Changes which may affect the Parental Income Test (PIT) 108-02020000

If the customer contacts regarding the death of a parent or an activity has been allocated with the keyword PITINDP go to Step 3

If the customer contacted to:

• advise a change in parent(s)/guardian(s) circumstances, go to Step 2
• enquire about a change in their rate of payment, see Table 2, Step 1

If the customer's:

• parents have died go to Step 3
• parent(s)/guardian(s) have had a change in relationship status, have gone overseas, or the customer decides to live with another parent or guardian, see Table 2, Step 1

Refer the customer to a Services Australia social worker, if appropriate, and make any other referrals to other agencies, as needed. For more information, see Social work services.

• If only the custodial parent has died, go to Step 6
• If the customer’s sole parent has died (and the surviving parent’s whereabouts are unknown) or both parents have died, go to Step 4

Select the relevant payment below.

If a customer's sole parent has died (and the surviving parent's whereabouts are unknown), or both parents have died, the circumstances will be assessed by the over 18 (O18) Unreasonable to live at home (UTLAH) processing service officers.

For:

• Services Officers who have been contacted by the customer, to advise of the death of parent(s)/guardian(s):
• ensure any death actions are completed on the parent(s)/guardian(s) records before completing any updates on the customer’s record. See Initial notification of death
• warm handoff to the O18 UTLAH Team, see Resources for a link to Office Locator. Procedure ends here
• O18 processing Service Officers, see Table 3, Step 1

If the customer is over 16 years, their sole parent has died and the surviving parent’s whereabouts are unknown, the circumstances will be assessed by the Over 18 (O18) Unreasonable to Live at Home (UTLAH) processing Service Officers. Customers should also be referred to the O18 team if there is any indication they cannot live with their surviving parent.

For:

• Service Officers who have been contacted by the customer to advise of the death of parent(s)/guardian(s):
• ensure any death actions are completed on the parent(s)/guardian(s) records before completing any updates on the customer’s record. See Initial notification of death
• warm handoff to the O18 UTLAH processing team, see Resources for a link to Office Locator. Procedure ends here
• O18 processing Service Officers, see Table 3, Step 1

If the customer in under 16 years of age:

• If ABSTUDY trained – see Table 3, Step 1
• O18 processing Service Officers are to refer the case to ABSTUDY:
• Create an open Fast Note in Customer First:
• Ensure the Service Reason field is updated to ABSTUDY
• Select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > Template: ABSTUDY High Priority Action required. Select Confirm
• Edit the template text to include the details known regarding the parent's death and action required
• If a PITINDP activity exists, place it on hold for 7 days

Procedure ends here.

Services Officers who have been contacted by the customer to advise of the death of parent(s)/guardian(s), ensure any death actions are completed on their records before completing any updates on the customer’s record. See Initial notification of death.

If both parents have died refer to ABSTUDY customer is an orphan for eligibility and coding.

Procedure ends here.

If the custodial parent has died, it may be necessary to consider if it would be reasonable for the customer to live at home with the other parent.

If it would be unreasonable for the customer to live at home with the other parent:

• For YA/TAP customers, see Assessing unreasonable to live at home (UTLAH) for customers claiming or receiving Youth Allowance (YA), Disability Support Pension (DSP), Special Benefit (SpB) or Tertiary Access Payment (TAP)
• For ABSTUDY customers, see ABSTUDY unreasonable to live at home (UTLAH)

If it would not be unreasonable for the customer to live at home with the other parent and the customer is receiving:

• YA, go to Step 7
• ABSTUDY, go to Step 8
• TAP, go to Step 9

If the customer has contacted to advise of the death of their custodial parent(s)/guardian(s):

• issue the customer with a Parental Income Assessment (SY012E) or a Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details (Mod JY) form, see Requesting information (CLK). Note: a verbal Mod JY may also be accepted if appropriate
• determine who the parent(s)/guardian(s) are for the Parental Means Test
• record the details on a DOC

On return of SY012E or Mod JY details:

• Determine who the parents are for the purposes of the Parental Means Test, then reassess the effect on the customer's rate of payment. See:
• Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• Maintenance Income Test (MIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• If the customer is under 18 years of age, update the PAS screen where appropriate
• Record the details on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

If the customer has contacted to advise of the death of their custodial parent(s)/guardian(s):

• issue the customer with a Parental Income Assessment (SY012E) or a Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details (Mod JY) form, see Requesting information (CLK). Note: a verbal Mod JY may also be accepted if appropriate
• determine who the parent(s)/guardian(s) are for the Parental Means Test
• record the details on a DOC

On return of SY012E or MOD JY at a service centre:

• ensure the form is fully completed
• Scan the form to the customer’s record
• record the details in a DOC. Select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY action request

On return of SY012E or Mod JY details:

