Social workers' role in debt, payment assurance and compensation 003-12070000

Services Australia has a zero tolerance approach to child abuse.

A staff member must act when they see or hear behaviour that raises concern about a child or young person’s safety.

Follow the agency’s Risk Identification and Reporting model when identifying and responding to child safety concerns. See Risk identification and management of threats to the safety or welfare of a child.

Social work priorities

Social workers are focused on providing support to customers with highly complex needs. Priority is given to:

• people who are at risk of suicide or self-harm
• young people without adequate support
• people affected by family and domestic violence
• people impacted by disasters and emergencies

Consultation

Service Officers can consult with social workers about how to effectively interact with people experiencing significant vulnerabilities. Social workers can provide help with internal and external options of support for vulnerable customers.

Social work recommendations

All social workers can provide professional recommendations about:

• special circumstances debt waivers, and
• compensation preclusion periods

A social worker can provide information to help a delegate make a decision about a:

• special circumstances waiver, or
• compensation preclusion period

In these cases, the social worker will assess a person's circumstances and provide a recommendation. See the Process page for further information.

Online Document Recording (ODR) may be used if the:

• matter is not complex, and
• total debt for consideration for a waiver is under $1,000

Consult a Payment and Integrity Group social worker if the case is complex or involves a large debt over $10,000. See the Resources page for contact details.

If a customer talks about suicide or self-harm refer direct referral is needed via the following avenues:

• If there is no social worker locally available, contact the Social Work Line
• Choose 'option 1' from the IVR list for priority access to a social worker. The call will be answered by the next available social worker
• If a social worker is unavailable, notify a Team Leader/Manager immediately
• For more information see Customers talking about suicide or self-harm

These referrals are prioritised. It is mandatory for staff to refer customers who may be at risk of suicide or self-harm.

Note: staff must not use the Social Work guided procedure to refer customers who are at risk of suicide or self-harm.

Payment Assurance Service Officers

If a customer is talking about suicide or self-harm to a Payment Assurance Service Officer:

• Attempt to contact a Payment and Integrity Group (P&I) social worker. Use the contacts list on Office Locator (code BSW)
• If there is no P&I social worker available, contact the social work line and choose option 1 from the IVR
• If a social worker is unavailable, notify a Team Leader/Manager immediately

The Payments and Integrity Social Work team is a 'virtual' team of social workers located across Payments and Integrity sites. They deliver a service across the Divisions in the Payments and Integrity Group.

A Social Work Support Manager in the Payments and Integrity Social Work team can provide professional recommendations about:

• vulnerability reports prior to the execution of search warrants
• vulnerability reports for fraud investigation cases prior to referral to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution

Internal Fraud Control Investigation referrals and support

Direct social work support, if required, is provided by telephone. Social work staff do not attend the execution of warrants.

Guidelines state that before the execution of the search warrant, social work review is mandatory.

A file assessment completed by a Payments and Integrity Social Work Support Manager (SWSM) is conducted and a summary of risks provided to the Fraud Investigations Branch.

Under no circumstances does the social worker contact the customer before the execution of a search warrant.

The Payments and Integrity SWSM role in warrant execution is to support the investigation team and if the circumstances require, provide outbound telephone support to customers who are suicidal or at risk of harm.

This process outlines a request for social work authored documents or call recordings for release to the DPP.

Staff should follow the agreed process:

• Fraud Investigations Branch requests social work authored documents directly from Payments and Integrity (P&I) Social Work Support Manager (SWSM). This is required as part of an investigation
• P&I SWSM collects these documents (in PDF format) and completes a file assessment of the customer's record. They will review the content of the documents to be released and identify any:
• sensitivities or risks to the customer and third parties, or
• other concerns based on customer circumstances
• The P&I SWSM provides the documents and any considerations regarding the use of the social work authored content, to both Fraud Investigations Branch and social work referrals via email concurrently
• If a P&I SWSM is unavailable, the Fraud Investigations Branch can email social work referrals directly to request:
• completion of a file assessment, and
• the provision of the required social work authored documents

Social work call recordings (if available) that are required, as part of an investigation must be collected by the Fraud Investigations Branch. They must be included in a request email sent directly to social work referrals mailbox. The Professional Service Delivery Operations Team (PSDO) in the Social Work Services Branch have oversight of these requests and provide guidance to social workers on the correct processes for the external release of social work authored documents.