Claiming and managing Flexible Paid Parental Leave (PPL) days for children born or entering care before 1 July 2023 007-20030334

When actioning Flexible PPL updates for a customer, ensure where PPL updates are required:

• within a new claim (NCL), these updates are to be made within the NCL activity in Process Direct
• after a claim is assessed due to a customer advising a change in circumstance, these updates are to be actioned from Customer Summary
• Enter START in the Super Key
• select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector

Flexible PPL days should not be updated by navigating to individual specific screens and making the updates outside of a new claim or the PPL change of circumstance workflow.

To:

• locate a customer’s Flexible PPL information, see Table 2
• claim new Flexible PPL days, see Table 3
• claim Flexible PPL days more than 42 days in the past, see Table 3, Step 8
• make changes to claimed Flexible PPL days, see Table 4

To view the customer’s Flexible PPL days information:

• In Process Direct, go to the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen
• The P1FLX screen, displays the following information:
• PPL Summary
• Connected Flexible PPL Days
• Flexible Days Given to Others
• Flexible Days

Where a customer has previous PPL claims, multiples lines could display on the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen.

Ensure to confirm the correct claim relevant to the customer.

The PPL Summary tab contains two levels of information regarding the PPL claim.

The first level displays an overview of the claim including:

• Date claim lodged
• Type
• Overall status
• Status
• Reason
• External claim reference id
• Expected/Actual date of birth or enter into care
• Child name (if post birth has been actioned)

After selecting the ‘Action field’ twisty, the second level of PPL Summary displays information regarding the current Flexible days nominations including:

• Claim Id
• Flexible PPL indicator
• PPL period start
• PPL period end
• PPL period days
• Connected days start (dd/MM/yyyy)
• Connected days end (dd/MM/yyyy)
• Connected days
• Flexible days claimed
• Flexible days given to others
• Flexible days given to me
• Flexible days available

If the customer has lodged a pre-birth claim, the information contained in this summary is subject to change. Once the child’s proof of birth is provided, eligibility for all PPL days will be reassessed based on the child’s actual date of birth/adoption.

The Connected Flexible PPL Days table displays the following fields:

• Record status
• Connected start date
• Connected end date
• Connected days
• Reason
• Source
• Assessed connected days
• Assessed reason code

The Flexible Days given to others table displays the following fields:

• Record Status
• PPL Days given to others

The Flexible PPL days declaration must be made by the customer each time they claim or withdraw a Flexible PPL day. It is available in the online service and PPL Change in Circumstances workflow.

The Resources page had the Declaration text.

• Record Status
• Flexible Start Date (dd/MM/yyyy)
• Reason
• Source
• Assessed reason code

To claim a Flexible PPL day, customers must tell Services Australia:

• when they want to receive the day, and
• declare that they met or will meet eligibility requirements on the nominated date. They can do this in their initial claim or separately

Customers can only claim a Flexible PPL day if they have at least one Flexible PPL day available in their Flexible days available balance.

If the customer’s Flexible days available days balance is zero they cannot claim a Flexible PPL day unless a previously claimed Flexible PPL day is rejected or withdrawn and returned to their balance.

If the claimed day is:

• in the future, it can be rejected/withdrawn due to customer request
• in the past, it can only be rejected if the customer did not meet eligibility requirements on the claimed date

To reject a claimed day, see Table 4, otherwise go to Step 2.

To be eligible to get Flexible PPL the customer must meet all of the following on the chosen date:

• be the primary carer of the PPL child
• not be working (they can be on paid or unpaid leave). Exemptions do apply for work performed for permissible purpose, or allowable exception reason and Keeping in Touch (KIT) days. See Parental Leave Pay (PPL) customer returns to work
• Australian residence requirements

Customers can nominate a date that is:

• not before or during the PPL period (or the nominated PPL period dates if the customer is not eligible for the PPL period)
• no more than 42 days in the past
• no earlier than the child’s date of birth/adoption
• before the child’s second birthday/anniversary of adoption
• not a day that they are receiving PPL for the same child
• during the PPL period for another child
• not a day that they are receiving Flexible PPL for another child

The workflow will present an error if the customer selects a date that does not meet this criteria.

Note: in limited circumstances, customers can be granted Flexible PPL on a date that is more than 42 days in the past. This includes customers that have attempted to claim Flexible PPL within the required timeframe, however their claim was not finalised in time due to a system issue or other circumstances.

For more information about how to identify and finalise Flexible PPL claims for these customers, go to Step 8.

Impact on other payments/benefits

When discussing when to claim Flexible PPL days, remind customers of the impact on other benefits that they (or their partner, if they have one) are claiming at the same time. If the customer is claiming Flexible PPL for a date in the past, this may result in a reassessment.

This includes:

• Family Tax Benefit Part B, as this cannot be paid on days that the customer or their partner claim PPL
• Income support payments. PPL is treated as ordinary income for determining eligibility and calculating the rate of income support payments for the customer and their partner for the same period

Reassessments of these payments due to receiving Flexible PPL for a past period may result in an overpayment for the customer or their partner. In some cases, PPL arrears will be offset against PPL or ISP overpayments that occur due to the reassessment.

Encourage customers to consider the impact on other payments they received when claiming Flexible PPL days in the past.

Rate calculations of PPL affecting Income support payments

PPL period and Connected Flexible PPL days

The rate of PPL affecting a customer and/or partner’s rate of Income Support Payment (ISP) is calculated by the average daily amount of payments received for the eligible PPL period and any connected Flexible PPL. The daily rate of PPL used for ISP purposes applies to a full calendar week, Monday to Sunday.

To calculate the daily rate of PPL affecting the rate of ISP:

• count the weekdays included in the PPL period and any connected days
• multiply this by the daily rate of PPL
• divide this total number of calendar days in the period (weekdays and weekend days)

Calculation Example: ((Daily Rate of the Period) X (number of weekday in the period)) divided by (number of calendar days in the Period) = Daily rate (for ISP purposes)

Flexible PPL days, not connected

Flexible PPL is calculated differently. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is applied as the daily rate of PPL affecting the customer and/or their partner’s rate of Income Support Payment (ISP) without any further calculation.

For:

• a block of Flexible PPL days not connected to the PPL period, the NMW rate will be paid for every individual day within the block of Flexible PPL days including weekends
• an individual claimed Flexible PPL days, the NMW daily rate applies on any calendar day and includes weekends

Once the customer’s PPL period starts, the customer cannot increase the number of connected days they have chosen.

However, they can claim individual Flexible PPL days on the dates immediately after the end of their PPL period or connected Flexible PPL day. If eligible, the day will be delivered by Services Australia. To claim as individual Flexible PPL days after the PPL period or connected period, go to Step 4.

Note: in limited circumstances, customers can increase a connected period after their PPL has commenced. For more information about how to identify and finalise an activity for these customers, go to Step 8.

Customers can increase the number of Flexible PPL days connected to the end of their PPL period or connected period if their PPL has not started. The customer does not need to nominate specific dates for these days. The system will determine them based on the end date of their PPL period. These days can be increased by the customer either via their online services or by a Service Officer using the PPL Change in Circumstance workflow in Process Direct.

If the customer’ s claim is assessed awaiting proof of birth/adoption (PPL/ASS-PCB) and their PPL period start date is based on the child’s expected date of birth or adoption (pre-birth claim), the connected Flexible PPL days will be automatically moved if the PPL period start date changes.

To increase the number of connected Flexible PPL days:

• key START in the Super Key,
• select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector
• Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• If there are multiple claim/s, select the current claim
• To update the number of Connected days to the PPL period go the Connected Flexible PPL Days tab and update by selecting Edit
• The Change Connected Flexible PPL Days dialogue box will appear:
• Connected start date: will default to the day after PPL period end
• Connected end date: leave this blank if entering a specific number in Connected days
• Connected days: enter the number of days the customer wishes to nominate for the connected period. Eg. 1 to 30
  Note: this will be depending on how many flexible days are available
• Reason: NOM - Nominated by customer (will default)
• Source: CUS - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Once all updates are completed to finalise COC transaction, see Table 6.

If:

• the customer wishes to change any information from what they advised previously within their PPL claim, and
• the claim has not been processed and finalised,
• the change in circumstances can be completed as part of the new claim processing

For Service Officers who are:

• trained in FCC processing, see Processing standalone and combined claims for family assistance and/or Paid Parental Leave scheme payments
• not FCC trained, annotate an existing Progress DOC relating to the PPL claim. Include the details of the change in circumstance advised by the customer to be updated by FCC processing when the claim is actioned

Advise the customer that they must tell Services Australia if their circumstances change.

The connected Flexible PPL period end date and Flexible days available will update based on the changes made.

