Assessment of relationship status - processes, roles and responsibilities 106-07120000

Customers can access online forms on the Services Australia website.

For online forms relevant to this theme, see:

Relationship Details (SS284)

Relationship Details, Separated under one roof (SS293)

Module P - Partner details (MOD P)

Module S - Separation details (MOD S)

Table 1: This table contains changes in customer's circumstances, links to relevant Operational Blueprint pages and information about when MoC processing staff do the MoC assessment.

For further information on when a referral to the MoC processing team may be appropriate, see Confirming the need for a Member of a Couple (MoC) assessment.

Table 2: Lists all Marital Status field codes that can be recorded for a customer via the Marital Status (MS) screen.

Some customers may have a code recorded that is not listed in the below table:

• NRE (Not Required), or
• UNK (Unknown)

Service Officers should not manually code these codes. When one of these codes has been recorded, Service Officers must verify the customer's correct relationship status and update the system using the appropriate code from the below table. There is no time requirement for applying these codes. For example, a customer does not need to be de facto for a certain period before they are considered partnered. They also can be applied indefinitely until they need to be updated to record when a customer's relationship status changes.

Event Date field

Update the Event Date field on the MS screen to reflect the date the change occurred. For example, if a customer is recorded as de facto (DEF) and advises they are now married, the event date when recording married (MAR) must be the date they were married, not the date they were recorded as DEF, unless the customer was incorrectly recorded as de facto instead of married and the entry needs to be corrected. The same rule applies when updating the Qualifier Code field (relationship qualifier code).

Table 3: Lists current relationship status qualifier codes that can be recorded on a customer's record via the MS screen in the Qualifier Code field.

Note: a system limitation does not let multiple events to be coded on the MS screen with the same event date. There may be instances where the event date will need to be recorded on the date prior to the event (for example, if Person Permitted to Enquire (PPE) authority is being ended because the customer is separating from their partner, the date of event for the PPE update must be the day prior to the separation date). Service Officers must follow relevant Operational Blueprint processes.

Take care when recording a relationship qualifier code. Service Officers must record the correct code based on the customer's current circumstances and update the Event Date field to reflect when the change occurred.

Historical relationship qualifier codes

Some customers may have a relationship qualifier code recorded that the table below does not list, as follows:

• The following codes can no longer be applied, however they are still valid historical codes:
• GAO - Partner in Gaol
• ILS - Separated due to illness
• PSY- Partner in Psychiatric care
• RES - Partner in Respite Care
• TEM - Temporarily Separated Not Illness/Estranged
• Although the system will allow users to apply the following codes on the MS screen, they must not be used. For:
• PIJ (Partner in gaol) and PMH (Partner in Mental Hospital) - when it has been identified one of these codes has been recorded, Service Officers must update the code to the appropriate equivalent code from the below table
• DES (Deserted Wife) - there is no appropriate equivalent qualifier code as this is a redundant code. When it has been identified this code has been recorded, Service Officers must update the record to remove it using the date of event as the date the Service Officer identified the code on MS

Current relationship qualifier codes (Qualifier Code field on MS screen)

TEB/TEC/TEP

Where couples qualify for Rent Assistance (RA) as a temporarily separated couple, the coding of the relevant temporary relationship qualifier code TEB, TEC or TEP will not adjust their income support payments to the single rate. Use the temporary relationship qualifier code where:

• the customer is advising of a change of address due to separation from their partner, and
• the separation is pending the return of the Mod S and/or verification.

This makes sure rent and address details for the customer can be updated independently.

OVC/OVP

A OVP (Ptnr O/S Never in AUST) must be coded on the MS screen if the:

• customer is partnered, and
• customer’s partner lives overseas and never lived in Australia

A matching OVC (O/Seas (Never in AUST) will automatically apply to the partner’s record.

Using the OVP code when linking records will make sure address and/or accommodation details for the customer can be updated independently.

Note: an error will present if the customer’s partner is either currently in Australia or have a previous home address that was in Australia. Recording the OVP code is not appropriate in these circumstances.