Child leaves customer's care/custody 102-05050020

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P24845 problem and workaround

The P24845 system issue may impact in the following scenarios:

A step parent is claiming Family Tax Benefit (FTB) that has been transferred to them from a biological parent, and the other biological parent also becomes entitled to receive FTB, for example, their percentage of care increases to above 35%, and they make a claim
The biological parent transfers their FTB to a step parent and they later separate. Care details for the child will not be transferred correctly to Child Support if a past period care refresh is requested
The care may transfer to the step parent's child support record (with incorrect child relationship details) causing inaccurate child support assessments and impacting multiple parties

As a result, if FTB is transferred out to partner ('TOP' is coded on the Child Override/Claim (CHOC) screen - from parent to step parent) and the customer is a Centrelink and Child Support mutual customer, these records are to be referred for investigation. See the Resources page of Notification and assessment of shared care arrangements for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for more information and details of the workaround.

FTB examples of temporary care

Table 1: this table describes FTB examples of determining the principal carer of a child during a temporary absence.

Category	Description
1	Temporary absence for FTB FTB child out of care less than 4 weeks. Parent A calls to advise their child will be staying with her grandparents for 2 weeks while she is recuperating in hospital. As the care is only temporary, Parent A is able to retain their FTB entitlement.
2	Temporary absence for FTB - child into State care Child has been removed from parent's care for 3 weeks by a state child protective service. Care of the child now sits with the relevant State Department. This change is not considered a temporary absence as legal responsibility now belongs to the relevant state department; FTB for the child is to be cancelled from the date the child has been removed.
3	Temporary absence for FTB - Child arrested 1 Child has been arrested on a Friday evening and placed in the local watch house for the weekend before being arraigned. Once arraigned, the child is returned to their parent's care before their court appearance. Until the child has been remanded into the custody of a Youth Justice Centre, the child is still the legal responsibility of the parent. The parent retains eligibility for FTB.
4	Temporary absence for FTB - Child arrested 2 Child has been arrested on a Friday evening and placed in the local watch house for the weekend before being arraigned. Once arraigned, the child is sent to a Youth Justice Centre while awaiting their court date. As the child has been remanded into the custody of a Youth Justice Centre, the child becomes the legal responsibility of the Youth Justice Centre from the date they are sent to the Youth Justice Centre.
5	Temporary absence for FTB - child in respite care Informal care is when: a customer voluntarily places their child with another carer or agency, or a state child protection agency helps facilitate the placement of the child for respite care of less than 4 weeks, but does not gain legal responsibility This can occur when parents: have help with respite care, or place their child in short-term care of less than 4 weeks this may include placements in the care of grandparents, relatives, or friends In this scenario, Parent A keeps FTB entitlement and legal responsibility, as they are voluntarily requesting a break/support.
6	Other examples where the child remains a dependent child of the recipient despite temporary absence These include: the child attends boarding school the child is admitted to hospital the child spends their holidays with a relative and the recipient continues to provide financial help for care of the child

FTB examples of temporary care when principal carer is incarcerated

Table 2: this table describes FTB examples of determining the principal carer of a child when the principal carer is incarcerated.