Customers can nominate a date that is:

• after the end of the PPL period
• no earlier than the child’s date of birth/adoption
• not a day they have already claimed Flexible PPL days for the child
• not a day they are receiving for the same child
• no more than 42 days in the past
• not a day that they are receiving Flexible PPL for another child
• before the child’s second birthday/anniversary of adoption
• during the PPL period for another child
• not within the PPL period if it had not been rejected or cancelled (such as due to residency or returning to work):
• These dates are blocked from selection so that any subsequent eligibility reassessment or review of decision can be made for the PPL period/other claim
• If a customer requests Flexible PPL on one of these dates encourage them to nominate an alternative date for their Flexible PPL

Note: in limited circumstances, customers can be granted Flexible PPL for a date that is more than 42 days in the past. Go to Step 8 for more information.

An error will present if the customer or Service Officer selects an ineligible date.

If the customer nominates a past date, advise them that any FTB Part B or income support payment (ISP) that is paid to them or their partner on this date will be reassessed. This may result in an overpayment or cancellation of their ISP.

A customer can only claim a Flexible PPL day if they have days in their Flexible days available balance. They will need to withdraw one or more of their future claimed days before they can nominate a new date. It will then return to their Flexible days available balance. See Table 4 for rejecting/withdrawing a claimed Flexible PPL day.

To add:

• a single Flexible PPL day (not connected to the PPL period), go to Step 5
• multiple single Flexible PPL days or multiple days that in a pattern, go to Step 6

• Key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector
• Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• On the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To update Flexible PPL Days, go to the Flexible Days tab and select Add
• On the Create Flexible Days screen, update:
• Entry type: Single entry (will default)
• Recur Frequency: N/A for a single entry
• Days checkbox: N/A for a single entry
• Flexible start date (dd/MM/yyyy): enter the date of the single day
• No of days: N/A for a single day
• End by (dd/MM/yyyy): N/A for a single entry
• Reason: NOM - Nominated by customer (will default)
• Source: CUS - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save

If the customer wishes to nominate additional single day/s repeat above steps.

Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save.

See microVOD coding example.

Once all updates are completed to finalise COC transaction, see Table 6.

Add multiple Flexible PPL days in a weekly pattern

For example, when a customer nominates to have Flexible days every week on Monday and Tuesdays.

• Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To update Flexible Days, go to the Flexible Days tab and select Add
• On the Create Flexible Days screen, update:
• Entry type: Multiple entry (will default to Single)
• Recur Frequency: 1 -1 week (this will allow the Flexible days to repeat on a weekly basis
• Days checkbox: Select the checkboxes for which days the customer has selected. E.g. Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday
• Flexible start date (dd/MM/yyyy): enter the first day the customer wishes to flexible days to start. Note: The start date must be at least the day after the PPL period end date
• No of days: enter the number of days the customer wish to use as Flexible days. The no of days will only be applied up to the number of Flexible PPL days the customer has available
• End by (dd/MM/yyyy): the end date will be calculated based on the no of days
• Reason: NOM - Nominated by customer (will default)
• Source: CUS - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save
• See microVOD coding example

Once all updates are completed to finalise COC transaction, See Table 6.

Add multiple Flexible days in a non-weekly pattern

For example, when a customer nominates to have Flexible PPL days every 4 weeks on Monday and Fridays.

• Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To update Flexible Days, go to the Flexible Days tab and select Add
• On the Create Flexible Days screen, update:
• Entry type: Multiple entry (will default to Single)
• Recur Frequency: Select relevant frequency e.g. 4-4 week (this will allow the Flexible days to repeat every 4 weeks
• Days checkbox: Select the checkboxes for which days the customer has selected. E.g. Monday / Friday
• Flexible start date (dd/MM/yyyy): enter the first day the customer wishes to flexible days to start. Note: the start date must be at least the day after the PPL period end date
• No of days: enter the number of days the customer wish to use as Flexible days. E.g. If the customer elects 10 days, the system will code every Monday and Friday for 5 weeks
• End by (dd/MM/yyyy): the end date will be calculated based on the no of days
• Reason: NOM n Nominated by customer (will default)
• Source: CUS - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save

The number of days will only be applied up to the number of Flexible PPL days the customer has available.

If a recurrence crosses over with a date they have already claimed, this date will only be paid once.

These updates will be provisional until the Change of Circumstance activity has been finalised.

Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save.

See microVOD coding example.

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of Circumstances transaction, see Table 6.

An error will present if the customer nominates a date that is:

• before their child’s expected/actual date of birth or adoption
• during their PPL period
• on a day they or another person have already claimed Flexible PPL for the child, including connected Flexible PPL days
• before their last connected Flexible PPL Day
• more than 42 days in the past

Advise the customer they are unable to claim Flexible PPL on the nominated date. The day will remain in their Unclaimed Flexible days balance until they claim another date. Any days not claimed within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption will be lost.

If the customer is not available, make one genuine attempt to contact them to provide an alternative date. Otherwise, the customer will be advised by letter of any available unclaimed Flexible PPL days.

Note: the customer’s Unclaimed Flexible days: balance will update when the activity is finalised.

If the warning ‘Number of Flexible PPL days is more than 30’ is presented, correct the Reason: field from the default ‘Nominated by customer’ to the relevant reason.

To complete tasks, finalise and review results, see Table 6.

Customers can claim a Flexible PPL for a date that is more than 42 days in the past if:

• the customer attempted to claim the Flexible PPL day/s within the allowable 42 day claim period, and
• the activity failed to complete due to a system issue or processing delay

DOCs on the customers record and/or activity dates can be used to verify any issues.

An error ‘E307P1’ Flexible PPL day is more than 42 days in the past will present if a date nominated is more than 42 in the past.

Not part of a New Claim (NCL) activity

• Key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector
• Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To update Flexible Days, go to the Flexible Days tab and select Add. See Step 5 and 6 for detailed coding for single or multiple day/s, returning to Step 8 to complete the update
• Ensure the Reason is coded as: 42D - Date is greater than 42 days in the past
• Source: CSO - service officer
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save

Note: an override in this circumstance will only be applied if the source is ‘CSO’.

Enter Receipt Date and Source and select Save.

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of circumstance transaction, see Table 6.

Within a New Claim (NCL) activity

To record a Flexible PPL day more than 42 days in the past:

• within the new claim, navigate to the P1FLX screen
• Select Edit next to the unconfirmed line
• Select from the drop down box:
• Source: CSO
• Reason: ‘Date is greater than 42 days in the past’
• Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of circumstances transaction, see Table 6.

Note: an override in this circumstance will only be applied if the source is ‘CSO’.

Before finalising a claim or activity for a date more than 42 days in the past, contact the customer and advise of the risk of adverse impact on their or their partners other payments/entitlements (e.g. FTB(B) and ISP) that were paid for the same period.

Where the nominated Flexible Day is no longer required or payable, within a New Claim (NCL) activity

To remove a Flexible PPL more than 42 days in the past within the new claim, go to the P1FLX screen:

• Select Edit next to the unconfirmed line. This will now change the line to provisional and the delete option available
• Delete the nominated Flexible PPL day/s that are more than 42 days in the past that are no longer required. These days will be returned to the customers Flexible PPL balance to claim later

In limited circumstances, an override can be recorded to increase the PPL connected period after the PPL period has commenced. This override should only be used if:

• it is a result of a review of decision
• a system or processing issue prevented the connected period being increased within the new claim activity
• the customer attempted to increase their connected PPL period either online or by contacting the agency before their claim was finalised, but the claim was finalised before the updates were applied
• there are DOCs/activities on the customer record to confirm the above occurred before applying the updates

To increase the connected period after the PPL period has commenced:

• Key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector
• Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To update the number of Connected days to the PPL period, go the Connected Flexible PPL Days tab and select Edit
• On the Change Connected Flexible PPL Days screen, update:
• Connected start date: will default to day after PPL period end
• Connected end date: leave this blank if entering a specific number in Connected days
• Connected days: enter the number of days the customer wishes to nominate for the connected period. E.g. 1 to 30. Note: this will be depending on how many flexible days are available
• Reason: CSO Override
• Source: CSO - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of Circumstances transaction, see Table 6.

Once the activity is finalised, use Fast Note > Families > Updates > Change of Circs > DAP/PPL to record all details of the update, including how the customer was eligible for an increase to the connected period after they were PPL current.

If, following a review of decision a customer’s is eligible to Flexible PPL days claimed more than 2 years following the child’s birth or adoption, a Flexible PPL override can be recorded to allow the Flexible PPL days to be paid.

The claimed date/s must still be within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption. See Exception processing of Paid Parental Leave scheme claims.

Customers can connect some or all of their Flexible PPL days to their PPL period to give them a continuous block of PPL for up to 18 weeks.

