Cancellation and debt raising of Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme payments 102-10020040

Make sure the applicant is no longer eligible for payment of Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme and the decision to cancel the payment is correct.

If cancelling the payment because:

• the applicant or student was imprisoned or institutionalised, go to Step 5
• the student stopped studying full time, go to Step 6
• the student stopped their term living arrangements (for example, boarding or second home), go to Step 7
• of any other reason, go to Step 2

An AIC applicant can remain eligible for AIC under the Continuity of Schooling concession where the student:

• stops meeting one of the AIC conditions because of a change of circumstances, for example, a change of address, and
• continues to attend the same school or is enrolled at the same distance education institution

Does the applicant meet the above criteria?

• Yes, this procedure does not apply. Go to Change of Address. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

An AIC applicant can remain eligible for AIC if the student undertakes a reduced study load because of:

• a disability or other health-related condition, and
• the school, institution or home schooling education authority considers the student to be undertaking full-time studies

Does the applicant meet the above criteria?

• Yes, this procedure does not apply. Go to Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme student becomes incapacitated. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Where a manual cancellation is required:

In the relevant student(s) record(s) access the ISS system in Customer First:

• Key ISS in Sys: field
• Key SVAIC in Nxt: field
• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen and code the following fields:
• Svc Rsn: EIC
• Action: CAN
• Reason: See Codes for AIC Scheme cancellation, suspension and rejection reasons
• Effect Date: Record the date the event occurred (that is, the date the change in circumstances occurred)
• Notes: Record any relevant comments
• Source and Receipt Date:
• go to Step 9

Update the student's record:

• Go to EIC Claim Details (EICD) screen
• In the Event Date record the date the circumstance occurred
• Enter Relationship to Student
• On the Non-approval reason field: key GPS
• Enter the source of the cancellation in the Source: field
• Enter the date of receipt in the DOR: field
• Key I in the Action: field

Go to Step 9.

Update the student's record:

• Go to the Education Course Details (EDCH) screen
• In the Student end date: field, record the student end date
• Enter the source of the cancellation in the Source: field
• Enter the date of receipt in the DOR: field
• Key C in the Action: field
• Were the payments being paid to a Third Party?
• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 9

Update the student's record:

• Go the Living Arrangements Details (EILA) screen
• Record the entitlement end date
• Enter the source of the cancellation in the Source: field
• Enter the date of receipt in the DOR: field
• Key C in the Action: field
• Were the payments being paid to a Third Party?
• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 9

Payments to a Third Party (including Third Party Organisations) require two actions:

First action:

• Go to the Payment Summary (PAS) screen and select AIC
• Remove the Payment Destination (PASB) Exemption and code bank details found on the PAS screen of the applicant or previous Payment Instruction (PIPI) details. This will auto finalise, then move to the second action

Second Action:

• On the PIPI screen, key 'D' in the’ Default Payee’ and select 'Enter'
• Return to the PAS (AIC), remove the previously entered bank details and ensure the Payment Destination Exemption: field is marked 'Y' on the PASB screen

Go to Step 9.

Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen:

• Key AR in the Nxt: field, or
• Select [Enter] if the BA or AR screens were selected from the EITS screen

Finalise the activity on the AR screen.

Has a debt occurred?

• Yes, and the Service Officer is:
• trained in actioning debts, go to Table 2
• not trained in actioning AIC debts, Send a Fast Note to the AIC smart centre on the student record. Select Auto text, use Debts > Debt Action Referral > AIC Debt Action include all the relevant details. Procedure ends here
• No, procedure ends here

Applicants are responsible for repaying any AIC payments received more than their entitlement. See Determining the Entitlement End date for the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme.

In certain circumstances, AIC payments may be recovered from a TPO due to either:

• an administration error
• a change in circumstances advised by the applicant within 14 days, and the funds still issued incorrectly, or
• the TPO contacts and wishes to repay AIC funds they incorrectly received

Is recovery of AIC funds from a TPO to be actioned?

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

Is the debt to be investigated due to the death of an applicant or student?

