Claiming a Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS) loan 065-19060359

Check the customer and any applying partner has a Centrelink online account linked to myGov.

If they do not have an online account:

• there are 4 ways they can link Centrelink to myGov
• advise the customer how they can create a myGov account and link Centrelink to it. This will also allow them to get Centrelink mail online through the myGov Inbox.

Service Officers can help customers with their HEAS online claim through self-service terminals.

Record the claim contact in a DOC and advise the customer they can proceed to start and submit an application online.

Customers can also access the Payment and Service Finder to check if there are other payments appropriate for their circumstances.

On the My profile page, details from the customer’s record is pre-populated.

Customers can access their profile by selecting My details > Personal and contact details > My profile via the home page links or the main Menu.

Customers must review the details in their profile and if updates are required, select the Update link for the applicable sections.

For each part of My profile updated, they need to select Save.

Electronic messaging

Customers who provide a mobile phone number or email address will be advised that they will automatically be subscribed to Electronic Messaging (EM) services unless they have previously declined EM.

Customers will be asked to nominate a preferred contact method (SMS or email) for electronic messages.

If customers have linked their active Centrelink online account to their active myGov account they are automatically subscribed to get Centrelink mail online. Centrelink customers can opt out of these services at any time.

Once registered with an 'active' Centrelink online account, to start a claim application customers need to:

• sign into myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• go to the:
• homepage desktop menu and select Payments and claims > Make a claim, or
• main menu and select Payments and claims > Claims > Make a claim
• select Get started in the Older Australians category on the Make a Claim page
• read the details about HEAS
• select Apply for a loan under the Home Equity Access Scheme
• complete the questions on the Eligibility Check page then select Continue

Once the customer completes the Eligibility check and selects Continue, the HEAS online claim registers as a started claim. The customer has 13 weeks from this date to complete and submit the claim.

The HEAS online claim will expire if not submitted within 13 weeks. See Circumstance Change Monitor (CCM) for more details.

If the customer is not eligible for a HEAS loan based on their answers, they will be told why and referred to the Payment and Service Finder to see what other payments they may be eligible for. Centrelink customers can select Back to return to Make a Claim page to begin another claim type.

Once a HEAS claim starts, an Introduction page displays and provides details to the customer about what to expect with instruction to:

• complete the HEAS claim and upload any supporting documents, submit the claim for processing, and
• tell us if anything changes

The customer or nominee must read the details on the Introduction page and select Continue to start progressing through the HEAS claim.

The customer is guided through the process of completing their claim, which is broken down into sections.

The sections of the HEAS claim must be completed in order and the next section cannot be started until the previous section is complete.

The first section is accessed by selecting the Start button.

Each section has pages of relevant questions. On each question page, there are options to select:

• Back to go back to the previous question or page
• Next to progress forward to the next question
• Continue to save the HEAS claim answers and continue to the next page of questions

When each module is completed and the end of the section reached, the Start button becomes enabled for the next section. Answers in previously completed sections can be updated by selecting Edit.

The customer or their nominee does not need to complete the HEAS claim in one session. To save responses, select Continue at any time.

The customer or their nominee can exit the HEAS claim by selecting Home, and continue with the claim later.

If the customer or nominee exits their Centrelink online claim, to access it again customers must:

• sign into myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• go to the:
• homepage desktop menu and select Payment and claims > My online claims, or
• main menu and select Payments and claims > Claims > My online claims

A list of all HEAS historical and current online claims displays.

If the status of the HEAS claim is Incomplete, the customer or nominee can either:

• Continue claim to display the next question set to be completed
• Cancel claim and confirm the customer or nominee want to do this. Once cancelled, the customer or nominee will not be able to view or continue the HEAS online claim, and the cancellation cannot be undone. No HEAS claim details will be saved or recorded. The customer or nominee can start a new HEAS online claim at any time

Based on details the customer or nominee has provided, if a HEAS customer meets the HEAS combined claim criteria, this is where the customer or nominee will be asked if they would like to submit an application for both themselves and their partner (if applicable).