The customer can reduce this continuous block, by decreasing the number of Flexible PPL days connected to their PPL period. These days will be converted to not connected days.

Connected Flexible PPL days that are scheduled:

• on or before today’s date, can only be changed to a day after the date last paid to plus 1. If the customer is advising that they were not eligible for PPL on the scheduled date/s they have already been paid for, such as returning to work or a change in primary care. This must be actioned as a rejection. Go to Step 2
• after today’s date, can be withdrawn due to customer request. If the customer’s PPL period has started, the customer can only reduce the number of connected Flexible PPL days to end either:
• date paid to plus 1
• on or after today’s date
• a date in the future

If the customer is not eligible for days prior to their last paid PPL date it must be recorded as a change of circumstances. (example: working on a PPL day).

To reduce the number of connected Flexible PPL Days:

• key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector
• Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To reduce the number of Connected days to the PPL period go the Connected Flexible PPL Days tab and select Edit
• The Change Connected Flexible PPL Days dialogue box will appear.
• Connected start date: will default to day after PPL period end
• Connected end date: leave this blank if entering a specific number in Connected days
• Connected days: enter the new number of flexible days for the connected period. E.g. If the customer wants to reduce from 30 to 15, enter 15
• Reason: If reducing the number of days, use ‘CWF-Withdrawn due to client request’
• Source: CUS - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of Circumstance transaction, see Table 6.

After the activity is finalised

The connected Flexible PPL period end date and Unclaimed Flexible PPL days will update.

The previously connected Flexible PPL days will be converted to not connected Flexible days and will be returned to the customer’s unclaimed balance of Flexible PPL days. These days can be claimed by the customer either via their online services or using the PPL Change of Circumstance workflow.

Flexible PPL day claimed for a date in the past

Flexible PPL days claimed for a date that is on or before today’s date can be rejected if:

• there has been a change in circumstances, and
• the customer is no longer eligible for PPL on the day (such as returning to work, change in care of the child, change in residency)

If the customer’s PPL entitlement has been reassessed and:

• an overpayment is identified, it may be offset against any PPL arrears
• a debt is identified, DOC the customer’s record. The debt shell will auto-allocate to the appropriate debt team for investigation

If a connected Flexible PPL day is rejected, any subsequent connected Flexible PPL days will be converted to Flexible PPL days. If the customer is not eligible for Flexible PPL on these days, they must be rejected separately.

Withdrawing a Flexible PPL day claimed for a date in the future

Flexible PPL days that are scheduled for future dates can be rejected withdrawn due to customer request.

Subsequent days must be checked

If a Flexible PPL day is rejected or withdrawn, any claimed Flexible PPL days scheduled on dates after the rejected/withdrawn day will not automatically be rejected or withdrawn. These days will need to be checked separately and either:

• rejected, if the customer is no longer eligible, or
• withdrawn if the customer no longer wants to claim a Flexible PPL day on this date

The Resources page contains a full list of Flexible PPL component level rejection codes.

If the customer advises of a change in circumstances for a Flexible PPL day, record the change in circumstances first.

When a customer claims a Flexible PPL day, they are required to declare that on the claimed date they will:

• have primary care of the child
• not be working unless for an allowable exception reason
• meet residency requirements

The customer is required to notify Services Australia if:

• their circumstances change, and/or
• they are no longer eligible for Flexible PPL on the claimed date

When the change in circumstances is recorded:

• the Flexible PPL day claimed on the date of event of the change will reject when the change is recorded
• any Flexible PPL days (including connected days) scheduled on dates after the change must be checked. If the customer advises that they are no longer eligible for these days they must also be rejected/withdrawn

Exception: If a return to work is recorded, any connected Flexible PPL days scheduled after the return to work date will be rejected or withdrawn as there is now a break in the continuous period of PPL.

Once the change of circumstances is recorded and the day/s updated, the customer’s Flexible days available will update.

To view the customer’s claimed Flexible PPL days:

• navigate to P1FLX - PPL Flexible Summary
• check the Connected Flexible PPL Summary tab to see what the customer has elected, in the:
• PPL Period start and end dates
• Connected days start and end
• Flexible days claimed
• Flexible days given to others
• Flexible days given to me, and
• Flexible Days available

Make a note of each claimed Flexible PPL day that is to be changed and the reason.

To reject a Flexible PPL day claimed for a date in the past due to:

• when the customer has worked on a claimed Flexible PPL day/s in the past, go to Step 5
• is no longer primary carer on claimed Flexible PPL day/s in the past, go to Step 6

To withdraw a Flexible PPL day claimed for a date (on or after today’s date), go to Step 7.

If the customer is advising that the work performed on a Flexible PPL day is the first time that they have returned to work since the birth or adoption of their child, check if the customer:

• has performed work for an allowable exception reason
• is accessing a Keeping in Touch day

See Parental Leave Pay (PPL) customer, for a child born before 1 July 2023, returns to work.

If the customer is advising they are working or worked on a scheduled Flexible PPL day the day must be rejected due to working on a Flexible day.

A customer is considered to be working on a day if, on that day:

• they perform 1 hour or more of paid work, and
• an allowable exception reason does not apply or the work performed is not for a permissible purpose

To reject a Flexible PPL day the customer has worked on:

• Key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector. Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To remove a Flexible Day due to working on a flexible day, go to the Flexible Days tab
• Select the relevant Flexible Day line and select Edit
• Flexible start date: will display the date previously chosen as a flexible day
• Reason: If rejecting the number of day, use ‘WOF - Working on Flexible Day’
• Source: CUS – select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Note : Repeat process if there are multiple days the customer is working on.

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of Circumstance transaction, see Table 6.

Once the activity is finalised, the withdrawn day:

• will return to the Flexible days available: balance, and
• can be claimed on another date

To reject/withdraw days for a different reason repeat the process for each reason. Multiple rejections can be completed in the one activity.

If the customer has already been paid Flexible PPL for these days, see Parental Leave Pay (PPL) debt raising, debt offsetting and recovery.

If the customer advises they will not have primary care of the child on a scheduled Flexible PPL day, the day must be rejected.

Once the activity is finalised it will return to the Unclaimed Flexible days: balance and can be claimed on an alternative date.

To reject a Flexible PPL day the customer does not have Primary Care of the PPL child:

• Key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector. Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To remove a Flexible Day due to not having Primary Care of the PPL child, go to the Flexible Days tab
• Select the relevant Flexible Day line and select Edit:
• Flexible start date: will display the date previously chosen as a flexible day
• Reason: If rejecting the number of day, use ‘NPF - Customer not primary care of child’
• Source: CUS - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Repeat process if there are multiple days the customer is not the primary carer on.

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of circumstances transaction, see Table 6.

Customer request (CWF) is only to be used for the withdrawal of dates in the future (after today’s date). For dates in the past, use the appropriate eligibility reason. To reject/withdraw days for a different reason repeat the process for each reason. Multiple rejections can be completed in the one activity, but new claimed dates must be completed in a separate activity.

If the customer has already been paid Flexible PPL for these days, see Parental Leave Pay (PPL) debt raising, debt offsetting and recovery.

Note: the Flexible PPL Days section does not need to be updated when claiming and managing not connected Flexible PPL days. This section relates to updates to connected and transferred (given permission) days only. An error will present if fields in this section are updated when managing not connected Flexible PPL days.

Claimed Flexible PPL days can be withdrawn due to client request only if the claimed date is in the future (after today’s date). For dates in the past, see above for the appropriate eligibility reason.

To withdraw a Flexible PPL day that is not connected to the PPL period:

• Key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector. Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To remove a Flexible Day due in the future, go to the Flexible Days tab
• Select the relevant Flexible Day line and select Edit
• Flexible start date: will display the date previously chosen as a flexible day
• Reason: If rejecting the number of day, use ‘CWF - Withdrawn due to client request’
• Source: CUS - select the relevant source (CSO, CUS or EMP)
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Repeat process if there are multiple days the customer is working on.

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of Circumstance transaction, see Table 6.

Note: the customer’s Flexible days available balance will update when the activity is finalised.

Primary claimants can give permission for another person to claim some or all of their Flexible PPL days, up to the number of days in their Flexible days available balance.

If the customer’s balance of Flexible days: is zero, dates already claimed can be rejected and returned to their balance. The customer can then give permission for another person to claim them. An overpayment may occur if:

• a rejected day is in the past, and
• is has already been paid to the customer or their employer

To reject a claimed day, see Table 4.

To give permission:

• Key START in the Super Key, select the PPL Change of Circumstances workflow from the Task Selector. Select the Parental Leave Pay Days, then select Start
• From the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab
• To give permission to another person, go to the Flexible Days given to others tab
• Select Edit
• PPL days given to others: will display the current number of days given to others. To update, change the number to the number of days advised by the customer. E.g. If ‘0’ days is listed, change to ‘5’
• Select Save
• Enter Receipt date and Channel and select Save

Once all updates are completed finalise the change of circumstances transaction, see Table 6.