• Determine who the parents are for the purposes of the Parental Means Test, then reassess the effect on the customer's rate of payment. See:
• Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• Maintenance Income Test (MIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• If the customer is under 18 years of age, update the PAS screen where appropriate
• Record the details on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

Customers must complete a Tertiary Access Payment parent(s)/guardian(s) details form (SY105) to update parental information:

• The SY105 form is part of the SY104 form and is not available as a stand-alone form
• Print the SY105 section of the SY104 to issue to customers
• The SY104 is available on Online Forms on the Intranet

If the customer has contacted to advise of the death of their custodial parent(s)/guardian(s) before the course commencement date:

• issue the customer with a SY105, see Requesting information (CLK)
• determine who the parent(s)/guardian(s) are for the Parental Means Test
• record the details on a DOC

SY105 returned

• Determine who the parents are for the purposes of the TAP
• Determine the appropriate financial year for assessment
• Update the details in Process Direct, including the TPCD screen:
• TAP Parental Income Table with appropriate parent(s)/guardian(s) and income components
• Parental income exemption where relevant
• Record details in a DOC

Note: If the TAP benefit status shows as TAP/PND or TAP/PND, only reassess a change to parental income if the change occurred before the course commencement date.

Procedure ends here.

Rate of payment may change where there is a change in circumstances for a parent/guardian or a sibling. Has:

• a parent/guardian become widowed, separated or divorced, or the customer changed which parent/guardian they live with, go to Step 2
• a parent/guardian started a relationship with a new partner, or reconciled with a previous partner, go to Step 4
• a parent/guardian stopped attracting a PIT exemption, go to Table 5 Step 1
• a parent/guardian gone overseas, go to Step 5
• there been a change in circumstances for a sibling, go to Table 4

If the customer's parent(s)/guardian(s) were:

• receiving a Services Australia income support payment at the time of notification of widowing, separation or divorce, an ABSTUDY/Youth Allowance Parental Income Assessment form (SY012E) will automatically be sent to the customer to determine the relevant parent/guardian for the purposes of Parental Means Test. A review will automatically be set up on the FAL screen for return of the form
• not receiving a Services Australia income support payment at the time of notification of widowing, separation or divorce, or the customer leaves the care of one parent to live with the other parent (where parents are separated or divorced), an ABSTUDY/Youth Allowance Parental Income Assessment form (SY012E) or Tertiary Access Payment parent(s)/guardian(s) details form SY105 will not automatically be sent to the customer

If the:

• student is in receipt of ABSTUDY, go to Step 3
• customer has contacted to advise a change in parental circumstance, and the SY012E or SY105 has not been issued automatically, or the customer/parent/guardian is unable to provide sufficient information verbally:
• issue the customer with a Mod JY or SY105
• create a review for the form to be returned within 14 days
• record details in a DOC. Procedure ends here
• customer can provide sufficient information at the time of contact about a change of parent/guardian, or an SY012E, SY105 or MOD JY has been returned, go to Step 6
• customer is TAP (only), go to Step 11

Note: a Mod S is not required if the customer's parent(s)/guardian(s) are partnered in Customer First and not receiving an income support payment.

If the ABSTUDY student changes parent/guardian and they are receiving:

• ABSTUDY Schooling A, a new claim is required
• go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• cancel the ABT reason 'ANQ' (applicant not qualified) from the date of the change. For further details, see Cancellation of ABSTUDY payments
• ensure the effect date on the Benefit Action (BA) screen is the same date as when the student care arrangements changed
• record details on a DOC
• ABSTUDY Schooling B and are under 16 years of age, a new claim is required
• go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• cancel the ABY reason 'OTH' (other) from the date of the change. For further details, see Cancellation of ABSTUDY payments
• ensure the effect date on the Benefit Action (BA) screen is the same date as when the student care arrangements changed
• record details on a DOC
• ABSTUDY Schooling B and are over 16 years of age, a new claim is not required
• issue the customer with a Mod JY
• create a review for the form to be returned within 14 days
• record details in a DOC
• when the Mod JY is returned, go to Step 6

If the customer's parent(s)/guardian(s) were:

• receiving a Services Australia income support payment at the time of relationship status change, an ABSTUDY/Youth Allowance Parental Income Assessment form (SY012E) will automatically be sent to the customer to determine the relevant parent/guardian for the purposes of Parental Means Test. A review will automatically be set up for return of the form
• not receiving a Services Australia income support payment at the time of relationship status change, an ABSTUDY/Youth Allowance Parental Income Assessment form (SY012E) or Tertiary Access Payment parent(s)/guardian(s) details form (SY105) will not automatically be sent to the customer

Determine if the new partner is regarded as a 'parent' for PIT purposes. See Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA).