Note: a nominee can submit a HEAS online claim on behalf of a customer. Nominees cannot submit combined HEAS online claims.

When all questions have been completed the Review and Confirm section provides a summary of all of the details provided by the customer or nominee so that they can check what they have entered is correct.

If the customer or nominee wants to review particular HEAS claim questions or update their answers, the customer or nominee can make updates by selecting the Update button for the applicable section.

This will take the customer or nominee back to My profile or the relevant section of the HEAS claim to review/update the particular claim questions and responses.

Declaration and Acknowledgement

Once all information is correct, the customer or nominee must read the Declaration and Acknowledgement and accept them by ticking the boxes.

The customer or nominee must then select Confirm Information to save the HEAS claim information. Once selected no more changes can be made to the information entered into the claim. The customer or nominee can view the details but not make any further edits.

The last section of the claim is the Next steps page which advises the customer of:

• any documents they need to provide, and
• tasks the customer, or any applying partner, need to complete before submitting their HEAS claim

Combined HEAS claims require the customers partner to complete tasks including reading and agreeing to the answers the customer provided in their HEAS application.

The partner is also asked to provide consent to applying for a HEAS loan under the HEAS for themselves, and the customer.

The partner must complete their tasks in their own Centrelink online account within 21 days.

Tasks may be supplementary or required. The claim cannot be submitted until all required tasks are completed.

If a task is supplementary encourage the customer to still complete it if they can. It will help Services Australia to assess the claim and identify if the customer can get additional payments and services.

Note: a nominee can submit a HEAS online claim on behalf of a customer. Nominees cannot submit a combined HEAS online claims.

If a task requires the customer or nominee to provide a document, there is an Upload documents button next to the applicable task.

Customer or nominee can use this to upload documents directly into the HEAS online claim.

Encourage the customer or nominee to access their Centrelink online account through myGov to upload documents and submit their claim. This is the quickest and easiest way for a customer or nominee to complete their tasks and allow HEAS claim submission.

If needed, help the customer or nominee to upload the documents and submit their HEAS claim online. Once the customer or nominee has selected a document to upload, they submit it as follows:

• Select Next
• Complete a Declaration about the document(s) by ticking the box, and
• Select Submit documents

Once the uploaded document(s) have been submitted the associated tasks will display a status of Done.

• If a task requires a customer or nominee to attend a Service centre to provide documents, Service Officers must: scan the documents
• Code identity documents in the Identity Confirmation Dashboard in Process Direct. If the Identity Confirmation Status is updated to Confirmed, complete the associated identity task
• For all other documents, run the Request & Manage Customer Tasks guided procedure to complete the associated task

If the customer or nominee uploaded or provided documents before starting the HEAS online claim, a task may still display on the Next steps page for the document to be provided. The customer or nominee can either:

• upload the document again on the Next steps page, or
• contact Services Australia to have the Request & Manage Customer Tasks guided procedure run to complete the task. Before completing the task for the customer’s claim, Service Officers must check that the document has been provided

If a customer or nominee contacts and requests a consent form, print and send for completion.

For a HEAS claim initiated by a nominee see the letters and electronic messaging site to complete a Q888 consent form.

Staff can scan this to a customer’s record and finalise the required task using the Request and Manage customer tasks within Customer First. This will allow the nominee to submit the HEAS loan application.

Once all required tasks display a status of Done, the Submit button will show and the customer or nominee if it is a combined HEAS claim, the partner can submit the HEAS claim.

To be assessed from the earliest possible date, HEAS customers (including nominees) must provide all the requested information and submit the HEAS claim as soon as possible.

Once submitted, a message displays to the customer or nominee to confirm their HEAS claim for the HEAS has been successfully submitted and the following information displays:

• Claim submission date
• Estimated Completion Date Range (ECDR)
• Claim ID

The page also provides options for the customer or nominee to:

• view the HEAS claim history, and
• view and print a copy of their HEAS claim answers

A customer or nominee can select Home to return to their Centrelink online account homepage, and can track the progress of their HEAS claim.

Partners can also track the progress of the combined HEAS claim in their own Centrelink online account.

