Referral to external support services 003-11040000

Refer the customer to an external support service when:

• they request a referral
• the staff member identifies the customer may benefit from a referral and the customer accepts the staff member's offer
• a referral may help the customer with immediate hardship, for example, food parcel or emergency accommodation

Does the customer accept the offer of a referral?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 6

See the Resources page for help with locating external support services and contact details.

Share the results of the search with the customer.

Discuss with the customer if they would like help to connect with the external support service.

A warm referral is helping a customer to link with a service. This is a good option when the customer:

• asks for help to connect with the service
• has had difficulty accessing support services before, or
• is vulnerable

Does the customer want help to connect with the service?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

Explain to the customer what personal information will be shared with the service. Confirm the customer gives their permission.

Is a phone call to the service successful?

• Yes,
• Briefly explain to the external service provider the reason for the referral
• Check the referral is appropriate
• Introduce the customer
• Leave the customer and the service provider on the line to discuss further
• Document the record
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Give the external support service details to the customer so they can contact the service.

Give the details to the customer in person, over the phone or by mail:

• Share the location of the service, and how and when to access, or
• Give the customer brochures or lists in person or by mail for external support services, or
• Centrelink staff only - Issue a printout Welfare Agency Referral (SS221) in person or by mail. Go to Step 5

Non Centrelink staff

• Document the customer's record with the referral details
• Example text:
• 'The customer accepted a referral to (name of the service provider) in (location). The service provider details have been given by (phone) (email) (in person) to the customer.
  or
  With the customer's permission, a warm referral to the service was completed by phone.'
• Procedure ends here.

Select the system being used.

• Before starting the workflow, take note of the customer's Maximum rate of payment and Date of grant
• Go to the Correspondence (CORRO) screen
• Correspondence Type: select Welfare Agency Referral
• A warning message displays - Read it to the customer
• Does the customer consent to their personal information being shared with a welfare agency for the purpose of making a referral?
  If:
• Yes, continue with the coding
• No, go to Step 6
• Customer is seeking assistance with: select the relevant option
• Max rate of: select the relevant option
• Date of grant: enter customer's date of grant
• Agency details: Enter the Agency contact details into the appropriate fields
• Notes: enter additional notes if needed
• Select Preview to view the referral
• The Customer request for assistance (SS221) will open in a new tab. Review then close the tab
• When no updates to the referral are needed, select Print
• Sign and date stamp the SS221
• Issue the SS221 to the customer

A finalisation DOC will be automatically generated on the customer's record.

Procedure ends here.

Search for the Welfare Agency Referral guided procedure in Customer First Workspace.

Enter the external service contact details into the appropriate fields.

The WAR guided procedure:

• Creates a printout with the contact details for the external support service, as well as the customer's income details. The income details may help the service determine if the customer is eligible for their help
• Will access the staff member's user profile to create their details on the form. If their surname and internal phone number are on the front page of the referral, cross out with a black marker. Write the appropriate 13 number on the referral as the contact number
• Document the customer's record
• Sign and date stamp the SS221
• Issue the SS221 to the customer

Procedure ends here.

Customers do not have to accept referrals. Reasons to decline a referral may include:

• already connected to services
• already know what is available in their local community
• declined offer of a referral today but stated they may be interested at a later date
• no reason given

If a customer declines a referral, the staff member must tell the customer that the agency will not make a referral on their behalf. However, staff can encourage the customer to contact the third party directly or to recontact the agency at a later time to make a referral on their behalf.

• Document on the customer's record that they declined a referral to support services
• Example text:
• 'Service Officer discussed a referral to (name of the service provider) in (location) with customer. The customer declined the offer of a referral due to (insert the reason the customer gave).'
• Procedure ends here

Process Direct

• Welfare agency referral displays advising no welfare agency referral will be created
• Note: if No was selected incorrectly, select Cancel to complete the Welfare Agency Referral, then go to Step 5
• Select Continue to finalise referral
• A finalisation Note/DOC will be automatically generated on the customer's record
• Procedure ends here

Customer First

• Document the customer's record, stating a referral was discussed but declined
• Example DOC text:
• 'Service Officer discussed a referral to (name of the service provider) in (location) with customer. The customer declined the offer of a referral due to (insert the reason the customer gave).'
• Procedure ends here

Seek the customer's consent to share their personal information before making a referral via email. The social worker should make sure they have discussed the following information with a customer before gaining their consent:

• what personal information will be shared, such as name and contact details
• what information regarding their personal circumstances will be shared
• once their personal information leaves the agency, the agency no longer has control over how it will be used or stored by the third party agency

Once customer consent is provided the agency will release customer details such as:

• name
• address
• payment status
• other details relevant to the referral

To make a referral by email, go to Step 2

To make a referral through the Third Party Portal, go to Step 3

Send an email from a shared mailbox managed by social work services. Social workers need ‘SENDAS Group’ email access to the shared mailbox to prevent their personal email address being shared with the email recipient.

Before sending the email, social workers must:

• delete their surname, phone number and work location from their email signature blocks.
• double check the content and email address are correct
• select the OFFICIAL: Sensitive: Personal privacy marker
• not include URLs, hyperlinks or underline texts

The email will be securely delivered directly to the recipients' email, without them needing to log onto an external message collection facility.

See the Resources page for the Referral email template for third party organisations. This is the preferred way to send customer information.

Do not save customer information in the template on the computer. Delete this information once it is no longer needed.

Include in the email:
'Do not share or use this email address for any purpose other than the receipt of this sensitive information'

Go to Step 4.

Note: do not use this process to give documents to customers. Customers are able to access documents such as Income Statements through the myGov Inbox.

Some third party organisations will only accept a referral by completing their online referral portal.

Social workers who are completing an online referral portal must seek the customer's consent to share their personal information before making a referral via email. The social worker should make sure they discussed the following information with a customer before gaining their consent:

• what personal information will be shared, such as name and contact details
• what information regarding their personal circumstances will be shared
• once their personal information leaves the agency, the agency no longer has control over how it will be used or stored by the third party agency

Once customer consent is provided, where possible complete the online referral form with the customer present (either via phone or face to face).

Go to Step 4

Once the referral has been sent, the social worker must document the customer's record with the release of information:

• Complete a DOC on the customer's record advising:
• a referral has been sent by email from a positional mailbox to a third party organisation
• the date, the service and that the customer agreed for the release of their details
• see the SWIS case notes for more details
• Copy and paste the details from the referral template to the SWIS Case Notes on the customer's record
• Make sure any other emails that give the customer's personal information to a third party organisation are also copied into the SWIS Case Notes in the customer's record

Staff must:

• complete a Privacy Incident Notification form, see Privacy incidents
• tell their manager of the privacy breach

Each state or territory has different Child Safety reporting arrangements.

See the Resources page for more details.