Category	Description
1	Absences when the customer is in prison Jane, who is the sole parent of Kylie and Noah, was incarcerated for 6 months. During Jane's incarceration, Kylie and Noah live with their grandmother. Jane continues to make major decisions about Kylie and Noah. She has made a lump sum payment towards their annual educational costs before her incarceration. Although Jane retains some responsibility for Kylie and Noah, and has made payment towards the children's long-term, costs Jane cannot be considered as meeting the definition of care. Kylie and Noah's grandmother is substantially meeting the child's day-to-day costs and meets the definition of care. This is not considered temporary or delegation of care Kylie and Noah can only be considered an FTB child of their grandmother during Jane's incarceration.
2	FTB-CUR customer incarcerated. Confirmed child is not in customer's care whilst incarcerated and period of incarceration will be longer than 28 days Angela was incarcerated on 30 January. Notice received on 1 February confirms the length of incarceration will exceed 28 days. Children James and Luke will not stay in Angela's care whilst incarcerated. In this scenario, a change of care has occurred. The children are coded out of Angela's care from the date of incarceration (30 January). This will result in a cancellation of FTB -No Dependent Eligible Children (NDE).
3	FTB-CUR and ISP-CUR customer incarcerated. Confirmed child will remain in customer's care for period of incarceration Chloe was incarcerated on 16 September. Notice received confirms child Sophie will stay in Chloe's care whilst incarcerated, as Chloe is still breastfeeding. In this scenario, FTB can continue to be paid for Sophie who remains in Chloe's care. Chloe's ISP will be suspended/cancelled. As Chloe still has care of Sophie, she can retain eligibility for FTB. A new FTB income estimate needs to be coded within 21 days after an ISP suspension/cancellation, otherwise FTB will cancel - Off Income Support (CAN-OIS).
4	FTB-CUR customer incarcerated. Length of incarceration and whether child still in customer's care is unknown Leigh is in receipt of FTB for his only child Levi. Leigh is incarcerated on 18 February. Notice received 20 February. It is unknown if: Levi is still in the care of Leigh, and the length of incarceration A service officer in F2F Incarcerated Customer Servicing team issued a Questionnaire Letter (QSS32) to Leigh on 21 February with a review set to mature on 18 March. In this scenario, Leigh did not respond to the QSS32 by the review date. Therefore, Levi is deemed to no longer be in care. Levi is coded out of Leigh's care from the date of incarceration (18 February). This will result in a cancellation of FTB - No Dependent Eligible Children (NDE), and a debt is raised.
5	FTB-CUR customer incarcerated. Confirmed child is not in customer's care whilst incarcerated and period of incarceration is unknown Robyn is in receipt of FTB for child James. Robyn is incarcerated on 24 December. It is confirmed that the length of incarceration is unknown and Robyn does not have James in her care. In this scenario, as the length of incarceration is unknown and it has been confirmed James is not in Robyn's care, James is coded out of Robyn's care from 24 December. This will result in a cancellation of FTB -No Dependent Eligible Children (NDE).

FTB examples of legal responsibility and temporary care provisions

Table 3: this table describes FTB examples of legal responsibility and temporary care provisions.

Initial carer	New carer	Forced removal (either by Child Services or Law Courts) or voluntary	Length of time	Who receives FTB
Child leaving parent/carers care	Child being placed into the care of a Youth Justice Centre (detention centre/gaol)	Forced - formal change in care	15 days	Youth Justice Centre - they have legal responsibility transferred to them. Not an FTB child of the individual.
Child leaving parent/carers care	Child entering the care of an ACO - Foster Care agency (i.e. Barnardos, The Smith Family)	Forced - formal change in care	20 days	ACO - they have legal responsibility transferred to them. Not an FTB child of the individual.
Child leaving parent/cares care	Child entering the care of ACTO - Foster Care agency (i.e. Barnardo's, The Smith Family)	Voluntary - informal change in care	21 days	Parent - As they retain Legal Responsibility, but are requesting a break/support.
Child leaving ACO (a) to ACO (b)	Child entering the care of an ACO - Foster Care agency (i.e. Barnardo's)	Forced - formal change in care	14 days	ACO (b) - ACOs are only paid when the child is in their care.
Child leaving Youth Justice Centre (a) to Youth Justice Centre (b)	Child being placed into the care of Youth Justice Centre	Forced - formal change in care	17 days	Youth Justice Centre (b) - ACOs are only paid when the child is in their care.
Child leaving ACO to a new carer	Child Leaving ACO to foster care	Forced and/or Voluntary - formal change in care	Unknown	New Foster carer - As responsibility of the child has been delegated to the new carer, the ACT retain legal responsibility but payment moves to the foster carer.
Child leaving parent/carers care - child only arrested	Child in the care of a Youth Justice Centre	Neither - no change in care	2-3 days	Parent - they retain Legal Responsibility. The child has been arrested but not found guilty and sentenced.

Social Security Act (SSA) examples of temporary care

Table 4: this table describes the SSA examples of determining the principal carer of a child during a temporary absence.

