About Change of circumstances 102-02000000

Failure to notify a change in circumstances may result in cancellation or suspension of payment and in some cases a failure may be imposed.

A customer's address and telephone details must be checked by a Service Officer at every contact, and updated if required.

Customer records must be kept current and up-to-date. Customers are obliged to have ongoing contact with Centrelink to ensure that when changes occur there are no payments made to the customer to which they are not entitled.

A customer may notify a change of circumstances in writing, by attending a service centre, by phoning Centrelink or, in certain circumstances, by using the self service facilities.

Service Officers must take care to record the receipt of all correspondence and detail all phone conversations on the customer's record by documenting all contact details clearly. This is particularly important as disputes can later arise about whether Services Australia was advised and in what detail.

Notification to one Centrelink section is legal notification by the customer to Centrelink as a whole, and means that the customer has fulfilled their obligation to notify.

Customers should be advised that information used for their Centrelink, Child Support and Medicare payments and services is not routinely transferred within Services Australia. The customer may need to contact either Centrelink, Child Support or Medicare, to update relevant information.