Suppression of quarterly supplement payment 108-08030010

The quarterly supplement is a payment made each quarter that is an optional payment paid in arrears but calculated on a daily basis.

CSHC holders who are grandfathered for Energy Supplement will have the option of one of the following:

• receive payment of the quarterly supplement into their nominated bank account (quarterly supplement cannot be paid by cheque)
• decline payment of quarterly supplement and be paid out any accrued payment
• decline payment of quarterly supplement and not receive any accrued payment
• For more information about grandfathering for Energy Supplement, see Energy Supplement for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders.

Payment is made quarterly in arrears on or soon after the test day which is the 20th day of March, June, September and December. If the customer is eligible on the test day, the amount of quarterly supplement paid may vary because it will be calculated on a daily rate (annual rate divided by 364) multiplied by the number of days in the quarter.

If the customer is eligible for the quarterly supplement on the test day, payment will be made for all days eligible up till and including the 19th. For example, for the December quarterly supplement, the first day of the quarter is 20 September and the last day is 19 December.

CSHC holders who are grandfathered for Energy Supplement can choose not to be paid the quarterly supplement at any time and, if they wish, be paid out any accrued quarterly supplement.

The customer will be entitled to payment from the last quarterly supplement (test day) to the day prior to the quarterly supplement being declined.

If customer requests not to be paid any quarterly supplement (this includes any accrued component), this should be recorded on a DOC. Inform the customer that they will not be able to reverse their decision in the future. Declining to be paid the quarterly supplement will mean the customer will lose their grandfathered status for Energy Supplement.

From 20 March 2017, any grandfathered CSHC holders who declines to receive quarterly supplement will not be able to elect to receive the quarterly supplement at a future date. The customer will lose their grandfathering status from the date they decline to receive Energy Supplement.

CSHC holders who were not receiving quarterly supplement because they had declined to receive the payment prior to 20 March 2017 will not be grandfathered and can never again elect to receive quarterly supplement.