Independent and dependent customers living together 102-03030050

Note: couples who are married are considered to be independent and therefore are not covered by this procedure.

To be recognised as a relationship, the customer must be:

• a member of a couple, and
• not in a prohibited relationship, and
• over the age of consent in their state/territory

Are the couple in a recognised relationship?

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

Note: the Resources page contains a link to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, for age of consent laws in each State and Territory.

Customers who are not in a recognised relationship for Centrelink payment purposes are both treated as single customers, that is, neither is subject to the partner income test.

For customers who would be in a recognised relationship other than the fact they are under the age of consent, legislation states that the combined payments for the couple cannot exceed the maximum amount that a member of a couple would receive.

The dependent customer's payments are subject to the parental means tests.

Procedure ends here.

Do either of the customers have a dependent child in their care?

• Yes, the customers may both qualify for independence. See:
• Assessing independence for ABSTUDY customers, or
• Youth Allowance (YA) customer has, or has had, a dependent child
• procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

What is the length of the relationship? For further information, see Member of a Couple (MoC) and Separated under one roof (SUOR) assessments.

Note: if 1 customer is receiving ABSTUDY and 1 customer is receiving YA, the ABSTUDY rules apply to the ABSTUDY customer and the YA rules apply to the YA customer.

• Receiving ABSTUDY and:
• under 6 months, go to Step 5
• 6 months or over, go to Step 6
• Receiving YA and:
• under 12 months, go to Step 5
• 12 months or over, go to Step 7

The customers are not considered to be a member of a couple for the purposes of ABSTUDY or YA independence until the relationship has existed for at least 6 months (for ABSTUDY) or 12 months (for YA), however they are still a member of a couple.

Note: YA customers who have been in a member of a couple relationship for more than 6 months but less than 12 months can only be regarded as having been a member of a YA couple under special circumstances (that is, death of partner or family and domestic violence in the relationship).

• the independent customer is subject to the Personal Income and Assets Test but is not subject to the partner income test
• the dependent customer is subject to the Personal Income Test and the Parental Means Test
• create a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on each person’s record stating:
• known details for the partner, for example, the name and date of birth of the customer they are partnered with and their Customer Reference Number. Note: Do not issue forms to obtain this information
• the date the customer became partnered, a note that states the couple have not been linked on the system as the customer is a dependent YA or ABSTUDY customer (or partnered to a dependent YA or ABSTUDY customer), and
• the couple need to be linked immediately if they become independent
• 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: select most appropriate reason
• Due Date: earlier of:
  12 months for YA customers, or 6 months for ABSTUDY customers, from the date of commencement of the relationship, or
  the estimated date when either partner may achieve independent status for some other reason, for example, accumulated earnings
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Customer advised they are partnered from xx/xx/xxxx. Review the couple's circumstances to determine if Independence has now been met and link records if appropriate. Return to OB 102-03030050 to action.'
• Keywords: DEF
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: SNN
• the review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action
• for further information refer to Youth Allowance (YA) or ABSTUDY customer becomes partnered
• record details of decisions/discussions with customers on a DOC

Procedure ends here

ABSTUDY customers who have been in a member of a couple relationship for 6 months or longer are considered to be a member of a couple, and therefore independent, for the purposes of ABSTUDY. Note: if the relationship ends, the customers cease to qualify for independence under this category.

• ensure the ABSTUDY customer is coded as independent on the Independent/Homeless/Away from Home details (NIH) screen in the relevant system. For information on how to code, see Assessing independence for ABSTUDY customers. Check if their partner also requires coding to grant independence on their record
• both members of the couple are subject to the Personal and Partner Income and Assets Tests
• code the change in relationship status on the customer's records
• if they are eligible for Rent Assistance (RA), this would be paid based on the amount the couple pays in rent. The combined amount is coded in the Net Rent Amount field on the Accommodation (AC) screen
• advise the customers of the requirement to notify Services Australia within 14 days of any change in their or their partner's circumstances
• record details of decisions/discussions with customers on a DOC

Procedure ends here

YA customers who have been in a member of a couple relationship for 12 months or longer are considered to be a member of a YA couple, and therefore independent.

• ensure both members of the couple are coded as independent on the Independent/Homeless/Away from Home details (NIH) screen in the relevant system. For information on how to code, see Youth Allowance (YA) customer is member of a couple (or former member) of a YA couple
• both members of the couple are subject to the Personal and Partner Income and Assets Tests
• code the change in relationship status on the customer's records
• if they are eligible for Rent Assistance (RA), this would be paid based on the amount the couple pays in rent. The combined amount is coded in the Net Rent Amount field on the Accommodation (AC) screen
• advise the customers of the requirement to notify Services Australia within 14 days of any change in their or their partner's circumstances
• record details of decisions/discussions with customers on a DOC