Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA) 108-03060000

DFISA will be automatically recalculated when there is a change in certain circumstances affecting the rate of the customer's pension or benefit prior to 1 January 2022. This rate recalculation occurs on the Services Australia system.

When there is a DFISA rate change, the new amount(s) will be transmitted to DVA, where the customer's DFISA payments are adjusted. DFISA is generally paid by DVA on the DVA payday. DFISA adjustments can result in a debt or an arrears payment with DVA.

DFISA may still have been payable even if a customer's new income support rate was nil. If their DFISA rate was greater than zero, the customer would have been regarded as being current on their income support payment (CZR - Current Zero Rate) for the adjusted period.

Check the customer's record for a change of circumstances which has led to the rate change.

Screens to check:

• DFISA Summary (DFS)
• The customer's rate of DFISA can be viewed on the DFS screen, and is shown as a daily rate
• Multiple entries for the same date of effect may be present, with outdated entries deleted by new information
• the DFS screen in Customer First allows Service Officers to identify which activity management reference number (AMR) caused the change to the DFISA rate for a particular date of effect
• Event Summary (ES)
• Search for the relevant AMR on the ES screen, select and press Enter
• Type 'Y' in the 'View all screens' box to view what changes were made within the activity that caused the DFISA rate change
• Document List (DL)
• On the DL screen, check any relevant DOCs relating to the activity to find additional information regarding the cause of the DFISA rate change

Was the cause of the DFISA rate change found and is customer satisfied with the explanation?

• Yes, procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Check the following screens:

• Rate explanation
• This may help confirm exactly where a rate change occurred
• Check Pensions Rate Calculation (PRC) or Factors Affecting Rate (PFAR) screens (pensions); Rate Explanation (NREX) screen
• Income and assets summary
• This summary can assist in identifying any change to the amount of income and assets that caused the DFISA rate change
• Check Pensions Income and Asset Summary (PIAS) screen (pensions system); Newstart Income Summary (NIS) screen (Newstart system); Parenting Payment Income Summary (PGIA); Abstudy Income Summary (EYIS)
• Employment Income Summary (EANS)
• Changes in employment income can cause a change to the rate of DFISA
• Check EANS screen
• Other income and assets
• See Income & Assets Main Menu (IMM) for a full list of screens to help investigation
• Marital status (MS)
• A change in relationship status can cause a change to the rate of DFISA
• Check MS screen
• Accommodation Summary (ACS)
• Check the ACS screen for a change to accommodation circumstances
• Changes to DFISA as a result of a change to rent assistance require a complex calculation which should be transferred to the DVA Clearance Team
• Transitional rate customers
• Check the Grandfathering Summary (GFS) screen to see whether the customer has recently moved from transitional rules to the current means test (new rate)
• If so, this requires a complex calculation which should be transferred to the DVA Clearance Team

Is Service Officer able to explain the DFISA rate change to the customer and is customer satisfied with the explanation?

• Yes, procedure ends here
• No, need further assistance to investigate the DFISA rate changes, or customer wants a detailed rate explanation. Refer to DVA Clearance Team
• Announce transfer the call via Services Australia Workspace option DFISA
• Service centre staff call the DVA Clearance Team

Investigate rate change.

Is further follow-up required with the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Income Support Team?

• Yes, contact DVA ISP via Services Australia Workspace option LPOOL to DVA
• No, provide detailed explanation. Procedure ends here

First determine the actual rate payable to the customer, including Rent Assistance (RA), for the past entitlement period. This is recorded on the following screens depending on the payment type:

• Pensions Rate Calculation (PRC) screen
• Period Rate Explanation (REX) screen

Note: for pension customers paid under the Assets Test, DFISA was not payable. Procedure ends here.

If a customer was receiving a pension under the criteria for blindness that is income and assets test free, they were not eligible for DFISA, however their Adjusted Disability Pension (ADP) from DVA could still affect their partner's entitlement.

If the blind customer elected to receive Rent Assistance, they then became income tested and DFISA may be payable. The amount of DFISA they were entitled to was affected by the DVA disability income rent test.

The notional rate is the rate which would be payable if the Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA was not included in the income test.

Calculate the maximum rate payable to the customer.

• If the customer receives Rent Assistance (RA), apply the DVA disability income rent test to the RA entitlement. This gives the notional RA amount. See Resources for an example of a notional RA calculation
• Add the notional RA amount (if any) to the maximum rate
• Apply any pre-Income and Assets Tests direct deductions, such as New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS)/Self-Employment Allowance and most International Social Security Agreement payments
• Apply the ordinary income test with the Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA excluded.
• Apply the assets test (for pensions)

Use the notional pension rate of whichever test results in the lowest payment rate. Although DFISA is not payable if the customer’s actual pension rate is paid under the Assets Test, it can be payable when the notional pension rate is paid under the Assets Test.

Continue the notional rate calculation by applying:

• any compensation direct deductions
• proportional rate calculation if applicable
• any New Zealand pension direct deduction

Add any additional payments the customer was qualified for and entitled to receive, for example Remote Area Allowance (RAA).