Within a New Claim (NCL) activity in Process Direct

If the PPL claim has not been finalised, and is showing a status of NCL, updated can be made within the new claim in Process Direct.

• Select the new claim transaction in Process Direct, select Process
• Go to the Parental Leave Pay days (P1FLX) screen
• Expand the relevant claim to show Flexible Days Given To Others
• Add a row or Edit the existing row if there is existing provisional data
• Enter the number of Flexible PPL days the customer wants to give to others
• In the Reason: select ‘Nominated by customer’
• In the Source: select the relevant source (CSO, Customer or Employer)
• In the Customer declaration: select ‘Yes’
• Annotate the progress DOC with the requested change

If the customer wants to make multiple updates to Flexible PPL days (such as rejecting a Flexible PPL day and claiming a Flexible PPL day) complete these as separate activities. This allows the Unclaimed Flexible days balance to be update between updates.

Advise the primary claimant:

• before the secondary claimant can access these days they will need to claim and be eligible for PPL
• these days will be available to any secondary claimant that has claimed and is eligible for PPL for this child
• they can remove permission for a secondary claimant to claim the day's and claim any unclaimed Flexible PPL days for themselves

Secondary claimants:

• who have had some or all of the PPL period transferred to them, must lodge a claim within the time limits for claiming the maximum PPL period
• have up to 2 years from the child’s date of birth or entry into care to claim Flexible PPL days
• who have already claimed PPL for this child and have been assessed as eligible, can use the Flexible PPL online service to claim subsequent Flexible PPL days

Once found eligible for PPL, the days will appear in the Flexible PPL available days by secondary/s balance on the primary claimants record or on the secondary claimants record in the PPL Circumstances guided procedure in the Flexible PPL days guided procedure workflow.

If the primary claimant has given permission for another person to claim some or all of their Flexible PPL days, this permission can be removed during the:

• pre-birth stage, at any time
• post-birth stage, before a secondary claimant has claimed and nominated a date for the days

On the Parental Leave Pay Days (P1FLX) screen, select for the relevant claim ID to open the PPL Summary tab.

To give permission to another person:

• go to the Flexible Days given to others tab
• select Edit
• PPL days given to others: will display the current number of days given to others. To update, change the number to the number of days advised by the customer. E.g. If ‘5’ days is listed, change to ‘0’
• select Save

Once the activity is finalised, the PPL Flexible Days summary screen will display the updated:

• number of Unclaimed Flexible PPL days
• Flexible PPL days given to another person: in the record of the primary claimant
• Flexible PPL days given to me: in the record of any linked secondary claimants

To complete tasks, finalise and review results, see Table 6.

Update Service Reason and Payment System (if required). If the customer receives, or has received other payments in the past, the Service Reason and Payment System may not default to PPL. They must be manually changed to PPL, so the PPL Note generates when finalising the activity. No changes are required to the Activity Type.

Go to the customer information header and check if the Service Reason and Payment System drop downs have defaulted to PPL.

• If they have, no action required
• If they have not, change both to PPL

Complete Flexible PPL declaration (Flexible PPL days only) within the Flexible PPL workflow.

The PPL declaration must be read each time the customer claims, changes or withdraws a PPL day. If the customer:

• agrees, select PPL declaration: Yes
• does not agree to the declaration, the update and transaction cannot be finalised. Discussion with the customer should be recorded in a Note

Once all updates have been completed, select Assess.

Address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen.

An error will present if the customer has selected a date that does not meet the eligibility criteria for a PPL day. This includes if they select a date:

• before their child’s expected/actual date of birth or adoption
• more than 42 days in the past
• on or after the child’s second birthday/anniversary of adoption

Use Digital Assistant Roxy in Process Direct to address any warnings or errors that present in the Message Log on the SWE screen.

Refer to additional support resources where errors or warnings present including:

• Network News Update (NNU)
• Operational Blueprint
• mySupport
• Process Direct - Current Issues page

If error or warnings cannot be resolved using above resources, raise an incident via Roxy DA. See Reporting ICT issues in Process Direct.

Do not attempt unauthorised workarounds.

After fixing any errors, select Assess again to go the Entitlements (ELD) screen.

The Entitlement (ELD) screen displays the outcome of the activity and payment dates.

• Check the results on the ELD screen are correct, then select Finish
• Record additional details of the update
• Select Finalise

Advise the customer of the outcome, and:

• their residency and care status will be checked on the nominated date/s
• to tell Services Australia if their circumstances change and they are no longer eligible for PPL on the nominated date
• their updated balance of Flexible PPL days is
• any days not claimed within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption will be lost

PPL day is rejected or withdrawn

If a customer changes a PPL day it will be:

• withdrawn, if it is a day in the future that has not yet been sent to the customer or their employer
• rejected, if it is a day in the past that has already been sent to the customer or their employer. A full list of rejection reasons is available on the Resources page

Withdrawn/rejected days will be returned to the PPL days available balance.

Reassessment results in arrears and/or overpayment

If within the activity the results are both PPL arrears and an overpayment of PPL or an overpayment of an income support payment (ISP), the system will automatically offset these amounts.

The offset will occur so a payment does not issue and subsequently raise a debt on the same day.

Note: offsetting for ISP overpayments only applies where the ISP overpayment is a result of the customer getting PPL for the same past period. This is because PPL is treated as ordinary income for calculating the rate of ISP.

If the overpayment amount is greater than the arrears amount, a debt will be identified. The debt shell will auto-allocate to the appropriate debt team for investigation.

For more information, see Parental Leave Pay (PPL) debt raising, debt offsetting and recovery.

To view the customer’s Flexible PPL information:

• Go to the PPL claim Summary (P1CS) screen
• Enter ‘R’ into the relevant PPL claim line, to go to the PPL Calculation Summary (P1RCS) screen
• The P1RCS screen, displays the following information:
• assessment results for a claim
• PPL period start and end date
• date of the last Flexible PPL day connected to the PPL period
• Enter ‘Y’ in the Display Flexible PPL: field and navigate to the Flexible PPL Calculation (P1RCF) screen to view:
• Assessed Flexible days:
• Total Amount: the total entitlement amount for the assessed Flexible PPL days
• Date of Effect: the date for the nominated Flexible PPL day
• RSN: the reason code for the assessed Flexible PPL day
• SRC: the source of the assessed Flexible PPL day
• Amount: the entitlement amount for the Flexible PPL day
• Status: the current benefit status and service reason code
• AMR: the activity management reference

See Rate explanation screens for family assistance and Paid Parental Leave scheme payments.

The Flexible PPL guided procedure can be accessed via the PPL circumstances Guided Procedure. The workflow is used to:

• view a customer’s Flexible PPL information, including balance of unclaimed Flexible PPL days
• claim Flexible PPL days not connected to the PPL period
• modify existing Flexible PPL day/s. This includes recording a customer is no longer eligible for a Flexible PPL day due to working or not being the primary carer
• increase or decrease the number of Flexible PPL days connected to the end of the customer’s PPL period

Multiple updates cannot be completed in the same activity. The workflow must be run separately for each update to allow the customer’s balance of claimed and unclaimed days to update. This includes:

• advising the customer has returned to work
• rejecting or changing claimed Flexible PPL days
• claiming new flexible PPL days

PPL claim has not been assessed (NCL)

The Flexible PPL information provided within a customer's PPL claim can only be changed within the new claim activity within Process Direct.

For non-FCC Processing trained staff:

When a customer has requested a change to Flexible PPL days claimed, record change as declared by the customer by annotating the ‘Progress of claim’ DOC on the DL screen:

PPL claim has been finalised (PPL/ASS, PPL/CUR or PPL/CZR)

In Customer First:

• Launch the PPL circumstances guided procedure
• Select the Flexible PPL tab
• Select the Flexible PPL line
• Launch Staff Task and select Flexible PPL

Note: if the claim status is NEF or REJ, do not run the guided procedure. See Not effective, rejection or withdrawal of claim for Parental Leave Pay (PPL).

In the Paid Parental Leave circumstances guided procedure, the Claim summary page displays information about the customer’s PPL period and Flexible PPL days.