If the new partner, is not regarded as a parent:

• no updates are required on the customer’s record
• record details in a DOC
• procedure ends here

If the new partner is regarded as a parent, and:

• an SY012E, SY105 or Mod JY is not been automatically sent to the customer:
• issue the customer with a Mod JY or SY105 for TAP (only if the new parent is linked before the first assessment date)
• create a review for the form to be returned within 14 days
• record details in a DOC. Procedure ends here
  Note: if the parent is reconciling with a previous partner, another Mod JY/SY105 is not required if those details have already been provided in the current academic year
• an SY012E, SY105 or Mod JY has been returned (or is not required) for:
• YA or ABSTUDY, go to Step 6
• TAP only, go to Step 11

For YA customers

• If the parents have gone overseas (either temporarily or permanently), check if the customer may qualify for the away from home rate
• If the customer is under 18 years old, check the PAS screen to see where payments are directed. If the customer is unable to access their payments while their parents are overseas, arrange for the payments to be made to the customer or a correspondence nominee, see Nominees

For ABSTUDY customers

Check whether the customer qualifies for the away from home rate of ABSTUDY. See Away from home rate for ABSTUDY.

To determine where the payments are to be directed, see any of the following:

• Payment destination
• Payments for students under 18 years paid to student, parent or a third party

Procedure ends here.

If a paper form is received at a service centre, scan all documents onto the customer's record.

Review the change in circumstances details. The date of the change will be the date of effect for the reassessment.

The parent(s)/guardian(s) record must be updated with the change in marital status before it is possible to update the YA, TAP or ABSTUDY dependent customer record.

If the parent(s)/guardian(s) relationship status has changed from:

• partnered to single, go to Step 8
• single to partnered - if the marital status has not yet been updated on their records and they:
• receive an income support payment, see Change in relationship status from single to partnered
• do not receive an income support payment but do receive Family Tax Benefit, Paid Parental Leave or Child Care Subsidy see Family assistance customer becomes partnered
• do not receive any of the above payments, go to Step 7

Before completing relationship status updates, check:

• If the parent/guardian’s partner's record is in a different environment, transfer the record to the same environment as the parent/guardian to allow linking
• If multiple records exist for the partner, see Centrelink customer has multiple Customer Reference Numbers (CRN)
• If the new partner is linked to another customer from a previous relationship, the system will produce an error when trying to link the parent/guardian and the new partner. Contact the new partner if they are not present and check their relationship status. If the new partner advises they are:
• in a multiple relationship, different procedures apply. See Treatment of a partnered person as single under Section 24 new determinations
• not in a multiple relationship and they confirm they are in a relationship with the parent/guardian only, update the MS screen to end the previous relationship. There is no need for a MOD S

Marital Status (MS) screen updates

On the Marital Status (MS) screen, key:

• Event Date: record the date the parent/guardian became partnered
• Marital Status: record the appropriate status
• PPE Cust and PPE Ptnr: N unless each member of the couple has given written or verbal permission to enquire on each other's behalf
• Qualifier Code:
• if the partner has never lived in Australia, use OVP O/seas (Never in AUST)
• otherwise leave blank
• Source: as appropriate
• Date of receipt: date the information was received. See Date of receipt
• Select Continue to go to the Link Person (LP) screen

Link the parent/guardian and partner records on the LP screen

• Locate the partner’s record via the LP screen by searching by surname, first name or initial, and date of birth
• Select the partner’s record from the search results. If no record found, add a new record on the Add Person (AP) screen
• Confirm the selection
• The Customer Details Task (CDTS) screen will display:
• select any relevant screens for updating customer details based on the information provided
• see the relevant Operational Blueprint for details on updating any other customer details e.g. updating address, payment destination
• check Accommodation Details (AC) screen:
• Accommodation Details field: Customer and Partner (B)
• the code of Link of two customers - LNK will display in the Rent Verification field. This must be updated
• Select Continue
• Check that the result on the Assessment Results (AR) screen are correct
• Finalise the activity

Go to Step 10

Parent’s/guardian’s records must be unlinked before competing updates to the YA, TAP or ABSTUDY dependent customer record.

If the marital status of the parent/guardian and their former partner has not yet been updated on their records and they:

• receive an income support payment, see Change in relationship status from partnered to single
• do not receive an income support payment but do receive Family Tax Benefit, Paid Parental Leave or Child Care Subsidy, see Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Parental Leave Pay (PPL) and/or Child Care Subsidy (CCS) customer separates
• do not receive any of the above payments, go to Step 9

There is a known issue where records cannot be unlinked while STA/SUB/COM parallel (both) activities exist. See E120CU - Can't Unlink while STA/SUB/COM parallel (bth) activities exist if this occurs.

