Unreasonable to live at home (UTLAH) initial contact for Youth Allowance (YA), Disability Support Pension (DSP), Special Benefit (SpB) or Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) 001-04030020

This assessment of independence under UTLAH provisions is for customers:

• receiving or claiming DSP and aged under 18years
• receiving or claiming YA and aged under 22 years
• claiming SpB and aged 15 years or under
• or students claiming TAP

Has the young person indicated that they want to be assessed as independent, or for TAP, be exempt from providing parental income because it is unreasonable to live at home or, have they advised the agency of circumstances that may meet UTLAH criteria?

This could be verbally, via a relevant online question set or within a paper claim form for YA, DSP or SpB.

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

Note: parent means a biological, adoptive or relationship parent of the young person. See the Resources page for an explanation of 'relationship parent'.

Is the customer living in the parental home?

Note: a guardian is not considered a parent for the purposes of determining if it is unreasonable to live at home with a young person's parent(s).

• Yes, the customer cannot currently be considered independent based on it being unreasonable to live at home
• A social work referral may be appropriate if the young person wishes to discuss their situation and seek advice or referral information. Service Officers must explain that while the customer is living in the parental home a social worker is unable to find them independent due to UTLAH
• Note: a social work referral must be made immediately if the young person is unsupported and 15 years or under, or a child at risk of harm
• For new YA claims, relating to jobseekers aged over 16 or students aged 18 or older issue the Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details for the Base Tax Year and Current Tax Year (MOD JY), and assess YA at the dependent rate
• Explain to the customer that FTB is the appropriate payment for young people under 15 and students under 18 who remain living in the parental home
• For DSP customers, assess at the dependent rate
• For TAP, tell the customer that their parent(s)/guardian(s) must complete the SY105 - Tertiary Access Payment parent(s)/guardian(s) details for assessment of income. This form is contained within the SY104 – Claim for Tertiary Access Payment, See the Resources page for a link to the form
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

Is the customer aged under 15 years, or, is 15 years but under the minimum school leaving age for the State or Territory where they live?

• Yes:
• Immediately refer them to a social worker. The social worker will undertake a risk assessment and arrange for a local social work UTLAH assessment to start. If the customer is in State care, the UTLAH assessment will also consider the adequacy of State care
• If a claim for Special Benefit (SpB) has not yet been lodged, Service Officers must assist the customer to claim online or via Assisted Customer Claim
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

It is important to explore other options before referring for an UTLAH assessment. This is so that customers and parents are not unnecessarily subjected to a sensitive and sometimes longer process and to make sure that the customer receives the correct rate of payment.

Other payment options may also offer a timelier interim arrangement while the young person 's UTLAH eligibility is assessed.

Is the customer independent on other grounds?

For example, State care, parents cannot exercise parental responsibilities, refugee, or orphan. See:

• Independence for YA customers
• Assessing payment rates and independence for DSP customers under 21 years, or
• Assessing and Finalising claims for Tertiary Access Payment (TAP)

Note: for YA, if the assessment is for a student undertaking an approved scholarship course, independence under UTLAH or State care criteria may attract a Relocation Scholarship. This may be more financially beneficial for the customer, rather than granting independence under other provisions.

• Yes, and the customer is:
• a YA student undertaking an approved scholarship course and the other independence category does attract a Relocation Scholarship, assess the claim using the other independence criterion. Procedure ends here
• not a YA student undertaking an approved scholarship course, assess the claim using the other independence criterion. Procedure ends here
• claiming TAP, go to Step 6
• No, or the customer is a YA student undertaking an approved scholarship course and the other independence category does not attract a Relocation Scholarship, go to Step 5

Service Officers should look at all opportunities to determine the highest payment rate for the customer before referring them for a UTLAH assessment. See the away from home rate for YA customers.

Is the young person a YA customer, aged 16-21 years and needs to live away from home for the purpose of education, training, or employment?

• Yes, assess YA at the away from home rate plus rent assistance (if applicable):
• Tell the customer what their rate of payment will be
• Explain to the customer they are still assessed as dependent on their parent(s) and are therefore affected by the Parental Means Test
• Explain that the UTLAH independence assessment will be completed as soon as possible
• Note: information from a sibling's record can be used to determine parental details for dependent YA, without parental or sibling permission. See Completing Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details for the Base Tax Year and Current Tax Year (MOD JY)
• Go to Table 2
• No, go to Table 2

TAP customers may be exempt from providing parental income under any other reason because they:

• have (or has had) a dependent child
• are an orphan
• have parents unable to exercise parental responsibilities. For example, parents are in prison or a nursing home
• are a refugee
• are in State care
• have Special Adult Status in a traditional community (indigenous only)
• currently have care of another person's child
• are 16 years or older and living in an Indigenous community after previously living with a non-indigenous family for more than two years (indigenous only), or
• are 18 or older and have been in lawful custody for six months

Is the TAP customer exempt from providing parental income for any of the above reasons?

