Determining proof of rent for the Verification field on the Accommodation Details (AC) screen 108-18092616

Item

Description

1

Contact made and RA has stopped Not Verified - NVE/ Rent Verification Required - RVR

A customer contacts before 25 September 2020 who has had Rent Assistance (RA) stopped NVE/RVR and verification has not been provided.

The records are checked and the customer or their partner qualify for the COVID-19 rent verification waiver. The rent verification waiver (Verified (Rent Declaration) - VED code) can be applied to the Accommodation Details (AC) screen as part of the customer contact.

To update the record and pay arrears if eligible, following existing processing pathways, see the Process page in Processing proof of rent for the Verification field on the Accommodation Details (AC) screen:

• If RA will be assessed with ABY, see Table 4, Step 2
• If RA will be assessed with FTB, see Table 4, Step 3, Step 4
• If RA will be assessed with ISP, see Table 4, Step 5, Step 6, Step 7

Note: if the customer contacts on or after 25 September 2020 they must verify their rent details unless they are exempt under the normal rent verification rules.

2

Rent Assistance (RA) assessed with new claim

A customer lodges a new claim for payment on 25 September 2020. They also wish to receive RA with the new claim. To be paid RA, they must provide proof of the rent they are paying. As part of their claim, they have uploaded their current formal rental agreement document, which has been completed in full. As the new claim has sufficient accommodation details, a rent certificate (SU523HD) is not necessary and the rental agreement is acceptable verification of their rent. The rent verification code used for this claim would be 'Verified (Formal) - VEF' to represent the rent has been verified formally.

To process the rent verification, see Processing proof of rent for the Verification field on the Accommodation Details (AC) screen.

3

Current customer starts paying rent

If a customer is already on a payment and wishes to start receiving RA on or after 25 September 2020 and they are not exempt from rent verification, they must provide:

• a rent certificate (SU523HD) signed by the customer plus their formal rental agreement, or
• an SU523HD signed by both the customer and the landlord

The customer's accommodation screen must be updated as part of the initial customer contact. Once this is updated, an SU523HD is automatically generated and sent to the customer, if needed.

If they have an online account, they can access it using the Request a document option online. They can view, print and save their SU523HD for up to 19 weeks.

To determine the correct rent verification code, see the Process page.

If the verification returned by the customer is only a completed SU523HD and the form is acceptable, the rent verification code used for this update is 'Verified (Rent Certificate) - VEC'. Once the rent verification is received, see Processing proof of rent for the Verification field on the Accommodation Details (AC) screen.

4

COVID rent verification waiver timeline

26/03/2020: DSS advice was received confirming that rent verification waiver could apply to customers or their partners who are claiming or receiving the following payments (all payment groups eligible for the COVID-19 Supplement):

• JobSeeker
• Youth Allowance
• Austudy
• ABSTUDY – Living Allowance
• Parenting Payment (single and Partnered)
• Farm House Hold Allowance
• Special Benefit

04/04/2020: An ICT release occurred which:

• Cancelled all existing FAL NVE reviews. These are the FAL reviews which automatically run and update AC screen to NVE and cease RA after 28 days. This applied if customer or partner were receiving COVID-19 Supplement payment types (as listed above). This action meant that rent verification waiver was being applied, in some cases, back to as early as 07/03/2020.
• ISIS was updated to prevent auto-generation of rent certs and FAL NVE reviews regardless of the rent verification code applied to the customer record for COVID-19 Supplement payment types (as listed above).
• The online service was updated in line with the COVID rent verification waiver.

13/05/2020: DSS advice was received confirming that, from 13/05/2020 the rent verification waiver could be extended to all ISP and FTB recipients and claimants.

21/05/2020: An ICT release occurred which:

• Cancelled all remaining FAL NVE reviews. These are the FAL reviews which automatically run and update AC screen to NVE and cease RA after 28 days. This action meant that rent verification waiver was being applied to this second cohort, in some cases, back to as early as 24/04/2020.

23/05/2020: An ICT release occurred updating some online claims in line with the COVID rent verification waiver.

06/06/2020: An ICT release occurred updating the online service with rent verification codes in line with the COVID rent verification waiver.

13/06/2020: An ICT release occurred with further updates to:

• Prevent auto-generation of rent certs and FAL NVE reviews
• Cancel all existing FAL NVE reviews (those created since the 21/05/2020 run was completed)
• Update the online claim in line with the COVID rent verification waiver

19/09/2020: An ICT release occurred to remove the COVID rent verification waiver changes from 25/09/2020.