Marital Status (MS) screen updates

If a temporary qualifier:

• was previously added to enable a change of address/accommodation:
• select C to correct the previous MS line
• was not added, create a new line on the MS screen

On the Marital Status (MS) screen, key:

• Event Date: record the date of separation
• Marital Status: select separated marital status
• PPE Cust and PPE Ptnr: leave blank as PPE will automatically cease once the separation has been processed on the customer record
• Qualifier Code: leave blank
• Source: as appropriate
• Receipt Date: date the information was received. See Date of receipt
• Select Continue to go to the Customer Details Task (CDTS) screen
• B (both) must be changed to S (customer only) in the following fields to make sure updates do not flow to the ex-partner's record:
• address
• accommodation
• telephone

Other changes

To update any other changes, including Office Code (OC) screen:

• Select the appropriate screens from the CDTS screen
• If other screen names on the CDTS screen default to B for updates for both parent/guardian and partner, change to S to make sure only the parent’s/guardian’s record are updated

If the parent:

• has had a change in address (including postal address)/accommodation details:
• on the Address Details (AD) screen, update the address
• record No in the Make partner's address the same as the customer's field to make sure the address update is not applied to the partner record
• on the Accommodation Details (AC) screen, select the provisional activity via the Event Date that has defaulted from the date entered on the MS screen
• Accommodation Details for field is Customer
• the code of Unlink of two customers - ULK will display in the Rent Verification field. This must be updated
• has not had a change in address/accommodation details:
• on the Accommodation Details (AC) screen, select the provisional activity via the Event Date that has defaulted from the date entered on the MS screen
• Accommodation Details for field is Customer
• update the Rent Verification field from Unlink of two customers - ULK to either the same code that existed before ULK (for example, VEF/VEC/VED) or the most relevant code for the customers current circumstances
• is separated but living under the same roof as their ex-partner, ask if they wish to provide a different mailing (postal) address
• has changed their email address, see Adding, changing or removing an email address
• believes their ex-partner knows their Self Service PIN or Password, tell them to access the Self Service Channel to change these details as soon as possible
• received a Crisis Payment in the period the updates were applied, a manual reassessment of Crisis Payment may be required. See Reviewing and reassessing Crisis Payment (CrP)

After making all updates:

• go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• check that results are correct
• finalise the activity
• record details on a DOC

Go to Step 10.

For YA and ABSTUDY, determine who the parents are for the Parental Means Test, and:

• if a YAL Dependent Review or ABY PIT Review is present on the Future Activity List (FAL) screen in Customer First, select and update within the activity as follows:
• update the Parent Selection screen (NPPS) where appropriate, ensuring relevant siblings are linked via the PIT Sibling Selection screen (NPSS). See Creating, updating ending Parental Income Test (PIT) links with dependent student, Australian Apprentice and job seeker recipients or claimants
• if the parents have separated, navigate to the Assets screen (NHI) within the same activity, after unlinking the parent via the PIT Parent Selection (NPPS) screen. Check that any previous estimates have changed to actual for the unlinked parent. If any estimates remain for the unlinked parent update to actual
• update the Household Income and NHI where appropriate, see Completing Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details for the Base Tax Year and Current Tax Year (MOD JY)
• update the Dependent Youth Maintenance Income Screen (DYMI) where appropriate, see Maintenance Income Test (MIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• reassess the effect on the customer's rate of payment, see Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• update the Payment Destination screen (PAS) where appropriate, if the customer is under 18 years old, or has a payment nominee
• record details in a DOC
• if the customer is also TAP PND or CUR, go to Step 11

Note: Consider whether the customer qualifies for the away from home rate of ABSTUDY. See, Away from home rate for ABSTUDY

Procedure ends here.

Review the details in relation to the change in circumstances, including the date of the change as this will be the date of effect of the reassessment.

Note: if the form is received at a service centre, scan all documents onto the customer's record. Only code a change to PIT on TPCD if the new parent is linked before the course commencement date.

SY105 returned:

• determine who the parents are for the purposes of the TAP
• determine the appropriate financial year for assessment
• update the details in Process Direct, including the TPCD screen:
• TAP Parental Income Table with appropriate parent(s)/guardian(s) and income components
• Parental income exemption where relevant
• record details in a DOC

Procedure ends here.

Where the customer's last known linked parent has died, and:

• the death action has been processed on the parent(s)/guardian(s) record, a reassessment (REA) activity with a keyword PITINDP will be created and allocated to O18 UTLAH Team
• the customer has contacted to advise verbally, the death action will be processed by the initial contact Service Officer, and the customer will be transferred to O18 UTLAH Team as a warm handoff

If:

• the customer is YA or TAP and has been transferred as a warm handoff, go to Step 9
• the customer is ABSTUDY and has been transferred as a warm handoff, go to Step 3
• the REA PITINDP activity has been allocated via WLM, go to Step 2

Where the REA activity has been allocated via WLM, check the Death and executor information (DEA) screen in Process Direct or Death/Executor (DEA) screen in Customer First on the deceased parent’s record for the date of death.

If error E245ZC: Promoted CHI record, please update address presents, note the home address on the parent's record and enter this on the customer's Address Details (AD) screen inside the ripple activity.