Yes:

• for death of an applicant see Determining who can be the applicant for the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme, go to step 4
• for death of a student:
• after a payment in advance, for example, a term instalment has been paid to the applicant. This is correct and no attempt should be made to recover any part of the payment. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• after a fortnightly payment in arrears for example, a private boarder or second home allowance payment has been paid to the applicant. Any payment made within 14 days after the student’s death is correct. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• before any payment has been received by the applicant, the entitlement end date should be assessed, see Determining the Entitlement End date for the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme). The date the student died is the date they ceased eligibility. If an overpayment is identified, see Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)

Go to Step 3

No:

When an applicant has received payments more than their entitlement and third party recovery does not apply:

• review the applicant overpayment. See Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)

Go to Step 3

If the debt is subject to waiver action:

• Debt trained staff should see Waiving Centrelink debts. Procedure ends here
• Non - debt trained staff should send a Fast Note to the AIC Smart Centre on the student record. Select Auto text, use Debts > Debt Action Referral > AIC Debt Action. They should include:
• customer details and contact
• background details of the creation of the debt, including the cause and source of debt
• debt reasons and calculations
• whether the debt arose from the customer or someone else:
  - knowingly giving a false statement, representation or omission, or
  - failing to comply with the relevant Act
• details of the reason for waiver
• why it is more appropriate to waive the debt rather than to write it off
• refer to Minimum DOC standards for debt waivers

Procedure ends here.

If the debt is not subject to waiver action, go to Step 4

Check the Activity List (AL) screen.

Is there a Manual Follow Up (MFU) on the AL screen?

• Yes, if a manual letter is required, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 6

Send a manual letter (Q999) to the applicant.

• Give the reason(s) for cancellation of payment
• Include their rights of review and appeal

Record details on a DOC. Include all relevant Act and AIC Guidelines references.

If the applicant has other AIC students, complete the above procedures for each student.

If the:

• applicant contacts as funds have been paid to a TPO incorrectly, go to Step 2
• TPO contacts to repay the incorrectly received funds, go to Step 5
• Service Officer is actioning a TPO overpayment to recover funds, go to Step 5

If an applicant contacts as funds have been paid to a TPO because of:

• an administrative error, or
• a change in circumstances advised by the applicant within 14 days, and the funds still issued incorrectly

For:

• telephony Service Officers, go to Step 3
• processing Service Officers, go to Step 4

Note: when AIC funds have been paid to an incorrect TPO because the applicant has not advised of a change in circumstance within 14 days, the applicant remains responsible for the overpayment.
The applicant may choose to discuss the recovery of funds with the TPO in these circumstances.

Telephony Service Officers must:

• Send a Fast Note to the AIC Smart Centre on the student record. Select Auto text, use Debt Action Referral> AIC Debt Action
• Include details of the:
• payment type
• amount
• date(s) the payment covered and when funds were paid
• who received the funds
• the correct Payee name and Payment Destination

Tell the applicant that these details will be allocated to a Service Officer for action. Procedure for telephony Service Officer ends here.

Processing Service Officers must:

• confirm that the funds have been incorrectly paid to the TPO
• manually raise a debt on the TPO’s record for the amount they were incorrectly paid, see Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• seek Local Peer Support (LPS) if help with debt raising is needed
• make one genuine attempt to contact the TPO and tell them:
• the agency will send an Accounts Payable letter to recover the funds
• if required, complete the Direct Referral to SSO escalation for the immediate PYAJ reissue of funds to the applicant. See Resources for a link to the web form
• confirm that the future Payment Instructions (PIPI) are correct, and update if required
• make one genuine attempt to contact the applicant and tell them:
• the outcome of their contact
• review of decision processes if they do not understand or do not agree with a decision
• record a DOC on the student record

Note: funds do not need to be returned by the TPO before reissuing to the applicant.

Procedure ends here.

If a TPO contacts and wishes to repay AIC funds they incorrectly received, AIC Processing staff can issue a debt recovery notice.