• Work Details: includes:
• the return to work date that as notified by the customer or their employer, and
• a return to work exception reason (if applicable)
• Employer Details: includes the cease Employment date when the customer or employer advised a resignation or termination of employment. See Customer notifies a change of circumstances for Parental Leave Pay (PPL)
• Child Left Primary care: The date the PPL child has left the customer’s primary care. See Customer notifies a change of circumstances for Parental Leave Pay (PPL)
• Flexible PPL includes:
• the PPL Period for the number of days and the start and end date of the PPL period
• Connected Flexible PPL days: the number of Flexible PPL days connected to the end of the customer’s PPL period, plus the start and end date of this connected period
• Unclaimed Flexible PPL days: the number of Flexible PPL days the customer has available to claim. If the customer has claimed or transferred all of their Flexible PPL days, this will be zero
• Flexible PPL days given to another person: the number of Flexible PPL days the customer has given permission for another person to claim. This only displays in the record of the primary claimant
• Flexible PPL days given to me: the number of Flexible PPL days claimed by a secondary claimant. This only displays in the record of the secondary claimant
• Flexible PPL days (not connected): the Flexible PPL days claimed separately from the PPL period. If the customer has chosen to connect all 30 of their Flexible PPL days to the PPL period (to create an 18 week block of payment), this will be blank
• Paymaster: Displays the current paymaster determination

Note: if the customer has lodged a pre-birth claim, the information contained in this summary is provisional. Once the child’s proof of birth is provided, eligibility for all PPL and Flexible PPL days will be reassessed based on the child’s actual date of birth/adoption.

In the Paid Parental Leave circumstances guided procedure, the Maintain page is used to make updates to a customer’s Flexible PPL days, including claiming new days, giving permission to another person to claim days and make changes to claimed days.

The Flexible PPL Days section is used to:

• increase or decrease the number of connected Flexible PPL days
• increase or decrease the number of Flexible PPL days given to another person (primary claimant only)

The Declaration section outlines the Flexible PPL declaration. This must be read to and accepted by the customer each time a new Flexible PPL day is claimed.

The Flexible PPL Days (not connected) – Customer Nominated – view and update section is used to:

• claim a new Flexible PPL day (not connected to the PPL period)
• withdraw a claimed Flexible PPL day

The Add Multiple function can be used to add multiple dates in a recurring pattern (such as every Wednesday) or block for a specified period.

Flexible PPL days (not connected) - Assessment Outcome - view only

This section displays the outcome of claimed not connected Flexible PPL days, including the reason for days that are not payable.

To claim a Flexible PPL day, customers must tell Services Australia:

• when they want to receive the day, and
• declare that they met or will meet eligibility requirements on the nominated date. They can do this in their initial claim or separately

Customers can only claim a Flexible PPL day if they have at least one Flexible PPL day available in their Unclaimed Flexible days balance.

Note: if the customer wants to make multiple updates to Flexible PPL days (such as withdrawing a Flexible PPL day and claiming another Flexible PPL day in its place) complete them as separate activities. This allows the Unclaimed Flexible days balance to be updated between updates.

If the customer’s balance of unclaimed Flexible PPL days is zero they cannot claim a Flexible PPL day unless a previously claimed Flexible PPL day is rejected and returned to their balance.

If the claimed day is:

• in the future, it can be rejected/withdrawn due to customer request
• in the past, it can only be rejected if the customer did not meet eligibility requirements on the claimed date, go to Step 2

To reject a claimed day, go to Table 3.

To be eligible to get Flexible PPL the customer must meet all of the following on the chosen date:

• be the primary carer of the PPL child
• not be working (they can be on paid or unpaid leave). Note: exemptions apply for work performed for permissible purpose, or allowable exception reason and Keeping in Touch (KIT) days. See Parental Leave Pay (PPL) customer, for a child born before 1 July 2023, returns to work
• Australian residence requirements

Customers can nominate a date that is:

• not before or during the PPL period (or the nominated PPL period dates if the customer is not eligible for the PPL period)
• no more than 42 days in the past
• no earlier than the child’s date of birth/adoption
• before the child’s second birthday/anniversary of adoption
• not a day that they are receiving PPL for the same child
• during the PPL period for another child
• not a day that they are receiving Flexible PPL for another child

The workflow will present an error if the customer selects a date that does not meet this criteria.

Note: in limited circumstances, customers can be granted Flexible PPL on a date that is more than 42 days in the past. This includes customers that attempted to claim Flexible PPL within the required timeframe, however their claim was not finalised in time due to a system issue or other circumstances.

For more information about how to identify and finalise Flexible PPL claims for these customers, see Step 7.

Impact on other payments/benefits

When discussing when to claim Flexible PPL days, remind customers of the impact on other benefits that they (or their partner, if they have one) are claiming at the same time. If the customer is claiming Flexible PPL for a date in the past, this may result in a reassessment.

This includes:

• Family Tax Benefit Part B, as this cannot be paid on days that the customer or their partner claim PPL
• Income support payments. PPL is treated as ordinary income for determining eligibility and calculating the rate of income support payments for the customer and their partner for the same period

Reassessments of these payments due to receiving Flexible PPL for a past period may result in an overpayment for the customer or their partner. In some cases, PPL arrears will be offset against PPL or ISP overpayments that occur due to the reassessment.

Encourage customers to consider the impact on other payments they received when claiming Flexible PPL days in the past.

Rate calculations of PPL affecting Income support payments

PPL period and Connected Flexible PPL days

The rate of PPL affecting a customer and/or partner’s rate of Income Support Payment (ISP) is calculated by the average daily amount of payments received for the eligible PPL period and any connected Flexible PPL. The daily rate of PPL used for ISP purposes applies to a full calendar week, Monday to Sunday.

To calculate the daily rate of PPL affecting the rate of ISP:

• count the weekdays included in the PPL period and any connected day’s
• multiply this by the daily rate of PPL
• divide this total number of calendar days in the period (weekdays and weekend days)

Calculation Example: ((Daily Rate of the Period) X (number of weekday in the period)) divided by (number of calendar days in the Period) = Daily rate (for ISP purposes)

Flexible PPL days, not connected

Flexible PPL is calculated differently. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is applied as the daily rate of PPL affecting the customer and/or their partner’s rate of Income Support Payment (ISP) without any further calculation.

For:

• a block of Flexible PPL days not connected to the PPL period, the NMW rate will be paid for every individual day within the block of Flexible PPL days including weekends
• an individual claimed Flexible PPL days, the NMW daily rate applies on any calendar day and includes weekends

See Resources for scenarios and calculation examples.

PPL period has started

Once the customer’s PPL period starts, the customer cannot increase the number of connected days they have chosen.

However they can claim individual Flexible PPL days on the dates immediately after the end of their PPL period or connected Flexible PPL day. If eligible, the day will be delivered by Services Australia. To claim as individual Flexible PPL days after the PPL period or connected period, go to Step 4.

Note: in limited circumstances, customers can increase a connected period after their PPL has commenced. For more information about how to identify and finalise an activity for these customers See Step 8.

PPL period has not started

Customers can increase the number of Flexible PPL days connected to the end of their PPL period or connected period if their PPL has not started. The customer does not need to nominate specific dates for these days. The system will determine them based on the end date of their PPL period. These days can be increased by the customer either via their online services or by a Service Officer using the PPL Circumstance guided procedure.

If the customer’ s claim is assessed awaiting proof of birth/adoption (PPL/ASS-PCB) and their PPL period start date is based on the child’s expected date of birth or adoption (pre-birth claim), the connected Flexible PPL days will be automatically moved if the PPL period start date changes.

To increase the number of connected Flexible PPL days, launch the PPL Circumstances guided procedure and select the relevant claim:

• Select Next to go to the Claim Summary page
• Select the Flexible PPL tab to view a summary of PPL, including:
• PPL period
• connected Flexible PPL days, and
• the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL days balance. If the Unclaimed Flexible days balance is zero the customer cannot increase their connected period. They will need to withdraw one or more of their future claimed days before they can increase their connected period
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector page
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow and Launch Staff Task
• Select Staff Tasks from the tabs
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow
• Select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page

Updates to connected Flexible PPL dates are recorded in the Flexible PPL Days section. To modify the number of connected Flexible PPL days:

• In the Connected Flexible PPL Days drop down box:
• Select the total number of Flexible PPL days the customer wants to be connected to their PPL period (e.g. if the customer wants to increase the number of connected days from 5 days to 15 days connected, select 15 days)
• In the Reason for change: drop down box, if increasing connected days, select ‘Nominated by customer’. If reducing connected days, select ‘Withdrawn due to client request’
• In the Source: select the relevant source (CSO, Customer or Employer)
• Select Finish to accept the change to the connected PPL days

Advise the customer that they must tell Services Australia if their circumstances change.

The connected Flexible PPL period end date and Unclaimed Flexible PPL days will update based on the changes made.

To finalise, go to Step 6.