Have 10 days passed since the date of death?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No,
• Hold the PITINDP reassessment activity until the tenth day after the date of death of the parent
• Record a Display on access (DOA) Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Social Worker > Update >Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement
• Check the DOA box before selecting Confirm
• The DOA reason will auto populate as BRV - Bereavement
• Set the Expiry date as 3 months from 'date of death'
• Select Confirm

Select from the below options.

If available information suggests contacting the customer today is not appropriate, for example, it is the date of the funeral, hold the PITINDP reassessment activity for 1 more day before attempts to contact are made.

Check the Electronic Messaging and Online Letters (EMOL) screen to see if the customer has subscribed to Electronic Messaging SMS. If the customer has subscribed send an Electronic Message (EM) to the customer:

• go to the Customer First Workspace
• navigate to the Customer Communication portal
• select the Desktop Messaging option
• select Create EM
• select the SMS type 'SMS to advise customer DHS will be phoning them'
• in the Preview EM section, select the your option in the Recipient/s line and payment in the Topic line
• select Preview EM and check the SMS message
• select Send Electronic Message

Wait a minimum of 2 minutes before attempting to contact the customer.

Was contact successful?

• Yes, Go to Step 4
• No,
• Create a Q888 letter with the Youth Allowance text in Deceased Parent Letter. See the Resources page for the text. Send the letter to the customer
• Record a Display on access (DOA) Fast Note - Select Auto Text, use Social Worker > Update > Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement
• Check the DOA box before selecting Confirm
• The DOA reason will auto populate as BRV - Bereavement
• Set the Expiry date as 3 months from date of death
• Select Confirm
• Place the REA activity on hold for 7 days after the date the Q888 letter was sent. Add keyword DEAPAR7 to the held activity
• Procedure ends here until activity becomes due

Is the customer 16 years or older?

No,

• If ABSTUDY trained, go to Step 5
• O18 processing Service Officers must refer the case to ABSTUDY:
• Create an open Fast Note in Customer First:
• Ensure the Service Reason field is updated to ABSTUDY
• Select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > Template: ABSTUDY High Priority Action required. Select Confirm
• Edit the template text to reflect the details known regarding the parents death and action required.
• If a PITINDP activity exists, place it on hold for 7 days

Yes, attempt to contact by phone

Check the Electronic Messaging and Online Letters (EMOL) screen to see if the customer has subscribed to Electronic Messaging SMS. If the customer has subscribed send an Electronic Message (EM) to the customer:

• go to the Customer First Workspace
• navigate to the Customer Communication portal
• select the Desktop Messaging option
• select Create EM
• select the SMS type ‘SMS to advise customer DHS will be phoning them'
• in the Preview EM section, select the your option in the Recipient/s line and payment in the Topic line
• select Preview EM and check the SMS message
• select Send Electronic Message

Wait a minimum of 2 minutes before attempting to contact the customer.

Was contact successful?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No,
• Create a Q888 letter with the Youth Allowance text in Deceased Parent Letter. See Resources page for the text. Send the letter to the customer
• Record a Display on access (DOA) Fast Note - Select Auto Text, use Social Worker > Update > Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement
• Check the DOA box before selecting Confirm
• The DOA reason will auto populate as BRV - Bereavement
• Set the Expiry date as 3 months from date of death
• Select Confirm
• Place the REA activity on hold for 7 days after the date the Q888 letter was sent. Add keyword DEAPAR7 to the held activity
• Procedure ends here until activity becomes due

Contact with customer was successful and the customer:

• can take the call, go to Step 9
• cannot discuss their circumstances at this time, staff must:
• determine an appropriate time to call back
• hold the activity until contact can be made
• Record a Display on access (DOA) Fast Note - Select Auto Text, use Social Worker > Update > Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement
• Check the DOA box before selecting Confirm
• The DOA reason will auto populate as BRV - Bereavement
• Set the Expiry date as 3 months from date of death
• Select Confirm

Procedure ends here until the activity becomes due.

Schooling A student - the student is not the applicant and is too young for verbal contact. The ABT record will need to be CAN-ANQ as the parent was receiving payment on behalf of this customer. See Creating, updating and ending Parental Income Test (PIT) links with dependent student, Australian Apprentice and job seeker recipients or claimants. Inhibit letter on AR. Procedure ends here

Customer is living away from home and there is no Permission to Enquire (PPE) authority or nominee - create a Q888 letter with the ABSTUDY text in Deceased Parent Letter. See the Resources page for the text. Send the letter to the customer.