Once a HEAS claim is submitted, customer or nominee cannot update the HEAS online claim details. Customers must contact Services Australia if they want to provide more details about their claim.

A customer or their nominee can withdraw their online claim at any time after it has been submitted via My online claims. Once a claim has been withdrawn it cannot be reinstated. A customer or their nominee can apply again by starting a new online HEAS claim at any time.

Upon lodgement of the HEAS claim, a Work Item automatically creates and allocates to the Home Equity Access Scheme National team for assessment and processing. If the HEAS claim is a combined partner claim, 1 Work Item creates for processing both loan applications.

For details about the assessment process, see Assessing Home Equity Access Scheme applications.

Partners have 21 days to respond to the notification sent to their phone and myGov Inbox to complete a 'Task for Home Equity Access Scheme combined partner claim' by:

• Signing in to myGov and accessing their own linked Centrelink online account
• Selecting the outstanding 'Task for Home Equity Access Scheme combined partner claim'
• Giving permission for their partner to claim on their behalf
• Answering questions about their payment destination
• Reviewing the answers supplied by their partner in their HEAS claim
• Accepting and declaring that the information provided is correct
• Lodging supporting documents if applicable using the Upload documents service
• Providing their consent to participate in the HEAS

Once both the customer or nominee and partner have completed all steps, the customer is required to:

• Sign in to myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• Select the open claim
• Ensure all required tasks are completed and required documents have been uploaded
• Submit the HEAS claim

Note: if the partner does not complete the task within 21 days of being notified:

• the partners task expires, and
• the claim reverts back to an individual HEAS claim for the customer only

'Channel hopping' allows:

• the customer or nominee to start a HEAS claim online and have it continued by a Service Officer, via Assisted Customer Claim (ACC), or
• a Service Officer to help a customer or nominee with starting a claim via ACC, which would then be completed by the customer online (an active Centrelink online account is required)

Digital Assistant (DA)

The Digital Assistant (DA) provides help text on each question. This includes static help text which displays in a blue box underneath the question, and a dynamic DA which provides pre-programmed responses to questions the customer or nominee enters. A customer or their nominee can access the dynamic DA by selecting Click here to launch the digital assistant which appears under each question.

System issues

If the customer or nominee reports a system issue or fault with their online claim, report it via mySupport using the Home Equity Access Scheme issues form. Note: open mySupport before opening the HEAS issues webform link.

If a customer or nominee contacts to enquire about applying for a HEAS loan, see Initial contact by customers applying for the Home Equity Access Scheme. Discuss HEAS eligibility criteria with the customer to determine if they are likely to meet the requirements.

If the customer is partnered and their partner also wants to apply for a loan under the HEAS, staff can complete this as a combined HEAS claim if they meet the criteria. Staff must complete eligibility checks for the applying partner.

Note: a nominee can submit a HEAS online claim on behalf of a customer. Nominees cannot submit combined HEAS online claims.

Does the customer meet the basic eligibility requirements for HEAS?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, tell the customer or nominee they are not eligible for the HEAS and refer them to Payment and Services Finder to see what other payments they may be eligible for. Record the details of the discussion in a DOC via the Document List (DL) screen. Procedure ends here.

If the customer or nominee wants to proceed to apply for a HEAS loan, an online claim must be offered first. Explain the benefits of applying for HEAS online, such as:

• Help to apply for the right payment through streaming questions and early warnings if they may not be eligible
• Less information for them to provide, as details from their Centrelink record will be pre-populated into the online claim
• They can monitor the progress of their claim through their Centrelink online account
• They can complete a combined HEAS partner claim if their partner also wants to apply

Note: a nominee can submit an online claim on behalf of a customer. Nominees cannot submit combined online claims.

Is the customer or nominee willing and able to complete the HEAS claim online?

• Yes, ensure they are registered with an active Centrelink online account and help them to start their claim online. For help see the Self-managed tab
• No, go to Step 3

ACC may be used by Service Officers when a customer or nominee is unable or unwilling to claim online. ACC replicates the questions in the online claim and must only be used when the customer or nominee is available to answer the questions in ACC.