Customers can nominate a date that is:

• are after the end of the PPL period
• no earlier than the child’s date of birth/adoption
• not a day they have already claimed Flexible PPL days for the child
• not a day they are receiving for the same child
• no more than 42 days in the past
• before the child’s second birthday/anniversary of adoption
• not a day that they are receiving Flexible PPL for another child
• during the PPL period for another child
• not within the PPL period if it had not been rejected or cancelled (such as due to residency or returning to work):
• These dates are blocked from selection so that any subsequent eligibility reassessment or review of decision can be made for the PPL period/other claim
• If a customer requests Flexible PPL on one of these dates they must be encouraged to nominate an alternative date for their Flexible PPL

Note: in limited circumstances, customers can be granted Flexible PPL for a date that is more than 42 days in the past. See Step 7 for more information.

An error will present if the customer or Service Officer selects an ineligible date.

If the customer nominates a past date, advise them that any FTB Part B or income support payment (ISP) that is paid to them or their partner on this date will be reassessed. This may result in an overpayment or cancellation of their ISP.

A customer can only claim a Flexible PPL day if they have days in their Unclaimed Flexible days balance. They will need to withdraw one or more of their future claimed days before they can nominate a new date. It will then return to their unclaimed days balance. Table 3 contains the procedure for rejecting/withdrawing a claimed Flexible PPL day.

Launch the PPL Circumstances guided procedure and select the relevant claim:

• Select Next to go to the Claim Summary page
• Select the Flexible PPL tab to view a summary of PPL, including PPL period, connected Flexible days and the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL days balance. Note: if the Unclaimed Flexible days balance is zero one of their claimed days must be rejected/withdrawn before a new day can be claimed
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector page
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow and Launch Staff Task
• Select Staff Tasks from the tabs
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow
• Select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• Use the Flexible PPL workflow to add date/s in the Flexible PPL days (not connected) section. Go to Step 5 for more details

Go to the Flexible PPL days (not connected) - Customer Nominated - view and update section.

Adding single Flexible PPL days

Select Update. This will add a row to the Flexible PPL days table to allow an update to the Flexible PPL days. Complete the details of the date nominated by the customer:

• Selected date: the date the customer is claiming
• Source: CSO
• Reason: Nominated by customer
• Customer Declaration: Yes

Adding multiple Flexible PPL days

Select Add multiple. Note: Add multiple is only available if the customer has more than 1 Flexible PPL days available to claim.

• In Recurrence pattern:
• select the number of weeks the pattern is to recur in the Recur every week(s) drop down box
• select the days the customer wants to get Flexible PPL days. To nominate all 7 days, check the Select All: box
• In Range of Recurrence:
• update the Start date with the first day of the recurring pattern and use the Number of days: or End by: fields to set how long the pattern is to occur. Note: if both the Number of days: and End by: fields are updated pattern will end on whichever occurs first
• select Save
• These updates will now show under the Flexible PPL days (not connected) - Customer Nominated – view and update section

The recurrence will only be applied up to the number of Flexible PPL days the customer has available. If a recurrence crosses over with a date they have already claimed, this date will only be paid once

These updates will be pending until the guided procedure has been finalised. Pending days can be removed by highlighting the day and selecting Delete.

Note: the Flexible PPL Days section does not need to be updated when claiming and managing not connected Flexible PPL days. This section relates only to updates to connected and transferred (given permission) days only. An error will present if fields in this section are updated when managing not connected Flexible PPL days.

Select Finish.

An error will present if the customer nominates a date that is:

• before their child’s expected/actual date of birth or adoption
• during their PPL period
• on a day they or another person have already claimed Flexible PPL for the child, including connected Flexible PPL days
• before their last connected Flexible PPL day
• more than 42 days in the past

Advise the customer they are unable to claim Flexible PPL on the nominated date. The day will remain in their Unclaimed Flexible days balance until they claim another date. Any days not claimed within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption will be lost.

If the customer is not available, make one genuine attempt to contact them to provide an alternative date. Otherwise, the customer will be advised by letter of any available unclaimed Flexible PPL days.

Note: the customer’s Unclaimed Flexible days: balance will update when the activity is finalised.

If the warning ‘Number of Flexible PPL days is more than 30’ is presented, correct the Reason: field from the default ‘Nominated by customer’ to the relevant reason.

To complete tasks, finalise and review results, see Table 5.

Customers can claim Flexible PPL for a date that is more than 42 days in the past if the customer:

• attempted to claim/contact to claim the Flexible PPL day/s within the allowable 42 day claim period and
• the activity failed to complete due to a system or processing issue

DOCs on the customers record and/or activity dates can be used to verify any issues.

Not part of a New Claim (NCL) activity

To record a Flexible PPL day more than 42 days in the past:

Customer First:

• Select the PPL Circumstances guided procedure to update the date in the Flexible PPL days (not connected) section,
• the source must be CSO
• the Reason: must be Date is greater than 42 days in the past
• the declaration must be Yes

Once the activity is finalised, use Fast Note > Families > Updates > Change of Circs > DAP/PPL to record all details of the update, including how the customer was eligible for a date more than 42 days in the past.

Within a New Claim (NCL) activity

To record a Flexible PPL day more than 42 days in the past within an NCL all updates should be done in Process Direct, see Process Direct tab.

Before finalising a claim or activity for a date more than 42 days in the past, contact the customer and advise of the risk of adverse impact on their or their partners other payments/entitlements (e.g. FTB(B) and ISP) that were paid for the same period.

Where the nominated Flexible Day is no longer required or payable

Not part of a New Claim (NCL) activity

To remove a Flexible PPL more than 42 days in the past:

Customer First:

• Select the PPL Flexible guided procedure to update the date in the Flexible PPL days (not connected) - Customer Nominated - view and update section:
• highlight the date row/s. Note: if multiple dates are to be deleted, the multiple rows can be highlighted by holding down Shift and selecting additional days or holding down the Ctrl to select consecutive days)
• Delete the nominated Flexible PPL day/s that are more than 42 days in the past that are no longer required. These days will be returned to the customers unclaimed Flexible PPL balance to claim later
• Pending days can be removed by highlighting the day and selecting Delete
• Source: CSO
• Customer Declaration: Yes

Once the activity is finalised, use Fast Note > Families > Updates > Change of Circs > DAP/PPL to record all details of the update.

Within a New Claim (NCL) activity all updates should be done in Process Direct, see Process Direct tab.

In limited circumstances, an override can be recorded to increase the PPL connected period after the PPL period has commenced. This override should only be used if:

• it is a result of a review of decision
• a system or processing issue prevented the connected period being increased within the new claim activity
• the customer attempted to increase their connected PPL period either online or by contacting the agency before their claim was finalised, but the claim was finalised before the updates were applied
• there are DOCs/activities on the customer record to confirm the above occurred before applying the updates

To increase the connected period after the PPL period has commenced:

• Launch the PPL Circumstances guided procedure and select the relevant claim:
• Select Next to go to the Claim Summary page
• Select the Flexible PPL tab to view a summary of PPL, including PPL period, connected Flexible days and the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL days balance. Note: if the Unclaimed Flexible days balance is zero the customer cannot increase their connected period
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector page
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow and Launch Staff Task
• Select Staff Tasks from the tabs
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow
• Select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• using the Flexible PPL workflow and date/s in the Flexible PPL days (not connected) section, add Flexible PPL dates from the day after the end of the PPL period/connected period, using only weekdays. Note: by using the ‘add Multiple’ tab this allows selection of multiple weekdays
• Update all reason and source to allow the day/s to connect to the previous connected period:
• the source must be CSO
• the Reason: must be CSO override
• the Customer Declaration must be Yes
• Complete the workflow

Once the activity is finalised, use Fast Note > Families > Updates > Change of Circs > DAP/PPL to record all details of the update, including how the customer was eligible for an increase to the connected period after they were PPL current.

If, following a review of decision a customer’s is eligible to Flexible PPL days claimed more than 2 years following the child’s birth or adoption, a Flexible PPL override can be recorded to allow the Flexible PPL days to be paid.

Note: the claimed date/s must still be within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption. See Exception processing of Paid Parental Leave scheme claims.

Customers can connect some or all of their Flexible PPL days to their PPL period to give them a continuous block of PPL for up to 18 weeks.

The customer can reduce this continuous block, by decreasing the number of Flexible PPL days connected to their PPL period. These days will be converted to not connected days.

Connected Flexible PPL days that are scheduled:

• on or before today’s date, can only be changed to a day after the date last paid to plus 1. If the customer is advising that they were not eligible for PPL on the scheduled date/s they have already been paid for, such as returning to work or a change in primary care. This must be actioned as a rejection. Go to Step 2
• after today’s date, can be withdrawn due to customer request. If the customer’s PPL period has started, the customer can only reduce the number of connected Flexible PPL days to end either:
• date paid to plus 1
• on or after today’s date
• a date in the future

Note: if the customer is not eligible for days prior to their last paid PPL date it must be recorded as a change of circumstances. (example: working on a PPL day).

