Temporary vacation of principal home 102-03010030

Note: a customer can have 2 consecutive exemptions from the assets test if their circumstances allow. For example, a customer may have temporarily vacated their principal home with the intention of travelling for 12 months. However, only 6 months into this exemption they stopped travelling and moved into their parent's home to provide care for one or both of them. The 2 year exemption starts from when the customer starts to provide care.

A new 2 year exemption period does not apply if the customer moves from one care situation to another care situation.

If vacation of home is due to the customer:

• Entering respite care, see Temporary change of address to an aged care home for Respite Care. Procedure ends here
• Providing a substantial level of care to a person (other than the customer’s partner) in a private home, see Vacation of principal home to provide care. Procedure ends here
• Leaving their home due to ill health or in a care situation, see Vacation of principal home due to illness. Procedure ends here
• Has moved to another home already owned by them, see Assessment and sale of real estate. Procedure ends here
• Departing overseas, see Coding departures and returns for customers leaving Australia. Procedure ends here
• Unable to return from overseas, go to Table 2 Step 2
• Suffering loss or damage to the home resulting in the home being uninhabitable, go to Step 2
• Being subjected to domestic violence, go to Step 3
• Has other reasons for the temporary vacation, go to Step 4

When the customer temporarily vacates their principal home due to loss or damage:

• including but not limited to natural disasters such as flood, fire or cyclone damage their absence will be considered a temporary absence for an initial 12 months
• an exemption can apply if the customer intends to return after rebuilding or repairing their home
• an exemption can apply even if the customer does not intend to return to the original home but intends to sell and purchase or build another principal home

If the customer meets the above criteria a temporary vacation exemption can be applied. If the customer is a homeowner for their principal home, when the accommodation screen is updated for the Reason Home Vacated, select UNH - Home temporarily uninhabitable.

During the exemption period if an insurance payment is received, notification is needed, however, any money received for compensation due to loss or damages is both deeming and asset exempt for the exemption period.

At the end of the 12 month exemption period if the customer needs an extended exemption, some documentary evidence will be needed to confirm they meet the criteria.

Has the customer already been provided an exemption for reason UNH and is seeking an extended exemption?

• Yes, see Table 2
• No, go to Step 6

If the customer temporarily vacates their principal home, the absence is regarded as temporary if:

• they were subjected to domestic violence, and
• this is the reason for vacating the principal home, and
• the income support recipient is facing uncertainty in their long term living arrangements

If the customer meets the above criteria, and is a homeowner for their principal home, a temporary vacation exemption can be applied. When the Accommodation (AC) screen is updated, for the Reason Home Vacated, select UNH - Home temporarily uninhabitable.

Note: make sure all other appropriate action to support a customer affected by domestic violence is followed.

Go to Step 6.

If a customer temporarily leaves their principal home, for any other reason, for example travelling around Australia:

• tell the customer their absence will be considered to be temporary unless the customer states a definite intention that it is not temporary
• the exemption applies even when the customer expects to be absent for more than 12 months

If the customer meets the above criteria and is a homeowner for their principal home, a temporary vacation exemption can be applied. When updating the Accommodation (AC) screen, for the Reason Home Vacate, select: OTH - Other.

Go to Step 5.

During the vacation period, the vacated home will continue to be treated as the customer's principal home.

If the principal home is owned by the customer:

• The home is considered an exempt asset for up to 12 months from the date of vacation
• The customer will continue to be assessed as a home owner during the vacation period
• If at the end of the exemption period the customer has not returned to their home, and they remain living in their caravan then their property will be an assessable asset

Explain to the customer that:

• They must advise Services Australia of any changes in their circumstances under the normal notification provisions. This includes advising when they move back, rent or sell their principal home
• 6 weeks before the end of the 12 month exemption period, a review will be created to confirm the customer’s circumstances

Note: for more information on temporary absence, see the References page for a link to the Guide to Social Security Law (4.6.3.60).

Go to Step 6.

Is the customer receiving rental income for their principal home while temporary absent?

Exception – payments from a near relative

If the customer is temporarily absent from their principal home, any payments received from a near relative for residing in the principal home is considered as board or lodgings (not rental income) and is not treated as income for social security purposes. Once the temporary absence provisions stop to apply to the customer, then the property is treated as a normal rental property. The board and lodging rules do not apply and the income from the immediate family member is assessable under normal rules.

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 8

If the customer is still a homeowner and receiving rental income for the principal home while they are temporarily absent, the rental income is recorded on the Other Income (OIN) screen.

Note: customers do not need to complete a Module R. Details of income received are needed.

Go to the OIN screen and make the update.

Process Direct

• Go to the OIN screen
• Select Add New Row
• On Create Other Income, complete:
• Income Type: OTH - OTHER
• Description: for example, rent from home temp absence
• Reference: reference ID if known
• Start Date: the date rental income started
• Frequency: select
• Gross Amount: dollar value (after allowable deductions) Note: for a list of allowable deductions, see the Policy section of Assessing income from real estate and timeshare
• Select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel fields, select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings
• Select Assess again
• Check payment correctness on ELD. Select Finish
• Record details of the update
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction

Customer First

• Type: field, key 'OTH' for other
• Description: field, key description for example, rent from home temp absence
• Event Date: field, key date rental income started
• Amount $.cc: field, key dollar value (after allowable deductions) Note: for a list of allowable deductions, see the Policy section of Assessing income from real estate and timeshare
• Freq: field, key frequency of amount entered in Amount $.cc: field
• Enter Source: and DOR: as appropriate.