• Yes, request appropriate supporting evidence. To request additional documents, select > Request Documents. On the Maintain page, complete the following:
• Benefit: field, Tertiary Access Payment
• Benefit Status: field, New Claim
• Authority To Request: field, Tertiary Access Payment Guidelines for VET and NUHELP Applicants
• Information to be supplied within: field, 28 days
• select the relevant form or document required for assessment
• select Finish
  The claim is automatically placed on Hold, for the reason 'Customer to provide Information'. For further information about requesting additional documents, see Table 6 in Circumstance Change Monitor (CCM). Procedure ends here
• No, ask the TAP customer to complete the Tertiary Access Payment parent(s)/guardian(s) details, for assessment under their parent(s)/guardian(s) income details (SY105). The SY105 is contained in the Claim for Tertiary Access Payment (SY104). See the Resources page for a link to the form

Reminder: if the customer is a child 15 years of age or under or otherwise at risk, immediately refer the customer to a social worker.

Does the customer have a current nominee or person permitted to enquire arrangement?

• Yes, review the arrangement and update if required
• Note: an out-of-date arrangement may have risk and/or privacy implications for the young person. See Reviewing nominee arrangements
• No, discuss a potential arrangement with customer. If the customer requires a nominee, see Adding or rejecting a nominee request

Where a customer is claiming more than one payment, for example YA and TAP, only one UTLAH assessment is required.

Was the customer receiving YA, DSP, SpB or ABSTUDY in the 52 weeks before claiming this payment, and assessed as independent, or exempt from providing parental income for TAP, under UTLAH provisions?

Note: this includes customers transferring from YA (job seeker) with Partial Capacity to Work (PCW) independent status, to YA (student) (to which PCW independent status does not apply). In these cases, staff must check if UTLAH independent status was granted in the 52 weeks before the transfer and UTLAH was only end-dated because PCW was subsequently granted.

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, for customers aged:
• 15 years and under, go to Step 5
• 16 or 17 years, go to Step 6
• 18 years or older, go to Step 8

To determine if there has been a change of circumstances since the last UTLAH assessment, consider the following questions, (for online claims or ACC, these questions are asked in the claim):

• Has the customer returned to live at home for any periods over 28 days since the last UTLAH assessment was completed?
• Is the customer receiving any continuous support from their parent(s)/guardian(s)?

If the young person answers:

• Yes to either of the above questions, discuss the change(s) with them and DOC the customer's record with the details. If the customer is aged:
• 15 years and under, go to Step 5
• 16 or 17 years, go to Step 6
• 18 years or older, go to Step 8
• No to both questions above, the customer does not require another UTLAH assessment as they received a UTLAH rate in the past 52 weeks and their circumstances have not changed, this may be referred to as the 52 week rule. If the customer is claiming:
• TAP, go to Step 4
• YA, DSP or SpB:
  record no change to circumstances on a DOC and remove the independence code end date on the Independent/Homeless/Away From Home Details (NIH) screen. Procedure ends here

For customers previously assessed for UTLAH who state their circumstances have not changed:

• record no change to circumstances on a DOC
• in Customer First, remove the independence code end date on the Independent/Homeless/Away From Home Details (NIH) screen
• change to Process Direct and go to the TAP new claim. Select the appropriate Parental income exemption reason from the drop down menu on the TAP Circumstance Details (TPCD) screen. Use the same code used on the NIH screen. The UTLAH parental income exemption reasons for TAP are:
• HDH - Serious family breakdown - long term domestic disharmony
• HNH - No parental home
• HOE - Other exceptional circumstances
• HSR - Customer at serious risk
• Finalise the UTLAH DOC

Procedure ends here.

If the customer is a child 15 years of age or under or otherwise at risk, immediately refer the customer to a social worker:

• If the customer is aged 15 years or under, the social worker will undertake a risk assessment and organise for the UTLAH assessment to start locally
• Procedure ends here

If a 16-17 year old customer contacts about a started or submitted claim, and they need an UTLAH assessment, Service Officers must:

• confirm that the customer has a social work appointment booked or they have attended one, and
• book a Social Work UTLAH appointment if there is not one already scheduled or attended

Service Officers allocated a claim for processing that requires a UTLAH assessment must:

• confirm that the customer has a social work appointment, or they have attended one
• not place a claim on hold awaiting UTLAH if no appointment has been booked or attended
• send a pre-call SMS and make genuine attempts to contact by phone to tell the customer they need to undertake a social work interview and then book an appointment

If contact is unsuccessful, add notes to the Progress of Claim DOC, and book the next available social work UTLAH appointment.