To reduce the number of connected Flexible PPL days, launch the PPL Circumstances guided procedure and select the relevant claim:

• Select the Flexible PPL tab to view a summary of PPL, including:
• PPL period
• connected Flexible PPL days, and
• the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL days balance. Note: if the Unclaimed Flexible days balance is zero one of their claimed days must be rejected before a new day can be claimed
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector page
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow and Launch Staff Task
• Select Staff Tasks from the tabs
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow
• Select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• Connected Flexible PPL Days:
• Select the total number of Flexible PPL days the customer wants to be connected from the drop down box (e.g. if the customer wants to decrease the number of connected days from 10 days to 6 days connected, select 6 days)
• Reason for change: select ‘Withdrawn due to client request’
• Source: select the relevant source CSO, Customer or Employer
• Select Finish to accept the change to the connected PPL days
• Finalise the Flexible PPL guided procedure

After the activity is finalised

The connected Flexible PPL period end date and Unclaimed Flexible PPL days will update.

The previously connected Flexible PPL days will be converted to not connected Flexible and be returned to the customer’s unclaimed balance of Flexible PPL days. These days can be claimed by the customer either via their online services or using the PPL Circumstance guided procedure.

Flexible PPL day claimed for a date in the past

Flexible PPL days claimed for a date that is on or before today’s date can be rejected if:

• there has been a change in circumstances, and
• the customer is no longer eligible for PPL on the day (such as returning to work, change in care of the child, change in residency)

If the customer’s PPL entitlement has been reassessed and:

• an overpayment is identified, it may be offset against any PPL arrears
• a debt is identified, DOC the customer’s record. The debt shell will auto-allocate to the appropriate debt team for investigation

If a connected Flexible PPL day is rejected, any subsequent connected Flexible PPL days will be converted to not connected Flexible PPL days. If the customer is not eligible for Flexible PPL on these days, they must be rejected separately.

Withdrawing a Flexible PPL day claimed for a date in the future

Flexible PPL days that are scheduled for future dates can be rejected withdrawn due to customer request.

Subsequent days must be checked

If a Flexible PPL day is rejected or withdrawn, any claimed Flexible PPL days scheduled on dates after the rejected/withdrawn day will not automatically be rejected or withdrawn. These days will need to be checked separately and either:

• rejected, if the customer is no longer eligible, or
• withdrawn if the customer no longer wants to claim a Flexible PPL day on this date

The Resources page contains a full list of Flexible PPL component level rejection codes.

If the customer advises of a change in circumstances for a Flexible PPL day, record the change in circumstances first.

When a customer claims a Flexible PPL day, they are required to declare that on the claimed date they will:

• have primary care of the child
• not be working unless for an allowable exception reason
• meet residency requirements

The customer is required to notify Services Australia if:

• their circumstances change, and/or
• they are no longer eligible for Flexible PPL on the claimed date

When the change in circumstances is recorded:

• the Flexible PPL day claimed on the date of event of the change will reject when the change is recorded
• any Flexible PPL days (including connected days) scheduled on dates after the change must be checked. If the customer advises that they are no longer eligible for these days they must also be rejected/withdrawn

Exception: If a return to work is recorded, any connected Flexible PPL days scheduled after the return to work date will be rejected or withdrawn as there is now a break in the continuous period of PPL.

Once the change of circumstances is recorded and the day/s updated, the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL days balance will update.

To view the customer’s claimed Flexible PPL days:

• Navigate to the PPL claim Summary (P1CS) screen
• Key 'R' on the relevant PPL claim line. This will navigate to the PPL Calculation Summary (P1RCS) screen
• Key 'Y' in the Display Flexible PPL: field and go to the Flexible PPL Calculation (P1RCF) screen. A list of all claimed Flexible PPL days will display

Make a note of each claimed Flexible PPL day that is to be changed and the reason.

To reject a Flexible PPL day claimed for a date in the past due to:

• returned to work on a claimed Flexible PPL day go to Step 5
• worked on a claimed Flexible PPL day/s in the past, go to Step 6
• is no longer primary carer on claimed Flexible PPL day/s in the past, go to Step 7

To withdraw a Flexible PPL day claimed for a date (on or after today’s date), go to Step 8.

If the customer is advising that the work performed on a Flexible PPL day is the first time that they have returned to work since the birth or adoption of their child, check if the customer:

• has performed work for an allowable exception reason
• is accessing a Keeping in Touch day

See Parental Leave Pay (PPL) customer, for a child born before 1 July 2023, returns to work.

If it is determined that the customer has returned to work or has worked (including work performed for an allowable reason) on a Flexible PPL day:

• Select PPL circumstances guided procedure
• Next on the Claim Summary page > Work Details tab >Next
• On the Task Selector page select both Work Details and Flexible PPL. Note: the Flexible PPL task is used
• Launch Staff Task
• Select Flexible PPL:
• the Flexible PPL workflow is used to check their claimed Flexible PPL days
• make a note of any Flexible PPL days claimed on dates after the return to work
• these must be checked and ineligible days rejected in a separate activity after the return to work is finalised
• Select Work Details
• On the PPL Return to Work Summary, select New
• Return to work: date the customer returned to work
• Exception: If the customer has returned to work for an allowable reason, select relevant reason from the drop down box, otherwise leave blank. Relevant allowable reasons:
• CIC - Change of care without consent
• NCH - Newborn child remains in hospital
• CYC - Court ordered summons
• DLW - Defence force/ law enforcement worker
• HEW - Health/emergency/other essential worker
• SID - Stillborn or child died
• Select Finish

If the work was not performed for an allowable reason, the customer’s PPL will be reassessed:

• Return to work date before the end of their connected Flexible PPL days:
• When the activity is finalised all connected Flexible PPL days on and after the return to work date will return to their Unclaimed Flexible days balance
• Any Flexible PPL days not connected to PPL period, will not be reassessed. These days must be checked and withdrawn/rejected separately if the customer advises that they are working
  Note: prior to 5 June 2021, remaining connected Flexible PPL days remained scheduled on the originally claimed dates as not connected Flexible PPL days
• Working on a Flexible PPL day that is not connected to the PPL period, go to Step 6

If the customer is advising they are working or worked on a scheduled Flexible PPL day the day must be rejected due to working on a Flexible day.

A customer is considered to be working on a day if, on that day:

• they perform 1 hour or more of paid work, and
• an allowable exception reason does not apply or the work performed is not for a permissible purpose

An exception does not need to be recorded for work performed for an allowable exception reason on a Flexible PPL day. The Flexible PPL declaration allows the customer to declare that they are working for an allowable exception reason.

Launch the PPL Circumstances guided procedure and select the relevant PPL claim:

• Select Next to go to the Claim Summary page
• Select the Flexible PPL tab to view a summary of PPL, including:
• PPL period
• connected Flexible PPL days, and
• the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL balance
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector page
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow and Launch Staff Task
• Select Staff Tasks from the tabs
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow
• Select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• In the Flexible PPL days (not connected) Customer Nominated - view and update section:
• Highlight the date row/s. Note: if multiple dates are to be rejected/withdrawn for the same reason, the multiple rows can be highlighted by holding down Shift and selecting additional days or holding down the Ctrl to select consecutive days)
• In the Withdraw Reason dialogue box, select the relevant reason WOF – Working on Flexible date
  Note: to reject dates for a different reason, repeat this process
• Source: CSO
• Customer Declaration: Yes (this will default)
• Next, to complete the workflow

If updating individual days, a warning may be presented ‘Number of Flexible PPL Days is more than 30’. To remove this warning update the Reason: ‘Working on Flexible date.

Once the activity is finalised the withdrawn day:

• will return to the Unclaimed Flexible days: balance, and
• can be claimed on another date

To reject/withdraw days for a different reason repeat the process for each reason. Multiple rejections can be completed in the one activity, but new claimed dates must be completed in a separate activity.

If the customer has already been paid Flexible PPL for these days, see Parental Leave Pay (PPL) debt raising, debt offsetting and recovery.

Note: the Flexible PPL Days section does not need to be updated when claiming and managing not connected Flexible PPL days. This section relates to updates to connected and transferred (given permission) days only. An error will present if fields in this section are updated when managing not connected Flexible PPL days.

To complete tasks, finalise and review results, see Table 5.

If the customer advises they will not have primary care of the child on a scheduled Flexible PPL day, the day must be rejected.

Once the activity is finalised it will return to the Unclaimed Flexible days: balance and can be claimed on an alternative date.