Telephony Service Officers:

• Send a Fast Note to the AIC Smart Centre. Select Auto text, use Debts>Debt Action Referral>AIC Debt Action
• Include details of:
• TPO name and Customer Reference number (CRN) of who received the funds
• date TPO contacted
• person who contacted and their contact number
• who the incorrect entitlement was received for
• student’s date of birth (DOB) and CRN (if known)
• payment type, date received, period it was for and the amount
• reason for raising debt (that is, administration error/TPO wishes to pay)
• If the TPO repayment is under $50, the funds cannot legally be recovered. Send a fast note to the AIC smart Centre to issue a Q999 overpayment waiver to the Organisation. Select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > AIC > AIC update action required. Include all the above details and include the name of the TPO address. The Name field will be the name and address of the Organisation

Tell the TPO their contact will be allocated to a Service Officer to action.

For:

• Telephony Service Officers, procedure ends here
• Processing Service Officers, go to Step 6

Processing Service Officers must:

• make one genuine attempt to contact the TPO and tell them:
• the agency will send an Accounts Payable letter to recover the funds
• check if there is an undetermined or determined debt shell on the applicant record
• for an undetermined debt shell on the applicant record finalise as FND using the reason ‘Third Party Debt’ (TPD), see Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' debts that are not legally recoverable
• for a determined debt on the applicant record that needs to be changed, see Changing account details on debts raised in the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• manually raise a debt on the TPO’s record for the amount they were incorrectly paid., see Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• seek Local Peer Support (LPS) if help with debt raising is needed
• check if there are over-recovered applicant funds
• if required, complete the Direct Referral to SSO escalation for the immediate PYAJ issue of applicant funds. See Resources page for a link to the webform
• confirm that the future Payment Instructions (PIPI) are correct, and update if required
• in addition to the TPO DOC, record the details on the AIC student’s record and include the Debt ID

Procedure ends here.

Service Support Officers (SSO’s) will receive debt support enquiries through Local Peer Support (LPS) escalations and ‘Direct Referral to SSO’ escalations for PYAJ requests

• For LPS escalation, go to Step 2
• For a PYAJ ‘Direct Referral to SSO’ escalation, go to Step 3

SSO’s must:

• complete debt escalations within a timely manner
• follow up debt referral activities to ensure completion as soon as possible
• annotate the escalation DOC on the customer record and update it regularly with the latest information
• complete the debt enquiry received from Local Peer Support (LPS). Escalate using the appropriate process if unable to complete the request

Note: Level 2 Debt Helpdesk provides SSO technical support for debt recovery and raising processes.
This does not include help with AIC processes or entitlement enquiries.

See the Resources page for a link to the Level 2 Debt Helpdesk.

Procedure ends here.

PYAJ direct referral to SSO escalations are to be completed daily whenever possible.

SSO’s must confirm:

• that the PYAJ request is due to an incorrect Third Party Organisation (TPO) payment because of:
• an administration error
• a change in circumstances advised by the applicant within 14 days, and the funds still issued incorrectly, or
• the TPO contacts and wishes to repay AIC funds they incorrectly received
• details of funds to be paid to the applicant including:
• payment type
• amount
• date(s) the payment covered and when funds were paid
• who received the funds, and
• the correct Payee name and Payment Destination
• confirm that the future Payment Instructions (PIPI) are correct and update if needed

To complete the PYAJ direct referral request:

• on the student record, code the Payment Destination Summary (PAS) screen with the correct Payee Details (either the applicant or applicant nominated PAS details) for the AIC system
• see, Using the Payment Adjustment (PYAJ) screen to issue funds to the applicant
• code all required fields on the PYAJ screen. Note: Period Date ‘from’ and ‘to’ fields are the date of issue of the original payment from the student Payment Details (PD) screen
• make one genuine attempt to contact the applicant and tell them
• the outcome of their contact
• review of decision processes if they do not understand or do not agree with a decision
• annotate the DOC on the student record
• update the PAS screen to remove the AIC Payee Details on the Delivery Date of the PYAJ payment
• code the Direct Credit Exemption Reason: ‘Payment Destination Exempt’
• complete the Direct Referral to SSO enquiry received from Local Peer Support (LPS)

Procedure ends here.