Does the customer or nominee wish to proceed with an ACC?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, if the customer or nominee wants to apply using the paper application form (SA310/SA496) see the SA310/SA496 tab. If they do not wish to proceed with a current application for HEAS :
• encourage the customer or nominee to seek independent legal or financial advice before making a decision to apply for a HEAS loan
• advise the customer or nominee of the Payment and Service Finder which they can use to see what other payments they may be eligible for
• record a DOC via the Document List (DL) screen to document the discussion
• procedure ends here

Before starting ACC:

• check the Document List (DL) screen for any DOCs relevant to a claim for HEAS
• update the customer's personal details via Customer Summary, using the Task Selector in Process Direct and, if required, update their contact and interpreter details via the Other Contact Details (OCD) screen in Customer First, as these questions are no longer asked in ACC.

If ACC was started before the updates were made, the HEAS claim can be exited and the updates made outside HEAS the claim before submitting it. The updates will appear on the Review page in ACC.

Access ACC via the Assisted Claim desktop icon. Enter the customer’s CRN and press Go.

A list of customer’s current and historical HEAS claims will display.

If a claim has already been started and has a status of Incomplete, select Continue claim. If not, start a new claim:

• Select Make a Claim
• Select the Get started link in the Older Australians heading
• Read the details about HEAS to the customer
• Select Apply for a loan under the Home Equity Access Scheme
• On the Eligibility Check page:
• read the privacy message in full to the customer and select the customer's response
• complete the streaming questions based on the customer’s answers then press Continue

Once the Eligibility Check has been completed and Continue pressed, a started HEAS claim is registered.

The customer or nominee has 13 weeks from this date to complete and submit the claim.

Customer can do this via their Centrelink online account or continue via ACC. The HEAS online claim will expire if not submitted within 13 weeks. See Circumstance Change Monitor (CCM) for more details.

If the customer would not be eligible for a HEAS loan based on their answers, advise the customer or nominee of the reason why and refer them to the Payment and Service Finder to see what other payments they may be eligible for. Select Back to return to Make a Claim page to begin another claim type.

Once the HEAS claim is started, an Introduction page is displayed. Read the details to the customer or nominee about what to expect and the instructions to:

• complete the claim and upload any supporting documents
• submit the HEAS claim for processing, and
• advise if anything changes

If the customer or nominee wants to proceed via ACC, press Continue to start progressing through the HEAS claim.

The HEAS claim will guide the Service Officer through the questions to ask the customer or nominee, with question sets broken down into sections.

The sections of the HEAS claim must be completed in order and the next section cannot be started until the previous section is complete.

The first sections are accessed by selecting the Start button.

Each section has pages of relevant questions. On each question page, there are options to select:

• Back to go back to the previous question or page
• Next to progress forward to the next question
• Continue to save the HEAS claim answers and continue to the next page of questions

When each module is completed and the end of the section reached, the Start button becomes enabled for the next section. Answers in previously completed sections can be updated by selecting Edit.

Based on details the customer or nominee has provided, if they meet the combined HEAS claim criteria, this is where the customer or nominee will be asked if they would like to submit an application for both themselves and their partner.

When all questions have been completed, the Review and Confirm section provides a summary of all of the details provided by the customer or nominee. Confirm the details with the customer or nominee to make sure it is correct.

If updates are required, select the Update button for the applicable section. This will go to My profile or the relevant section of the claim to review and make updates.

Declaration and Acknowledgement

Once all information is correct, the customer and/or nominee must complete the Declaration and Acknowledgement

Encourage the customer or nominee to access the HEAS claim via their Centrelink online account to read and accept the declaration and acknowledgement. The customer or nominee can then submit the HEAS claim which will allow them to monitor the progress of their claim through the Claim Tracker and get notifications about their claim.

If a customer or nominee is willing to complete their HEAS claim online, remind them to submit the HEAS claim as soon as possible or it will expire after 13 weeks.