Launch the PPL Circumstances guided procedure and select the relevant PPL claim:

• Select Next to go to the Claim Summary page
• Select the Flexible PPL tab to view a summary of PPL, including:
• PPL period
• connected Flexible PPL days, and
• the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL balance
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector page
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow and Launch Staff Task
• Select Staff Tasks from the tabs
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow
• Select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• in the Flexible PPL days (not connected) – Customer Nominated – view and update section:
• highlight the date/s row. Note: if multiple dates are to be rejected/withdrawn for the same reason, the multiple rows can be highlighted by holding down the Shift and selecting additional days or holding down Ctrl to select consecutive days)
• In the Withdraw Reason dialogue box, select the relevant reason NPF - Customer not primary carer of child
• Source: CSO
• Customer Declaration: Yes

Note: customer request (CWF) is only to be used for the withdrawal of dates in the future (after today’s date). For dates in the past, use the appropriate eligibility reason. To reject/withdraw days for a different reason repeat the process for each reason. Multiple rejections can be completed in the one activity, but new claimed dates must be completed in a separate activity.

If the customer has already been paid Flexible PPL for these days, see Parental Leave Pay (PPL) debt raising, debt offsetting and recovery.

Note: the Flexible PPL Days section does not need to be updated when claiming and managing not connected Flexible PPL days. This section relates to updates to connected and transferred (given permission) days only. An error will present if fields in this section are updated when managing not connected Flexible PPL days.

To complete tasks, finalise and review results, see Table 5.

Claimed Flexible PPL days can be withdrawn due to client request only if the claimed date is in the future (after today’s date). For dates in the past, the appropriate eligibility reason must be used.

To withdraw a Flexible PPL day that is not connected to the PPL period

Launch the PPL Circumstances GP and select the relevant PPL claim:

• Select Next to go to the Claim Summary page
• Select the Flexible PPL tab to view a summary of PPL, including:
• PPL period,
• connected Flexible PPL days, and
• the customer’s unclaimed Flexible PPL balance
• Select Next to go to the Task Selector page
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow and Launch Staff Task
• Select Staff Tasks from the tabs
• Select the Flexible PPL workflow
• Select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• In the Flexible PPL days (not connected) - Customer Nominated - view and update section:
• highlight the date row/s. Note: if multiple dates are to be rejected/withdrawn for the same reason, the multiple rows can be highlighted by holding down Shift and selecting additional days or holding down the Ctrl to select consecutive days)
• In the Withdraw Reason dialogue box, select the relevant reason WOF - Working on Flexible date
  Note: to reject dates for a different reason, repeat this process
• Source: CSO
• Customer Declaration: Yes
• Complete the workflow

To reject/withdraw days for a different reason repeat the process for each reason. Multiple rejections can be completed in the one activity, but new claimed dates must be completed in a separate activity.

Note: the customer’s Unclaimed Flexible days: balance will update when the activity is finalised,

If updating individual days, a warning may be presented ‘Number of Flexible PPL days is more than 30’. Correct the Reason: field from the default ‘Nominated by customer’ to the relevant withdraw/reject reason.

Note: the Flexible PPL Days section does not need to be updated when claiming and managing not connected Flexible PPL days. This section relates to updates to connected and transferred (given permission) days only. An error will present if fields in this section are updated when managing not connected Flexible PPL days.

To complete tasks, finalise and review results, see Table 5.

Primary claimants can give permission for another person to claim some or all of their Flexible PPL days, up to the number of days in their Unclaimed Flexible days: balance.

If the customer’s balance of Unclaimed Flexible days: is zero, dates already claimed can be rejected and returned to their balance. The customer can then give permission for another person to claim them. An overpayment may occur if:

• a rejected day is in the past, and
• is has already been paid to the customer or their employer

To reject a claimed day, go to Table 3.

To give permission:

• in the Flexible PPL days guided procedure, select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• select the number of days using the Flexible PPL days given to another person drop down box

Note: if the customer wants to make multiple updates to Flexible PPL days (such as rejecting a Flexible PPL day and claiming a Flexible PPL day) complete these as separate activities. This allows the Unclaimed Flexible days balance to be updated between updates.

Advise the primary claimant:

• before the secondary claimant can access these days they will need to claim and be eligible for PPL
• these days will be available to any secondary claimant that has claimed and is eligible for PPL for this child
• they can remove permission for a secondary claimant to claim the day's and claim any unclaimed Flexible PPL days for themselves

Secondary claimants:

• who have had some or all of the PPL period transferred to them, must lodge a claim within the time limits for claiming the maximum PPL period
• have up to 2 years from the child’s date of birth or entry into care to claim Flexible PPL days
• who have already claimed PPL for this child and have been assessed as eligible, can use the Flexible PPL online service to claim subsequent Flexible PPL days

Once found eligible for PPL, the days will appear in the:

• Unclaimed Flexible PPL days by secondary/s balance on the primary claimants record or
• on the secondary claimants record in the PPL Circumstances guided procedure in the Flexible PPL days guided procedure workflow

If the primary claimant has given permission for another person to claim some or all of their Flexible PPL days, this permission can be removed:

• during the pre-birth stage, at any time
• during the post-birth stage, before a secondary claimant has claimed and nominated a date for the days

To remove permission:

• in the Flexible PPL days guided procedure, select Next to go to the Flexible PPL Days Maintain page
• update the number of days using the Flexible PPL days given to another person drop down box (e.g. if the primary claimant wants to remove permission for all previously advised days, select zero)

Once the activity is finalised, the PPL Flexible Days summary page will display the updated:

• number of Unclaimed Flexible PPL days
• Flexible PPL days given to another person: in the record of the primary claimant
• Flexible PPL days given to me: in the record of any linked secondary claimants

To complete tasks, finalise and review results, see Table 5.

Complete Flexible PPL declaration (Flexible PPL days only) within the Flexible PPL workflow

The Flexible PPL declaration must be read each time the customer claims a Flexible PPL day. If the customer agrees, select Flexible PPL declaration: Yes.

If the customer does not agree to the declaration, the claim cannot be finalised.

Finalise the guided procedure. Once the activity is finalised, the customer’s Unclaimed Flexible days balance will update.

Once all updates are made, to complete the PPL circumstances guided procedure, run the Finalisation GP workflow from Staff Tasks.

Note: if the customer wants to make multiple updates to Flexible PPL days (such as rejecting a Flexible PPL day and claiming a Flexible PPL day) complete these as separate activities. This is to allow the Unclaimed Flexible days balance to be updated between updates.

An error will present if the customer has selected a date that does not meet the eligibility criteria for a Flexible PPL day. This includes, if they select a date:

• before the end of their PPL period (even if they are ineligible for the PPL period e.g. returned to work)
• more than 42 days in the past
• on or after the child’s second birthday/anniversary of adoption
• another person has already claimed Flexible PPL for the same child

Once all errors have been actioned, advise the customer of the outcome, and:

• their residency and care status will be checked on the nominated date/s
• to tell Services Australia if their circumstances change and they are no longer eligible for Flexible PPL on the nominated date
• what their updated balance of Unclaimed Flexible days is
• any days not claimed within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption will be lost

The Activity Details screen will display the Staff Tasks based on the selections made on the Task Selector. If a relevant task is not displayed, select Task Selector to return to the Task Selector to select additional tasks.

If the status of the Staff Workflow is not required and is preventing the claim from being processed, use the icon in the Change Status column in Staff Workflows to manually change the status of workflows to:

• Completed
• Required, or
• Not Required

Once all updates are made, run the Finalisation GP guided procedure from Staff Tasks to complete the PPL circumstances guided procedure.

Flexible PPL day is rejected or withdrawn

If a customer changes a Flexible PPL day it will be:

• withdrawn, if it is a day in the future that has not yet been sent to the customer or their employer
• rejected, if it is a day in the past that has already been sent to the customer or their employer. A full list of rejection reasons is available on the Resources page

Withdrawn/rejected days will be returned to the Unclaimed Flexible days balance.

Reassessment results in arrears and/or overpayment

If within the activity the results are both PPL arrears and an overpayment of PPL or an overpayment of an income support payment (ISP), the system will automatically offset these amounts. The offset will occur so a payment does not issue and subsequently raise a debt on the same day. Note: offsetting for ISP overpayments only applies where the ISP overpayment is a result of the customer getting PPL for the same past period. This is because PPL is treated as ordinary income for calculating the rate of ISP.

If the overpayment amount is greater than the arrears amount, a debt will be identified. The debt shell will auto-allocate to the appropriate debt team for investigation.

For more information, see Parental Leave Pay (PPL) debt raising, debt offsetting and recovery.

Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Families > Updates > Change of Circs > DAP/PPL to record all details of the update, including offset amounts and any debt shell amounts.

Procedure ends here.