• Record a Display on access (DOA) Fast Note - Select Auto Text, use Social Worker > Update >Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement
• Check the DOA box before selecting Confirm
• The DOA reason will auto populate as BRV - Bereavement
• Set the expiry date as 3 months from 'date of death'
• Place the REA activity on hold for 7 days after the date the Q888 letter was sent. Add keyword DEAPAR7 to the held activity
• Procedure ends here until activity becomes due

Customer is living away from home and there is a PPE Authority or nominee status. Attempt to contact the boarding school or private board provider

• If contact by phone made, go to Step 9
• If contact by phone not made, and the customer is under 16 years old and is boarding privately or at a Boarding School:
• Place the reassessment activity on hold for 7 days after the date the attempted contact was unsuccessful
• Add the keyword DEAPAR7 to the held activity
• Go to Step 6

If contact by phone was not successful and customer is 16 years or older:

• Create a Q888 letter with the ABSTUDY text in Deceased Parent Letter. See the Resources page for the text. Send the letter to the customer
• Record a Display on access (DOA) Fast Note - Select Auto Text, use Social Worker > Update >Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement
• Check the DOA box before selecting Confirm
• The DOA reason will auto populate as BRV - Bereavement
• Set the expiry date as 3 months from 'date of death'
• Place the REA activity on hold for 7 days after the date the Q888 letter was sent. Add the keyword DEAPAR7 to the held activity
• Procedure ends here until activity becomes due

Check the Electronic Messaging and Online Letters (EMOL) screen to see if the customer has subscribed to Electronic Messaging SMS. If the customer has subscribed send an Electronic Message (EM) to the customer:

• go to the Customer First Workspace
• navigate to the Customer Communication portal
• select the Desktop Messaging option
• select Create EM
• select the SMS type 'SMS to advise customer DHS will be phoning them'
• in the Preview EM section, select the your option in the Recipient/s line and payment in the Topic line
• select Preview EM and check the SMS message
• select Send Electronic Message

Wait a minimum of 2 minutes before attempting to contact the customer.

Was contact successful?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No,
• place REA activity on hold for a further 15 days
• remove keyword DEAPAR7
• add keyword DEAPAR22

Check the scanned images and DOCs for a reply to the letter.

If no contact, check the Electronic Messaging and Online Letters (EMOL) screen to see if the customer has subscribed to Electronic Messaging SMS. If the customer has subscribed send an Electronic Message (EM) to the customer:

• go to the Customer First Workspace
• navigate to the Customer Communication portal
• select the Desktop Messaging option
• select Create EM
• select the SMS type 'SMS to advise customer DHS will be phoning them'
• in the Preview EM section, select the your option in the Recipient/s line and payment in the Topic line
• select Preview EM and check the SMS message
• select Send Electronic Message

Wait a minimum of 2 minutes before attempting to contact the customer.

Was contact successful?

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

Check the Death and executor information (DEA) screen in Process Direct or Death/Executor (DEA) screen in Customer First on the deceased parent’s record for the Date of death.

Select the REA activity and:

• For Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY Non-Boarders:
• go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• Action: field, CAN - Cancel
• Reason: field, FRC - Failure to Reply to Correspondence
• Event Date: field, is the date paid to + 1 day
• Finalise the activity via the Assessment results (AR) screen
• For ABSTUDY Boarding students:
• go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• Action: field, CAN - Cancel
• Reason: field, FRC - Failure to Reply to Correspondence
• Event Date: field, if the date of death of the parent is on or before the third Friday of the current term, the date of effect will be the end of the previous term entitlement period. If the date of death of the parent is after the third Friday, the date of effect is the last date of the current term entitlement period
• Finalise the activity via the Assessment results (AR) screen

If a debt shell activity is created as a result of the cancellation:

• do not manually adjust the amount
• Refer any debt activity to Debt Raising National. See the Resources page for a link to Office Locator

Record details in a DOC, including the customer will need to test their eligibility for independence or establish a new PIT link to the person acting as a long term guardian before their YA or ABY can be restored.

Procedure ends here.

When speaking with the customer always check if it is an appropriate time to have the discussion. If it is not an appropriate time to have the discussion:

• put the PITNDP reassessment activity on hold for 1-2 days
• tell the customer we will call them back

If both parent(s)/guardians died, go to Step 10.

If only one parent/guardian has died, and another person can be assessed as a parent/guardian for the purposes of PIT, go to Step 11.

If only one parent/guardian has died, and another person cannot be assessed as a parent/guardian for the purposes of PIT, and UTLAH provisions can be applied where the customer:

• has no contact with their other parent, or
• does not have a good relationship with them, and
• they are not dependent upon another person

and the customer is:

• under 18 years of age, consider urgent escalation to the Social Work network, see Social Worker UTLAH appointment. Record details in a DOC, including advice to complete the UTLAH assessment within the REA activity
• 18 years of age or older, undertake a UTLAH assessment within the REA activity, see Assessing unreasonable to live at home (UTLAH) for customers claiming or receiving Youth Allowance (YA), Disability Support Pension (DSP), Special Benefit (SpB) or Tertiary Access Payment (TAP)

If there is an urgent F/U PIT Bereavement DOA DOC on the record, staff must expire this DOC.