If the customer or nominee declines the offer to complete the claim declaration online:

• Read the verbal declaration and acknowledgements script to the customer or nominee, ensuring they accept the statement. Ask the customer or nominee to acknowledge the declaration and agree that they understand and accept their obligations. Once this has been read to the customer or nominee and they have accepted their obligations, identify this by ticking the boxes
• Record a DOC on the Document List (DL) screen with 'Verbal declaration script read and accepted by customer or nominee for the Home Equity Access Scheme claim via ACC'

Note: applicants who complete a verbal declaration are required to provide a physical signature via the SA310 or SA496 Part A. This will either be requested on the Next steps page of the HEAS claim, or the Home Equity Access Scheme National team will send a written request when the HEAS claim is assessed.

If the customer or nominee is unable or unwilling to provide a verbal declaration:

• do not proceed further with the claim
• advise the customer the HEAS claim will be withdrawn
• exit and cancel the HEAS claim via the My online claims page
• record a DOC confirming the customer or nominee did not accept the verbal declaration and the claim has been withdrawn

The last section of the claim is the Next steps page which advises if the customer or nominee needs to provide any documents or complete tasks they or any applying partner need to complete before submitting their HEAS claim.

Combined HEAS claims require the customers partner to complete a few tasks including reading and agreeing to the answers the customer provided in the HEAS loan application. The partner is also be asked to provide consent to applying for a HEAS loan for themselves and the customer.

The partner must complete their tasks in their own Centrelink online account within 21 days.

Tasks may be supplementary or required. The claim cannot be submitted until all required tasks are completed.

If a task is supplementary, encourage the customer to still complete it if they can, as it will help Services Australia to assess the claim and identify if the customer can get additional payments and services.

Note: a nominee can submit a HEAS online claim on behalf of a customer. Nominees cannot submit combined HEAS online claims.

Where a task requires the customer or nominee to provide a document, there is an Upload button next to the applicable task. The customer or nominee can use this to upload documents directly into the HEAS online claim. Encourage the customer or nominee to access their Centrelink online account via myGov to upload documents and submit their HEAS claim. This is the quickest and easiest way for customers to complete their tasks and allow claim submission.

If needed, help the customer or nominee to upload the documents and submit their HEAS claim online. Once the customer or nominee has selected a document to upload, they submit it as follows:

• Select Next
• Complete a Declaration about the document(s) by ticking the box, and
• Select Submit documents

Once the uploaded document(s) have been submitted, the associated task(s) will display a status of Done.

If a task requires a customer or nominee to attend a Service Centre to provide documents, provide the customer or nominee with details of the required documents and advise them to attend their local Service Centre as soon as possible. Upon receiving the documents, Service Officers should:

• scan the documents
• code identity documents in the Identity Confirmation Dashboard in Process Direct. If the Identity Confirmation Status is updated to Confirmed, complete the associated identity task
• for all other documents, run the Request & Manage Customer Tasks guided procedure to complete the associated task

If the customer or nominee uploaded or provided documents before starting the HEAS online claim or ACC, the document displays as Required on the Next steps page. The customer or nominee can either:

• upload the document again on the Next steps page, or
• contact Services Australia to have the Request & Manage Customer Tasks guided procedure run to complete the task. Before completing the task for the customer, Service Officers must first check that the document has been provided

Help the customer or nominee to upload the documents and submit their HEAS claim online.

If necessary, scan the documents and run the Request & Manage Customer Tasks guided procedure to submit ACC for the customer or nominee. Note: if this is done the customer or nominee will not have access to the Claim Tracker or notification.

Once all required tasks display a status of Done, the Submit button will become enabled. Encourage the customer or nominee to submit the HEAS claim via their Centrelink online account. If needed, the HEAS claim can be submitted via ACC however if this is done, the customer or nominee and any applying partner for a combined claim, will not have access to the Claim Tracker or claim notifications.

Note: a nominee can submit a HEAS online claim on behalf of a customer. Nominees cannot submit combined HEAS online claims.

To be assessed from the earliest possible date, the customer or nominee must provide all the requested information and submit the HEAS claim as soon as possible.

