CCS being reinstated, a repayment arrangement will need to be in place for the debt
• Offer to transfer the customer through to Payment Assurance Operations or provide them with the contact number
• Their claim will be placed on hold for one day to give them the opportunity to put the repayment arrangement in place
• If no payment arrangement is in place when the claim is actioned, the claim will be made not-effective and the customer will need to lodge a new claim

Place the claim on hold for two days to allow the repayment arrangement to be put in place. Use hold reason ‘Customer to Provide Information.’ Update the progress of claim Note/DOC of the discussion with the customer (include in the note the Income Lodgement Date noted). After the 2 days, the claim will be reallocated to a staff member.

If staff are allocated the claim after 2 days, check the OPAL screen in Customer First.

Does the customer now have a repayment arrangement in place for the CCS debt?

• Yes, claim can now be finalised. Go to Step 6
• No, claim is to be made not effective (NEF). Go to Step 7

Claim outcomes must be recorded in a document or note.

Select Finish to present the Notes.

If the claim is not being finalised, record relevant information in Notes.

If the claim is being finalised, for standalone claims, check the Activity List (AL) screen for an open FAO Note/DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD. Complete the Note/DOC in Customer First if this is still open.

Document the claim outcome. Claim ID, Child Name and Reason for adverse decision are considered minimum requirements for claim notes, which should auto populate. Staff must edit their finalisation Note/DOC so it reflects the claim outcome and is not misleading:

• If CCS has been granted for all or any child/ren, the claim notes are to include:
• CCS granted: s85AA to 85GB FA Act 1999
• Claim ID:
• Date of claim: [insert date claim submitted]
• Date of grant: [insert start date of CCS as determined by the system on Assessment Results (AR)]
• Child/ren granted: If assessing a claim where the customer is already CCS current for all children listed in the subsequent claim, use the above grant details and note the claim is a duplicate/multiple. List details of any circumstances updated within the claim
• If CCS has been rejected for all or any child/ren, the claim notes are to include:
• CCS rejected: s85AA to 85GB FA Act 1999
• Claim ID:
• Date of claim: [insert date claim submitted]
• Child/ren rejected:
• Reason: [insert reason, for example, Child over age]

Make two outbound attempts to tell the customer about the adverse decision (where the customer has not been previously contacted and advised). See Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision. Record details of attempts and/or customer discussion in the rejection Note/DOC.

For more information on additional information to be recorded, see

• Online Document Recording Resources page
• Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)

Select Finalise (or Not Finalise if appropriate) to complete the activity.

If necessary, refresh the page by selecting F5 or exit and re-enter the record to view the finalised claim result.

Check Notes to make sure a sufficient claim assessment DOC has been recorded. Create a new claim assessment Note/DOC by copying and pasting the relevant claim notes above if the Note/DOC has not recorded correctly.

If:

• the claim’s DDOR crosses over into the previous CCS year, and customer has zero rate CCS for this period
• check the MCI link is open for the relevant financial year for the customer and/or partner to make sure the system is reading that income is required
• check FAO Taxable Income (FTI) screen on the partners record to make sure the estimate is confirmed. Where it is identified that the partner’s income estimate is displaying as ‘Provisional’ and/or has not updated in Customer First, in Process Direct:
• create a SOA shell as per Table 2, entering the date the original claim was submitted as the SOA Date of Receipt
• update the partner’s income estimate by inserting a line on the FTI screen with the DDOR as the Start Date
• finalise the SOA shell and annotate the customer’s CCS claim assessment DOC - ‘Partner income estimate impacted by PM31596. SOA coded to apply correct FTI information.’

Procedure ends here.

Claim NEF if:

• customer was cancelled 2DL,
• income requirements not met for previous financial years, and/or
• outstanding CCS debt is not repaid, or has an adequate repayment arrangement in place

A customer cannot reclaim CCS again until they meet all the CCS income requirements for outstanding financial years and outstanding CCS debts fully repaid or have an adequate repayment arrangement in place. Any CCS claims lodged where the customer does not meet these requirements are to be made not-effective (NEF).

• Select claim from Inbox
• Select the Status icon
• Select Edit
• Change Status to Not Effective
• Select Save

For standalone claims, check the AL screen for an open FAO DOC with notes Plse action CCS claim in PD. Complete this off the AL screen in Customer First if this is still open.

Two outbound attempts must be made to tell the customer of the adverse decision (where the customer has not been previously contacted and advised). For more information, see Making an Unfavourable decision (CLK).

Document the outcome via Notes with the following:

• CCS/ACCS NEF: s85AA to 85GB FA Act 1999
  Claim ID:
  Claim date: [insert date Claim completed by the customer]
  Children: [insert names of child/ren for which claim is made NEF]
  Reason: CCS was cancelled due to not meeting income requirements by the second deadline. Income requirements continue not to be met for (insert financial years) and/or non-lodger debt fully repaid or adequate payment arrangement in place when claim processed (delete what is not applicable). It is not possible for a customer to ask for a review of a decision about their entitlement. The claim is taken not to have been made. The customer can ask for a review of the decision, which made the claim not effective. If the claim is still found to be not effective, a new claim will need to be lodged.