Where the customer was paid under transitional rules, repeat steps using the new rate to obtain two notional amounts for comparison.

The amount of DFISA payable will be:

Notional rate minus Actual rate.

Note: when a customer's income precludes entitlement, their pension or benefit is normally rejected or cancelled. Before 1 January 2022, customers who are receive Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA had a DFISA calculation done before this occurred. If the DFISA amount was greater than zero, the customer’s pension or benefit status was held as Current Zero Rate (CZR - DFISA). These customers were regarded as receiving the pension or benefit for which they qualify and were entitled to the associated benefits and concessions relevant to their payment.

• If customer was on a transitional rate, go to Step 4
• For Partner NSS system DFISA calculation, go to Step 5
• DFISA adjustment for the Home Equity Access Scheme, go to Step 6
• For pension customers not on transitional rate, go to Step 7

Any DFISA amount received by a customer must be included when a rate comparison occurs between transitional income test rules and new rules, as DFISA is part of the total income support payment. The pension amount and the DFISA amount are combined to obtain the total rate.

Customers must be better off when the following rate comparison is made:

• Pension transitional rate plus DFISA transitional rate = rate A
• Pension new rate plus DFISA new rate = rate B
• Where rate B is greater than rate A the customer will move to the new rate structure
• Where rate B is less than rate A the customer will remain under the transitional rate structure
• Where rate A is equal to rate B the customer will move to the new rate of structure

To code DFISA manual rate, go to Step 7.

Newstart system (NSS) customer partnered with a Parenting system (PGA) customer, another NSS customer, an ABSTUDY customer, or partner not on benefits

For the calculation of DFISA, all steps in the calculation of a customer’s rate must be mirrored in the notional rate calculation.

The exceptions to this are the notional partner excess income and notional Rent Assistance (RA) calculations.

Notional partner excess income

• If a customer’s fortnightly allowance was reduced by deductions of their partner’s excess income, and the partner also receives an Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA, the notional partner excess income must be included in the customer’s DFISA calculation
• To obtain the notional partner excess income amount, the partner’s Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA is simply excluded from the calculation of partner excess income
• This calculation does not include the partner’s Rent Assistance or the DVA disability income rent test
• The notional partner excess income amount is included in the notional rate calculation for the customer, where it is applied as a direct deduction after the customer’s notional income test has been applied
• If the customer receives RA, see below as a further step is required to obtain the customer’s notional rate

Notional RA calculation for partner with excess income

• The partner’s Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA excess income must be included in the calculation of notional RA for the customer
• Partner Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA excess income is obtained by subtracting notional partner excess income from the actual partner excess income
• The resulting amount is subtracted from the customer’s notional RA as a final step in the DVA disability income rent test

Once the final notional Rent Assistance amount has been calculated, the full notional calculation can be done for the customer.

The full notional calculation for cases involving partner excess income is:

• add the partner’s notional RA to the customer’s maximum basic rate
• apply the notional income test (by excluding the DVA Adjusted Disability Pension income)
• deduct the notional partner excess income amount

The result will be the final notional entitlement.

The amount of DFISA payable will be Notional rate minus Actual rate.

Resources provides examples of calculations.

To code DFISA manual rate Go to Step 7.

Customers can receive loan payments each fortnight, up to the equivalent of 150% of the maximum pension rate.

Impact of DFISA on fortnightly loan payments

If a customer received DFISA before 1 January 2022, the maximum fortnightly loan rate payable through the Scheme was reduced by the amount of DFISA, as follows:

• (maximum pension rate x 1.5) minus DFISA = maximum loan rate per fortnight

The actual loan amount payable was the difference between the maximum loan rate and the total amount of actual pension and DFISA received.

For example, if a couple received:

• $20 DFISA per fortnight, and
• the maximum Age Pension rate of $926.30 per fortnight

The maximum loan amount available to each member of the couple was $1,369.45 per fortnight based on:

• ($926.30 x 1.5) - $20 = $1,369.45 per fortnight (maximum loan rate)

Note: these figures are an example only and may not reflect the current maximum pension rate.

Once the Home Equity Access Scheme National team determined the potential loan rate payable, customers chose to get that amount or a lower loan amount.

See Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS) for more details.

To code DFISA manual rate Go to Step 7.

Work out the daily rate by dividing the fortnightly DFISA amount by 14.

Notional rate minus Actual rate / 14 = DFISA daily rate

• From the DFISA Summary Screen (DFS) screen select the most recent date of effect and navigate to the DFISA Calculation Details Screen (DFD)
• Enter the date of event for the change in the Effective Period field and code the calculated DFISA daily rate in the DFISA Manual Override Field. Press [Enter]
• Repeat to include all dates of event
• Add an additional Date of Event of 1 January 2022 in the Effective Period field and a DFISA Manual Override rate of '0.00'
• AR activity and finalise
• Check TTL for the DFISAOUT-N Trigger transaction
• If partner requires coding of DFISA, repeat all steps on partner record

If prior to 1 January 2022, the veteran passed away or the couple separated, code that date of event and a rate of 0.00 to cease DFISA.