If the customer has any siblings also in receipt of an income support payment, ensure any updates are made to their records where appropriate.

Note: to determine who the parent(s)/guardian(s) are for the purposes of the parental means test, see Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA).

If both parents/guardians are deceased and evidence supports this (Centrelink records, other scanned documents or death certificate) review the circumstances and update the following:

• Independence as a double orphan:
• For YA see Assessing independence when a customer is an orphan
• For ABSTUDY see Assessing independence for ABSTUDY customers
• If the customer was subject to the Parental Means Test, tell them:
• this test no longer applies, and
• if they will receive a new rate of payment
• any changes to the customer's address
• any changes to the customer’s accommodation circumstances, particularly where the Sharer Status is currently coded as Lives with parents - LWP as this code is no longer appropriate
• payment destination Summary (PAS) screen, particularly for customers under the age of 18 or where the parent(s) were recorded as a payment nominee
• scan any documents to the customer’s record
• record the details in a DOC

If there is an Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement DOA DOC on the record, staff must expire this DOC.

If the customer has any siblings also in receipt of an income support payment, ensure any updates are made to their records where appropriate.

Procedure ends here.

Where another person can be assessed as a parent/guardian for the purposes of the Parental Means Test:

• update the Parent Selection screen (NPPS) where appropriate, ensuring relevant siblings are linked via the PIT Sibling Selection screen (NPSS). See Creating, updating and ending Parental Income Test (PIT) links with dependent student, Australian Apprentice and job seeker recipients or claimants
• update the Household Income and Assets screen (NHI) where appropriate, see Completing Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details for the Base Tax Year and Current Tax Year (MOD JY)
• update the Dependent Youth Maintenance Income Screen (DYMI) where appropriate, see Maintenance Income Test (MIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• reassess the effect on the customer's rate of payment, see Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)
• update the Payment Destination screen (PAS) where appropriate, if the customer is under 18 years old, or has a payment nominee
• record details in a DOC

If there is an Urgent F/U PIT Bereavement DOA DOC on the record, staff must expire this DOC.

If the customer has any siblings also in receipt of an income support payment, ensure any updates are made to their records where appropriate.

Procedure ends here.

A change in circumstance of one or more dependent siblings, can affect the family pool, including one or more of the following:

• a sibling receiving YA, ABSTUDY or attracting AIC Additional Boarding Allowance (ABA)
• changes to parent(s)/guardian(s) they are dependent on
• becomes independent
• has a review of independence and is now dependent
• has an increase/decrease in their maximum rate of payment i.e. is granted the away from home rate
• payment is suspended or cancelled
• AIC sibling stops or starts being eligible for ABA
• a sibling defined as FTB or regular care children
• leaves or enters the care of parent(s)/guardian(s)
• care percentage changes
• parent(s)/guardian(s) cease or commence paying rent
• aged 16-19 ceases or returns to secondary study
• is granted YA, ABSTUDY or their parent/guardian is granted AIC ABA
• a customer receiving ABSTUDY Living Allowance (16yrs and over) or Youth Allowance and they or their sibling starts or stops attracting maintenance income. See the Maintenance information screens table, Items 1, 2 and 3 of Where to find child support information on Centrelink systems

If the customer is:

• dependent and their payment is assessed under the parental means test, go to Step 2
• independent, or dependent and their payment is assessed under the personal income/assets test, see Allowance income and Assets tests. Procedure ends here

If the customer has contacted to:

• advise a change in circumstance for a dependent sibling, go to Step 3
• enquire about a change in rate or payability, go to Step 4

For changes in circumstances not already recorded, see:

• for an FTB or regular care sibling, see Customer advises a change in their level of care of a child
• for a dependent YA, ABSTUDY or an AIC sibling the sibling link via the PIT Sibling Selection (NPSS) screen may require updating. See Linking sibling records with customer/students/Australian Apprentices/job seekers - Parental Income Test (PIT)
• for changes to voluntary maintenance income, see Maintenance Income Test (MIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA)

Once the sibling’s record has been updated, go to Step 4.

Consistent information should be recorded on all sibling records on the system to minimise incorrect payments between siblings.

Where a customer or parent advises there is a change in circumstance for a sibling, care needs to be taken not to disclose another person’s personal details.

Check the customer’s record to determine the cause of change in rate and/or payability:

• NSS Rate Explanation (NREX) screen to determine the date the change in payment occurred
• the Family Pool Summary guided procedure and Family Pool Summary (NSFP) screen to determine:
• the customer’s maximum rate and family pool contribution percentage
• the total family pool maximum rate
• all siblings details including, name, CRN, family pool contribution, linked parent(s)/guardian(s), benefit status maximum rate and for FTB and regular care siblings their care percentage
• the Dependent Youth Rate Summary (!DYRSUMM) screen displays the date of event and the aligned details as follows:
• Customer information
• Rate calculation information
• Parent Information
• Sibling information

Go to Step 5.