Does the reason the customer has moved give them an entitlement to receive Rent Assistance for their temporary accommodation?

• Yes, see Temporary accommodation and Rent Assistance (RA). Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 9

Process Direct:

• Go to the Address Details (AD) screen, select Add
• Complete:
• Start Date and End Date
• Address Type: TEM - TEMPORARY
• Make Partner the same: Yes/No. If customer and partner are not living together but are still classed as a couple, the Marital Status (MS) screen needs to have been updated with a relationship qualifier
• Send All Mail Here: Yes/No
• Address Line 1: Suburb, Post Code, State, Country
• Select Save

An update to the Accommodation Details (AC) screen is not needed for customers who have moved to a temporary address (TEM), and:

• are not recorded as a homeowner for their principal home
• are not claiming RA or are not eligible for RA for the temporary address, and
• accommodation details for the principal home are correct

If an update to the AC screen is needed:

• Go to the Accommodation (AC) screen, select Add
• Complete:
• Address Type: TEM – TEMPORARY
• Event Date: The date the person left their principal residence
• Details For: Customer or Customer and Partner
• Home Ownership: if the customer is a homeowner for their principal home then the home ownership is LHO - Live Elsewhere
• Reason Home Vacated: select the reason the home was vacated (UNH, OTH, OVE)
• Date Home Vacated: the date the person left their principal residence
• Select Save

Customer First:

• Run the Change in Contact Details workflow or update address on the Address Details (AD) screen. If this is the first temporary 'TEM' address recorded, overstrike the Address Start Date details on the AD screen with TEM. If it’s not the first temporary address, select the most recent temporary (TEM) address on ADH
• Complete the Address Start Date: and Address End Date: fields
• Complete the Make Partner the Same?: and Send all Mail here?: fields if relevant. Note: if customer and partner are not living together but are still classed as a couple, the Marital Status (MS) screen needs to have been updated with a relationship qualifier
• For more details, see Changing address and Updating address details

An update to the Accommodation Details (AC) screen is not needed for customers who have moved to a temporary address (TEM), and:

• are not recorded as a homeowner for their principal home
• are not claiming RA or are not eligible for RA for the temporary address, and
• accommodation details for the principal home are correct

If an update to AC is needed:

• Run the Change in Contact Details workflow or update the details on the AC screen
• Event Date: The date the person left their principal residence
• Home Ownership: if the customer is a homeowner for their principal home then the home ownership is 'LHO' (lives elsewhere)
• Reason Home Vacated: select the reason the home was vacated (UNH, OTH, OVE)
• Date Home Vacated: the date the person left their principal residence

See also: Rent Assistance (RA) for travellers.

If customer is sharing with someone who is not a close family member or partner, ask the Living Arrangements question set and issue appropriate Relationship Details form, if needed.

Check there is a review on the Future Activity List (FAL) screen for a date 6 weeks before the end of the 12 months exemption for follow up. If not, in Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: customer's payment type
• Review Reason: TEM (Temporary Address Ends)
• Due Date: 6 weeks before the end of the 12 months exemption
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'End of 12 month exemption for temporary vacation of principal home. Return to OB 102-03010030 to action.'
• Keywords: TEMPVOH
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action.

If the customer is likely to be absent for more than 12 months, tell the customer the principal home will be an assessable asset upon the 12 month anniversary, if no other exemption is applicable for example, in a care situation.

• Record the details on a DOC

If the customer temporarily vacates their principal home due to loss or damage, their absence will be considered temporary for 12 months. This includes but is not limited to natural disasters such as flood, fire or cyclone.

An extended exemption can be applied for loss or damage for up to 24 months, if all of the following criteria are met:

• The loss or damage was not wilfully caused by the customer, and
• The customer must have a continuing intention to purchase, build, rebuild, repair or renovate a new principal home and provide documentary evidence to support they have:
• made reasonable attempts to obtain a new principal home. This could be to sell, purchase, build, rebuild, repair or renovate their principal home, and
• been making these attempts within 6 months of the loss, damage of the principal home, and
• experienced delays beyond their control in obtaining a new principal home

If one of the above criteria is not met, the customer cannot gain an extended exemption.

If evidence has not been provided, tell the customer of the requirements.

Does the customer meet all of the above criteria?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to step 2

If a customer has vacated their home temporarily to travel overseas and is unable to return to Australia due to circumstances beyond their control an extended exemption period may be applied.

All cases related to an extended exemption due to travel restrictions, for example, Coronavirus (COVID-19), should be referred to the Home Vacation Review processing.

Go to Step 3.

If a vacation of home exemption:

• work item has been allocated to a Service Officer without the HVR processing skill tag
• needs an assessment of an extended exemption
• documents have been provided for a vacation of home review or extended exemption

In Customer First, record a Fast Note. Select Auto text, use > Assessments and Reviews > Income and assets:

• Action required - Home vacation review
• Contact required - Home vacation review

Include in the Fast Note, the reason for the escalation.

If scanned documents are determined to be for a Vacation of Home Review, close the scan Work Item. Include details of the documents in the Fast Note.

Note: do not select link to existing activity or annotate the existing DOC, as this will finalise the review activity.

For HVR processing staff go to follow Vacation of home reviews.