Once submitted, a message will display to confirm the HEAS claim has been successfully submitted. Advise the customer or nominee of the following details:

• claim submission date
• Estimated Completion Date Range (ECDR)
• claim ID

Once a HEAS claim has been submitted, the customer or nominee cannot update the HEAS online claim details. They must contact Services Australia if they want to provide more details about their HEAS claim.

The customer or nominee can withdraw their HEAS online claim at any time after it has been submitted via My online claims. Once a HEAS claim has been withdrawn it cannot be reinstated. The customer or nominee can apply again by starting a new HEAS online claim at any time.

Upon lodgement of the HEAS claim, a Work Item will be automatically created and allocated to the Home Equity Access Scheme National team for assessment and processing.

For details about the assessment process see Assessing Home Equity Access Scheme applications.

'Channel hopping' allows:

• the customer or nominee to start a HEAS claim online and have it continued by a Service Officer via Assisted Customer Claim (ACC), or
• a Service Officer to help a customer or nominee with starting a HEAS claim via ACC, which would then be completed by the customer online (an active Centrelink online account is required)

If the customer or nominee chooses to pause ACC at any time, press Home to exit the HEAS claim and advise the customer or nominee that to view or update their HEAS claim they need to:

• sign into myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• go to the:
• homepage desktop menu and select Payments and claims > My online claims, or
• main menu and select Payments and claims > Claims > My online claims

A list of all their historical and current online HEAS claims will display. If the status of the HEAS claim is Incomplete, they can choose to either:

• Continue claim to display the next question set to be completed
• Cancel claim and confirm they want to do this. Once cancelled, they will not be able to view or continue their HEAS online claim, and the cancellation cannot be undone. No claim details will be saved or recorded. The customer or nominee can start a new online claim at any time

Digital Assistant (DA)

The Digital Assistant (DA) provides help text on each question. This include static help text which displays in a blue box underneath the question, and a dynamic DA which provides pre-programmed responses to questions the customer or nominee enters. The customer or nominee can access the dynamic DA by selecting Click here to launch the digital assistant which appears under each question.

System issues

If a system issue or fault is experienced when running the ACC for an online claim, report it via mySupport using the Home Equity Access Scheme issues form. Note: open mySupport before opening the HEAS issues form link.

If a verbal declaration and acknowledgement has been accepted, the following statement must be clearly recorded in a DOC: 'Verbal declaration script read and accepted by customer for the claim via ACC’.

Check the Document List (DL) screen for DOC’s relating to the ACC claim, including the Progress of Claim DOC.

Has a verbal declaration been accepted and recorded?

• Yes, the HEAS claim can proceed to be assessed
  Note: applicants who complete a verbal declaration are required to provide a signed declaration via Part A of the SA310/SA496. If the Part A is not provided with the HEAS claim, a written request will be issued when the application is assessed. See Assessing Home Equity Access Scheme applications
• No, go to Step 2

Make 1 genuine attempt to contact the customer and/or nominee via phone to get acceptance and record the verbal declaration and acknowledgment. The Resources page contains the verbal scripts.

The outcome of this discussion must be clearly documented on the customer's record including the date, time and reason for contact.

Has the verbal declaration and acknowledgment been made and accepted?

• Yes, the HEAS claim can proceed to be assessed and processed
  Note: applicants who complete a verbal declaration are required to provide a signed declaration via Part A of the SA310/SA496. If the Part A is not provided with the HEAS claim, a written request will be issued when the application is assessed. See Assessing Home Equity Access Scheme applications
• See Processing claims for the Home Equity Access Scheme
• No, the claim is to be withdrawn. See Assessing Home Equity Access Scheme applications for more details

Applications for HEAS can be made by completing a paper application form (SA310 partnered or SA496 single) and submitting it by post or to the nearest Service Centre. However, customers and nominees are encouraged to apply for HEAS online.

If the customer or nominee wants to proceed to apply for a HEAS loan, offer an online claim first and explain the benefits of applying online, such as:

• Help to apply for the right payment through streaming questions and early warnings if they may not be eligible
• Less details for them to provide, as information from their Centrelink record will be pre-populated into the online claim
• They can monitor the progress of their claim through their Centrelink online account
• They can submit a combined partner online HEAS claim if both members of the couple want to apply for a loan

If the customer or nominee is unable or unwilling to do apply online, offer an Assisted Customer Claim (ACC).