Where the rate of DFISA is now less than it was previously calculated to be, DVA may raise a DFISA debt. Email the Income Support Payments Team at DVA to notify of the change that caused the debt, and whether arrears of income support payment were also paid as a result of the reassessment.

Note: if 1 January 2022 date is not coded, DVA will reject the transaction and not pay outstanding DFISA amounts. When a transaction is rejected, manually recode the DFD screen with all dates and rates that were included in the failed transaction.

The calculations for DFISA-like payments and DFISA are identical; the notional DFISA-like rate is the rate the customer would be paid if the Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA was:

• excluded from income in the assessment of the person's actual rate, but
• included in the calculation of rent assistance, that is, the DVA disability income rent test is applied)

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry payments have the same steps in each of their rate calculations. There are three different rate assessments for payments:

• Single customer, go to Step 2
• Partnered customer where the partner is not on an Income support payment, go to Step 3
• Partnered customer where the partner is on an income support payment, go to Step 4

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry payments did not involve add-ons such as Rent Assistance (RA). The rate used the income test for single allowance customers. The notional rate therefore uses the same Income Test but excludes the Adjusted Disability Pension (ADP) as a form of income.

Notional rate - actual rate = DFISA-like rate

For manual coding of a DFISA-like rate, go to Step 5.

These customers were paid a partnered rate that was equivalent to Newstart Allowance and Partner Allowance combined. To calculate the rate in this instance the following steps are followed:

Actual Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry rate:

• determine the member of a couple rate of Newstart Allowance (NSA)
• determine customer's total income, inclusive of Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA
• determine the partner's total income, inclusive of Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA
• determine rate payable under NSA for the customer (including partner income free area calculations, where applicable)
• determine rate payable under Partner Allowance (PA) for the partner (including partner income free area calculations, where applicable)
• combine rates to obtain rate of Farm Help Income Support (FHIS) or Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment (ECRP)

Notional Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry rate:

• determine the member of a couple rate of JSP
• determine the customer's total income excluding Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA
• determine the partner's total income excluding Adjusted Disability Pension from DVA
• determine notional rate payable under JSP for the customer (including notional excess)
• determine notional rate payable under PA for the partner (including notional excess)
• combine rates to obtain notional rate of FHIS or ECRP

Notional rate - actual rate = DFISA-like rate

For manual coding of a DFISA-like rate, go to Step 5.

In these instances, the primary payment of Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was placed on a manual rate, requiring the calculation of a manual rate of DFISA-like payment. An MFU (keyword DFIDAF) was produced for the DVA Clearance Team to follow up.

The steps involved in calculating the primary payment are mirrored in the notional calculation.

When the claim was lodged, the partner on an income support payment (ISP) was offered the choice of:

• cancelling their ISP and allowing the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry customer to receive the full member of a couple rate for both partners, or
• remaining on the ISP

Farmers whose partner was on an ISP were paid the member of a couple rate of JobSeeker Payment (JSP) and the difference between the Partner Allowance rate and ISP the partner was receiving. The farmer's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry rate was increased by any shortfall the partner was experiencing due to remaining on the ISP.

Note: if the ISP partner received add-ons such as Rent Assistance (RA), these were not included in the rate calculation.

To calculate the actual rate:

Actual rate = partnered JSP plus (Partner Allowance (PA) - ISP)

Note: the value of (PA - ISP) cannot be a negative.

After the actual rate was reached, this amount was coded on the Other Income Summary (OINS) screen for the partner.

To calculate the notional rate:

Notional rate = notional JSP plus (notional Partner Allowance - notional ISP)

This notional ISP is not the same as the notional rate the system has already calculated for DFISA. The automatically calculated notional rate for ISP includes the add-ons and the DVA disability income rent test. This second notional ISP calculation is the rate that would be received if there was no RA and no rent test.

Notional rate - actual rate = DFISA-like rate

For manual coding of DFISA-like rate, go to Step 5.

Work out the daily rate by dividing the fortnightly DFISA amount by 14.

Notional rate minus Actual rate / 14 = DFISA daily rate

• From the DFISA Summary Screen (DFS) screen select the most recent date of effect and navigate to the DFISA Calculation Details Screen (DFD)
• Enter the date of event for the change in the Effective Period field and code the calculated DFISA daily rate in the DFISA Manual Override Field. Press [Enter].
• Repeat to include all dates of event
• Add an additional Date of Event of 1 January 2022 in the Effective Period field and a DFISA Manual Override rate of '0.00'
• AR activity and finalise
• Check TTL for the DFISAOUT-N Trigger transaction
• Repeat to include all dates of event

Where the rate of DFISA is now less than it was previously calculated to be, DVA may raise a DFISA debt. Email the Income Support Payments Team at DVA to notify of the change that caused the debt, and whether arrears of income support payment were also paid as a result of the reassessment.

Note: if 1 January 2022 date is not coded, DVA will reject the transaction and not pay outstanding DFISA amounts. When a transaction is rejected, manually recode the DFD screen with all dates and rates that were included in the failed transaction.