If the customer does not have a contact number, Service Officers must:

• annotate the Progress of Claim DOC
• create a Display on Access DOC (using code OTH) and include the following text:
• 'Customer to be assessed for UTLAH, a Social Work Appointment is required. Customer has no contact information on record. If customer contacts, please update customer's telephone details, and book a Social Work UTLAH appointment'
• issue a Q164 letter asking the customer to make contact. In the letter, tell them that the claim will be rejected if they do not respond
• if the customer fails to respond to Q164 in 22 days, reject the claim 'failed to reply to correspondence' (FRC). In the Rejection DOC include the following text:
• 'Customer has not responded to request to contact. Unable to progress UTLAH assessment as no contact number supplied and Social Work UTLAH appointment cannot be completed'

• access the customer record
• from Workspace, locate the Appointments box and select Book and Manage appointments
• select Create Appointment
• Appointment Type: select SWO Unreasonable to Live at Home
• Appointment Channel: defaults to Phone
• Service Reason: select most appropriate to customer's payment type
• Specify if the customer needs an interpreter
• Phone: select the customer's preferred phone number
• select Next
• On this day: defaults to the next available appointment date, or select the customer's preferred date
• Timezone: defaults to the customer's location. Check this is correct
• if appointment times do not display below, select Find
• select the customer's preferred appointment time
• select Next
• Appointment Note: include any relevant information for the assessing social worker
• select Finish

• access the customer record
• using Super Key, go to the Appointments (APPT) screen
• any existing appointments will show under Booked Appointments. There are options to Create, Reschedule or Cancel an existing appointment
• select
• Appointment Type: select SWO Unreasonable to Live at Home
• Appointment Channel: select Phone
• Service Reason: select most appropriate to the customer's payment type
• On this day: defaults to the next available appointment date, or select the customer's preferred date
• Location: select a location starting with UTLAH to find available appointments:
• The location selected does not need to match the customer's location
• Service Officers may need to change the location several times before appointments display under Available Time
• If an appointment cannot be found by changing the location, change the date to the next business day and try again
• Planned Time: populates after an appointment is selected. Do not attempt to change the default times
• Available Time: select the customer's preferred appointment time
• Appointment Note: include the customer's preferred contact phone number and any other relevant information for the assessing social worker
• select Save

UTLAH assessments can be considered urgent for 16-17 year old customers with:

• very limited/no ongoing financial or other support, and
• extremely unstable or no accommodation, and/or
• significant other risk factors requiring immediate assessment

In these cases, Service Officers must:

• ensure the customer's telephone contact details are correct and advise them to expect a phone call from a social worker on a blocked number
• book the customer the next available SWO Unreasonable to Live at Home phone appointment, to secure a timely interview if a social worker is unable to immediately connect with the customer
• create an Urgent UTLAH Under 18 Requested Fast Note in Customer First. Any (non-sensitive) information about the customer's circumstances that may be helpful for the assessment should be noted in the Fast Note
• offer the young person a referral for social casework
• check the young person has submitted a claim for income support and assist them to do so if there is no current claim or their claim is in draft status

Note: if a young person requests an urgent UTLAH assessment, this may be an indication they are at risk. An immediate social work referral must be made when a child is at risk of harm, including due to abuse, neglect, or exposure to family and domestic violence.

If a UTLAH assessment is required for a customer aged 16-17 years residing in a remote area of Western Australia, Northern Territory or Northern Queensland, Service Officers can direct the request to a remote UTLAH-skilled social worker. See the Resources page for a link to Office Locator, which includes contact details and information about remote UTLAH assessment requests.

An O18 UTLAH Claim Progress DOC generates when a customer 18 years or over indicates it is unreasonable for them to live at home during a new claim. This DOC remains open as a UTLAH new claim work item.