Is the customer or nominee willing and able to complete the HEAS claim online or via ACC?

• Yes:
• Online - ensure the customer or nominee has a Centrelink online account linked to their myGov account and help them to start their HEAS claim online. For help see the Self-managed tab
• Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) – see the Assisted tab for the steps to start a HEAS claim via ACC
• No, see Item 2 - Home Equity Access Scheme application (SA310/SA496)

Where the customer or nominee declines the offer of a HEAS online claim or ACC, they may apply using the HEAS application form (SA310 partnered or SA496 single).

Advise the application form can be downloaded from the Services Australia website.

Applying for a HEAS loan using the paper form involves:

• completing the form and relevant parts of the SA310/SA496
• collecting all documents needed as outlined in the application forms
• lodging the claim and supporting documents

Encourage the customer or nominee to read the HEAS details on the website and to seek independent legal or financial advice before making a decision to apply for a HEAS loan.

Record a DOC on the Document List (DL) screen to verify customer or nominee declined the offer of an online claim and ACC.

For more details about the paper application form, see Item 3 – Notes pages. Otherwise, procedure ends here.

The SA310/SA496 starts with a series of Notes pages which has the terms and conditions details about how to apply, eligibility and what to consider before applying.

The customer or nominee must read the details before completing the form.

The Notes pages do not need to be submitted with the HEAS loan application.

The customer or nominee must retain the Notes pages for their reference.

Once the customer or nominee has read the Notes pages they can proceed to answer the questions in the application..

The first questions aim to help the customer or nominee identify if they may be ineligible for a HEAS loan, by advising them to stop if their answer means they cannot be paid under HEAS.

If the customer or nominee is advised to stop, they must not proceed with the application. Encourage customers, or their nominee, who are ineligible to refer to the Payment and Service Finder to see what other payments they may be eligible for.

If the customer or nominee is not advised to stop, this does not mean they are eligible (a determination of eligibility can only be made once an application has been lodged) but means they can proceed to progress through the form.

All mandatory questions must be answered.

The form will advise if the customer or nominee can skip any questions based on the answers they provide.

The Next steps page helps the customer or nominee identify which supporting documents they need to provide with their HEAS loan application.

This is determined by their answers at certain questions.

The customer or nominee must ensure they have all the document(s) applicable to their circumstances before they lodge their HEAS claim.

If the applicable documents are not provided with the HEAS loan application form at lodgement, the application will not be accepted.

The final section of the SA310/SA496 is the gathering of signed declarations and authorities from the customer and other third parties who have a registered interest in the real estate offered by the customer as security for a HEAS loan. This may include:

• The customer’s partner, if they are a member of a couple
• Co-owners of the property
• Individual or corporate trustees where the real estate is the asset of a trust
• Company directors or secretaries for real estate owned by a company

The section is broken down into six parts (Part A to Part F). The customer or nominee will have determined at the Next steps page which parts they need to complete.

Note: customers, or their nominee, who apply for a HEAS loan using the SA310/SA496 are always required to complete at least Part A and Part B of the form. Some online claimants are also required to provide certain parts of the SA310/SA496 which the customer, or their nominee can upload directly into their HEAS claim.

For more details about Parts A-F see Completing parts A–F of the SA310/SA496.

When the customer or nominee has completed the form, including getting relevant declarations and authorities via Parts A-F, and have their supporting documentation ready, the customer or nominee can lodge their HEAS loan application in person at a Service Centre or by posting the form to Services Australia.

Details about how to lodge the form are provided in the Notes pages.

Where a paper form has been lodged, Service Officers must scan the form and ensure all mandatory questions have been answered and the supporting documentation provided.

Scan the form and documents to Document Tools on the customer’s record on Day 1 for action by Complex Assessment Officers (CAO).

Once the SA310/SA496 has been scanned, a Work Item for the HEAS claim will be automatically created and allocated to the Home Equity Access Scheme National team for assessment and processing.

