Lodgement of the Notice of Assessment (NOA) and other evidence of income for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) 065-06030030

The customer does not have to supply original copies of the Notice of Assessment (NOA) and other supporting documents, such as payment summaries/Australian Taxation Office (ATO) income statements and income tax returns, copies are acceptable.

The type of income the customer has will determine what type of verification of income is required. Not all information recorded on the tax return is on a NOA, so further information or verification may be required.

The CSHC claim process requires verification of income for the Income test qualification:

• Customer (and partner) must provide a NOA for the most recent verifiable financial year (reference tax year), which must be within 2 years of the current financial year
• For couples, both the customer and partner must provide NOAs or other financial documents (if not required to lodge) for the same reference tax year
• If the customer (and/or partner) is required to lodge yet cannot provide a NOA for either of the 2 financial years before the current financial year as they have an extension to lodge, or suspension of enforcement action on outstanding income tax returns granted by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), they must provide evidence from the ATO. This must also be supported with other relevant documents for verification of income for the reference tax year
• If the customer (and/or partner) has declared their income will be lower in the current financial year, due to change to their personal circumstances or a one-off variation in income, they must still provide a NOA for the reference tax year. The estimate of income requires evidence to support the reason the income will be lower than their most recent reference year
• If the customer (and/or partner) is not required to lodge a tax return for the reference tax year, they need to provide other relevant documents for verification of income for the reference tax year
• If the customer (and/or partner) is not required to lodge a tax return for the reference tax year, meets all other CSHC qualification criteria, and they declare ZERO income for the reference tax year, then no documentation is required for verification of income

Deemed income from account-based income streams is included in the CSHC income test. Customer or partner must provide a Details of income stream product form (SA330) or similar schedule from their provider, before a new account-based income stream can be added or updates to an existing account-based income stream can be recorded. See Adding or updating an account-based income stream. If the customer is unable to meet the verification of income requirements, the CSHC claim must be rejected.

Note: To determine if the declaration of income supports the correct claim outcome, the decision to accept the verification provided rests with the delegate.

When a customer advises that they have little or nil income, then they should consider applying for Age Pension. The customer may not be eligible for Age Pension if they are excluded due to the assets test or residential qualifications. For more information, see Qualification of Age Pension.

Services Australia and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) match records twice a year. Adjusted Taxable Income (ATI) data received from the ATO when matched with CSHC customers may result in an intervention where income details exceed the applicable income threshold for the reference tax year.

Existing account based income streams may be updated automatically as part of the Automation of Income Stream Review (AISR) process.