Where there has been a change in circumstance of a sibling which has changed their contribution to the family pool or a sibling is no longer included in the family pool, this may affect the customer’s rate of payment.

A change in maintenance income for the customer or if a sibling starts or stops receiving maintenance income can also affect the customer’s rate of payment.

Tell the customer or applicant their rate of payment has changed due to a change in circumstance of a family member.

Record details on a DOC. Repeat the procedure above for any other siblings who are receiving or eligible for Youth Allowance, Assistance for Isolated Children or ABSTUDY and who may also be affected by this sibling's change.

When the parent(s)/guardian(s) exemption from the Parental Income Test (PIT) ceases to apply, the system will automatically end the exemption on the Household Income and Asset (NHI) screen in most cases, excluding Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA). These payments are not administered by Services Australia and rely on customer notification or a manual end date being coded.

For information about rules for exemptions from the PIT, see:

• Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance (YA), or
• Applying the Parental Income Test (PIT) for Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme

Note: for ABSTUDY and AIC Additional Boarding Allowance (ABA), a parent/applicant receiving Farm Household Allowance (FHA), is PIT exempt from the commencement of the period of receipt of FHA until 31 December of that calendar year.

If the parent(s)/guardian(s) income is already recorded for the appropriate tax year, a review form will not be issued.

Check Household Income and Assets (NHI) screen to determine if a PIT exemption has ceased, or requires manual end date where the parent(s)/guardian(s) are no longer receiving DVA payments.

If the PIT Exempt Rsn field still shows an incorrect exemption reason for the purposes of a DVA payment, see Payments from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) and referrals to the DVA Clearance Team.

When a PIT exempt customer or AIC student ceases to be exempt from the PIT, it is necessary to determine the appropriate tax year to apply the PIT. If the change in the parent(s)/guardian(s) circumstances may cause a substantial increase or decrease in parental income, see Increase or decrease in parental income for Youth Allowance (YA), ABSTUDY and Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme.

Where the relevant tax year income is not recorded:

For ABSTUDY and YA, a Parental Income reassessment request letter will be automatically issued, including a One Time Access Code to enable to parent(s)/guardian(s) to provide the information via online services, go to Step 3

Note: a verbal MOD JY can be accepted for YA and ABSTUDY, where the parent is able to provide sufficient information at the time of contact.

For AIC:

• check the FAO Income previous year (FIPY) screen on the applicant record (and applicant's partner if applicable) to see if actual base tax year income has been recorded
  Has the actual amount been recorded for the relevant financial year?
• Yes, code this income on the student NHI screen (and that of any other AIC sibling receiving ABA)
• No, go to Step 3
• once the appropriate Tax Year has been determined attempt to contact the applicant by phone. If contact is:
• successful, request the relevant financial year tax assessment notice, or
• unsuccessful, send a Q999 requesting the relevant financial year tax assessment notice

Note: if the AIC applicant has contacted in relation to information requested on the Q999 and/or SY042, refer the AIC applicant to the AIC line. See Resources page for a link to phone numbers.

A Parental Income review (PIR) or Employment Income review (EIR) period will apply when there is no base year parental income data present. The system automatically issues a review for this information, with a due date for return in 14 days.

The 14 day review period commences from the date the parent's payment circumstance ripples to the customer file. If the parent's cancellation is backdated the income review period could be, in effect, longer than 14 days.

Payment to the YA or ABSTUDY customer will continue at the rate previously paid, pending return of the information.

The letter for YA and ABSTUDY automatically issues, however an attempt to contact the AIC applicant must be made. If unsuccessful, send a manual letter requesting taxable income details.

The AIC Service Officer needs to set up a manual follow-up for return of the form. If the review form is returned within 14 days, the parental details should be applied from date of return of the form. Do not raise a debt for the income review period before the return of the form.

If the review form is not returned within 14 days of date of issue, the PIR/EIR will cease and the AIC Additional Boarding Allowance (ABA) payments are stopped. The return of the review can be extended by up to seven days by accessing the review activity via the Future Activity List (FAL)/ Future Activity Details (FAY) screens and extending the maturity date.

When the parental income details are provided:

• update the Household Income and Assets (NHI) screen with a date of event (DOV) being the date the information was received
• record details on a DOC, including income details, details of the customer contact and the reason why customer was paid maximum payment on the basis of an Income Review Period

There should be no debt for the Income Review Period.

For AIC, when the parent's/applicant's income details have not been provided or are not available on the parent/applicant FIPY screen:

• code a new NHI screen with $1 from the day after the PIT exemption ceased
• insert a new Living Arrangement Details (EILA) screen from the day after the PIT exemption ceased and code the Annual Boarding Fees field with $1, and
• raise the resulting ABA debt
• Record details in a DOC