For details about the assessment process see Assessing Home Equity Access Scheme applications.

The purpose of Part A to Part F of the HEAS application form (SA310 partnered or SA496 single) is to get signed authorities and declarations for the HEAS loan from the customer or nominee and any other party who has a registered interest in the real estate offered as security for the loan. This may include:

• the customer’s partner, if they are a member of a couple
• co-owners of the property
• individual or corporate trustees where the real estate is the asset of a trust
• company directors or secretaries for real estate owned by a company

The customer or nominee may be required to provide one or more parts with their HEAS loan application. Some applicants may not be required to provide any parts at all, for example single customers who apply online and offer real estate that they have 100% ownership of.

Parts A-F may be required regardless of which lodgement channel an applicant uses. Whether they apply using an online claim, ACC or the SA310/SA496, the customer or nominee will be advised at the Next steps section which parts, if any, they are required to provide.

Where a customer or nominee is required to provide Part A – Part F, the customer or nominee must keep a copy of the signed pages for their own records.

It is the customer or nominee's responsibility to arrange and get the signed declarations and authorities to provide with their HEAS loan application.

Services Australia do not issue written requests to third parties to seek consent to the HEAS loan, however upon receiving all supporting documentation may make verbal contact with the impacted parties before granting HEAS loan to ensure they understand the HEAS and possible impacts on the property.

For more details about each part, go to Step 2.

Part A of the SA310/SA496 is used to get the customer and their partner (if applicable) signed declaration and acknowledgements for the HEAS loan application, and authority to inspect the real estate property offered for the HEAS loan.

All applicants must complete Part A except single customers, or their nominee, who apply online (including ACC, unless a verbal declaration is completed in which case the customer needs to provide Part A).

For customers who are members of a couple (MoC), their partner must also read and sign Part A, even if they are not applying for a HEAS loan themselves.

It is a legislative requirement per Section 1136(1B)(2) of the Social Security Act 1991 that both MoC sign the request for either member to participate in the HEAS.

It is for this reason that all partnered applicants, even those who apply online or via ACC, must complete the SA310 Part A to verify their signed joint consent to their HEAS loan application.

The purpose of Part B is to get details for the real estate property being offered as loan security. It is similar to the Real Estate Details (MOD R) form but has details specific to HEAS.

Only applicants who apply using the SA310/SA496 HEAS application form are required to provide Part B. If more than one property is offered as security, a separate Part B must be completed for each property.

Online applicants are not required to provide Part B, as the online claim (including claims actioned via ACC) get the relevant real estate details within the HEAS claim. However, if the Home Equity Access Scheme National team require more details about the real estate property, they may ask the customer or nominee to provide a Part B post-lodgement.

Part B must be signed by the applicant.

Part C of the SA310/SA496 is required if the real estate offered as security for the HEAS loan is co-owned with another person(s) not including the partner (if applicable). The co-owners must read and sign Part C before a witness. If there is more than one co-owner, a separate Part C must be provided for each co owner.

If the customer is a member of a couple and jointly owns the property with their partner, they are not required to provide Part C. Partner declarations and authorities are obtained via Part A.

Part D of the SA310/SA496 is required if the real estate offered as security for the HEA loan is the asset of an individual trust. The trustee must read and sign Part D before a witness. If there is more than one trustee, a separate Part D must be provided for each trustee.

Part E of the SA310/SA496 is required if the real estate offered as security for the loan is the asset of a corporate trust. The trustee(s) must read and sign Part E before a witness.

Up to three trustee(s) can sign on one Part E. If there are more than three trustees, a separate Part E must be provided for the additional trustee(s). Each Part E must be company stamped (if applicable) by the trustee(s).

Part F of the SA310/SA496 is required if the real estate offered as security for the HEAS loan is the asset of a company. The company director(s) and/or secretaries must read and sign Part F before a witness.

Up to three company director(s) or secretaries can sign on one Part F. If there are more than three directors or secretaries, a separate Part F must be provided for the additional party. Each Part F must be company stamped (if applicable) by the company director(s).