If the customer needs a UTLAH assessment for a new claim, staff must:

• check the O18 UTLAH Claim Progress DOC is open
• create an O18 UTLAH Claim Progress DOC if:
• it has been closed, or
• there is no UTLAH new claim work item (ZALL_ULH_NCL) in Work Optimiser for the customer
• use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Social Worker > Claims > O18 UTLAH Claim Progress
  Make sure the Date Of Receipt for the Fast Note is the date the claim was submitted. Do not complete the DOC
• Ask the customer to complete a Statement by Young Person (SY015) form if
• for a new claim, they have not completed the online question set
• they are already receiving a payment and they need a UTLAH assessment
• they are claiming TAP only and need a UTLAH assessment
  For details, see Completing the Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY 'Unreasonable to live at home' Statement by Young Person (SY015)

Service Officers in the Over 18 UTLAH Assessment Team (O18) will assess customers aged 18 years or older for UTLAH. A social work appointment is not required. However, if the customer requests a social worker or is presenting with multiple complex needs and minimal supports, see Social Work Service referral.

Always issue a Statement by Parent(s)/Guardian(s) (SY016) form to the customer or send to the parent(s) on their behalf. If parents are separated, an SY016 form is required from each parent.

• Tell the customer that a statement from their parent(s) is required except:
• where this would put the young person at risk, or
• they have had no contact with the parent(s) for more than 2 years
• Offer to send the SY016 to their parent/s on the customer's behalf, by issuing a Q465 'IHR entitlement questionnaire to parent' Online Advice (OLA) as a cover letter and include reply paid envelopes

Young person advises they cannot obtain an SY016 from their parent(s)

If the young person states their parent(s) will not complete an SY016, seek their consent for a Service Officer from O18 to contact their parent(s) by phone.

Note: in some cases, the customer may not give their consent and/or may disclose that contact with their parents by the agency may put them at risk. For example, from family and domestic violence, including homophobia and transphobia.

If the young person cannot obtain a completed SY016 for one or both parents, or advises it would be unsafe for them to do so, complete a warm transfer to UTLAH Over 18 team. If the call is unsuccessful:

• record the details in a Fast Note - select Auto text, use Social Worker > Update > O18 UTLAH CALLDOC Enquiry
• Document Completion must be set to No
• include the parents' names and phone numbers, the customer's consent for the Over 18 UTLAH team to phone them, (if applicable) and that there are no risk concerns
• make sure the customer's telephone details are up to date and advise them the Over 18 UTLAH Team will call from a private number

Note: do not record any sensitive details on the customer's record.

For full details, see Completing the Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY 'Unreasonable to live at home' Statement by Parent(s) (SY016).

Tell the customer that an independent third party they nominate, (for example a youth worker, guidance counsellor or adult family member), may need to complete a Statement by Independent Third Party (SY017) form.

Explain that a Service Officer from the Over 18 UTLAH Assessment team will contact the third party or issue the form if this is required.

Note: an SY017 is not required for all Over 18 UTLAH assessments.

For full details, see Completing the Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY 'Unreasonable to live at home' Statement by Independent Third Party (SY017).

When any UTLAH statements are returned:

• check that they are fully completed and signed
• scan relevant documents to the customer's record. The system will map the resulting work item to the correct processing team. If the forms are not categorised correctly, go to Step 12
• conduct a priority assessment check for YA. See Lodgement of unreasonable to live at home (UTLAH) statements for Youth Allowance (YA)
• if the O18 team consider it necessary to interview the customer, they will attempt to contact the customer by phone. Make sure the customer's telephone details are up to date and tell them calls from the agency will display as a private number

If the young person, a parent or independent third party contact the agency to provide information that was requested by O18 team:

• attempt a warm transfer to UTLAH Over 18 team
• if the call transfer is unsuccessful, record the details in a Fast Note - select Auto text, use Social Worker > Update > O18 UTLAH CALLDOC Enquiry
• Document Completion must be set to No
• include the full name and phone number of the person who has contacted
• tell the person the return call from the agency will display as a private number

Note: do not record any sensitive details on the customer's record.

Procedure ends here.

If a customer or staff member has incorrectly uploaded an SY015, SY016 or SY017 with a different form code, update the Document Details screen in Document Tools.

Note: updating the Document Details screen will not change the WLM categorisation of this work item.

To change the WLM categorisation of the work item, staff must go to either Worklist search results or the Work Item Details screen in Work Optimiser:

To recategorise via the Work Item Details screen:

• Select the work item
• Select Unassign
• In the Reason pop-up, select Re-categorised from the drop-down list
• Select the Re-categorise field to display a pop-up
• In the pop-up, select the Work Type field and key: 'ZALL_ULH_NCL'
• Select Submit to save changes

A warning displays if the work item has already been recategorised.

Once recategorised, a message at the bottom of the screen says the work item is unassigned.