Category	Description
1	Temporary absence of less than 8 weeks during school holidays The parents of a child are separated, and the child is normally cared for by Parent A who is receiving Parenting Payment (PP). The child goes to stay with Parent B for 6 weeks during the Christmas school holidays. Because Parent A has only temporarily delegated the care of the child to Parent B, the child is taken to remain in Parent A's care under subsection 5(17) of the Social Security Act. The delegate must determine if subsection 5(17) applies even in situations where Parent B does not lodge a competing claim for PP.
2	Temporary absence of less than 8 weeks, customer in hospital The parents of the child are separated, and the child is normally cared for by Parent A who is receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP). Parent A is hospitalised for 7 weeks and the child is cared for by Parent B. Parent B lodges a claim for JSP (with child) rate and Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and seeks to be recognised as a principal carer. As the absence is for less than 8 weeks, subsection 5 (17) of the Social Security Act applies. The child is still regarded as being in Parent A's care under subsection 5(17). The parents' competing claims to be the principal carer would be assessed under the shared care guidelines as the child is considered to be the dependent child of both parents. In view of the fact that Parent A is already receiving payment, and the short period of the absence, Parent A would continue to be the principal carer.
3	Temporary absence of 8-12 weeks, customer caring for sick relative The parents of a child are separated, and the child is normally cared for by Parent A who is receiving Parenting Payment (PP). Parent A must go interstate for 11 weeks to care for a sick relative and the child is cared for by Parent B. Parent B lodges a claim for PP. A determination must be made with regard to subsection 5(17) of the Social Security Act as to whether Parent A is still the principal carer and should continue to receive PP, or whether Parent B should be granted PP. Subsection 5(17) allows for the continuation of payment beyond eight weeks, if the absence is temporary. A decision as to which person is the principal carer and is qualified for PP must be made having regard to the nature of the absence. In view of the fact that Parent A is already receiving payment, and the absence is temporary and has a defined end date, payment of PP would continue with Parent A.
4	Temporary absence of 8-12 weeks, customer away from home to attend training Parent A, who is the principal carer and is receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP), has joined the armed forces. As part of the induction and training course for new recruits, they must attend a residential training facility for 10 weeks. While attending this training, Parent A has delegated the care of the child to Parent B. During this period, Parent A retains responsibility for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the child through regular phone contact with Parent B and the child, and weekend visits. Because of the demonstrated ongoing involvement in the care and welfare of the child, Parent A can remain the principal carer of the child. The length of the absence is not a determining factor as it is the existence of a continuing right of control, which is the dominant consideration as to whether Parent A remains, the principal carer.
5	Temporary absence during training period, child in care of person who does not have legal responsibility for child The dependent child's mother has joined a state police force. As part of the induction and training course for new recruits, she needs to attend a residential training facility for 15 weeks. While attending this training the mother has delegated the care of the dependent child to a close family friend. During this period, the mother retains responsibility for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the child through regular phone contact with the child's temporary carer, weekend visits and being the nominated person to contact in an emergency. The length of the absence is not a determining factor as it is the existence of a continuing right of control which is the dominant consideration as to whether the child remains in the care of and the dependent child of the mother. In this example, it may be appropriate for the child to continue to be considered the dependent child of the mother, as the mother is able to show that she is still the adult responsible for the key decisions concerning the care, welfare and development of the child. However, as the temporary absence is more than 12 weeks a referral to the Level 2 policy helpdesk is needed with all details of the absence included in the request before making a principal care determination.
6	Care is contested Example 1 An unknown person abducts a child. The parent notifies the police that the child has been taken. Parenting Payment (PP) can continue to be paid as long as the parent continues to take steps to seek return of the child. If the absence extends beyond 8 weeks, policy advice must be sought to determine if PP can be extended. Example 2 Parent A and Parent B have a parenting order in place. Parent B receives PP for their dependent child. Parent A breaches the order by not returning the child to Parent B and Parent B starts legal action. PP can continue to be paid to Parent B during the legal action. Note: the start of legal action will need to be confirmed either through court documents or contact with Parent B's legal representative.