Recall of Income Management funds from a Third Party Organisation (TPO) 103-01050070

A customer or TPO may advise the Income Management funds sent to a TPO need to be recalled. Although Services Australia is required to assess any customer request to recall funds, the following reasons are the most common:

• funds have been sent to an incorrect TPO
• the customer is no longer able to access the TPO, for example has had a change of address which no longer makes the TPO accessible
• the good/services required by the customer are no longer available from the TPO
• funds have been distributed on the customer's behalf incorrectly

Discuss with the customer:

• Why funds need to be returned. If it is established that the payment does not need to be returned, procedure ends here
• The best method for future contact with the customer, for example phone number or a message left on a DOC on the customer record
• What amount does the customer want recovered?
• specific dollar amount requested
• specific period of time
• all funds in credit with TPO, that is, no defined amount set by customer
• Ensure the customer's contact details are up-to-date. The customer may need to be contacted during the returns process or to discuss this request

Go to Step 3.

Discuss the following with the TPO:

• the reason for return
• the customer whose Income Management fund are being returned
• specific dollar amount to be returned

See Step 1 in Table 2.

In Customer First, go to the Expense Management Summary screen.

Review the customer's current regular expenses and determine whether any changes are required. For example if the customer is requesting a recall of funds as they have moved, their current rent allocation may need to be ceased and a new allocation for rent recorded.

Advise the customer that, except for urgent situations, recovery from the TPO can take up to 6 weeks.

Is the customer requesting an immediate re-crediting of the Income Management funds into their Income Management account?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, see Step 1 in Table 2

Determine whether the customer meets the criteria for an urgent re-credit of their Income Management funds.

Income Management funds can be re-credited immediately in these limited circumstances:

• Administrative error, e.g. sent to incorrect TPO or system fault for example duplicate payments, or
• The customer needs to meet priority expenses because of a relocation which has been caused by exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, for example, care of ill or disabled relative, family and domestic violence and all of the following are met to show that the customer has no funds available to meet the immediate priority need:
• there are no unallocated Income Management balance that can be used to meet the immediate priority need
• the BasicsCard balance is not sufficient to meet the immediate priority need
• no access to existing discretionary fund allocations (check the customer's payment delivery date, for example have they just received a payment, or are they due to receive one?)
• the expense cannot be met through a referral to an external service
• they do not have a partner with an unallocated Income Management balance or BasicsCard balance sufficient to meet the immediate priority need
• there is no history of requesting immediate re-credits

Does the customer meet the criteria for an immediate re-crediting of funds?

• Yes, advise customer:
• There may be grounds for an immediate re-crediting of the funds and their request will be referred for assessment. They will be contacted once a decision has been made. Ensure the customer's contact details are up to date. Assessments for urgent recoveries are completed by APS6 Team Leaders or higher in National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team
• Ensure any other business or referrals the customer requires are completed prior to commencing this process
• See Step 1 Table 2
• No, advise customer:
• An immediate re-crediting cannot be done
• If the customer still requires the funds to be recalled, ensure any other business or referrals the customer requires are completed prior to commencing this process. See Step 1 in Table 2
• If the customer does not want to proceed with recalling funds, record details in a DOC. Procedure ends here

Always transfer the caller announced to National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team.

Procedure ends here.

See Step 1 in Table 3.

Launch the Initiate recall of IM funds workflow.

Check the Awaiting approval, Awaiting recall and Awaiting return sections to make sure the recall has not already been requested.

The Recoveries History will also provide details of finalised recoveries.

• If the TPO payment recall has already been requested, go to Step 2
• If the customer wishes to cease a recall already requested, go to Step 3
• If the customer wishes to vary a recall already requested, go to Step 4
• To initiate a new request, select the Create recall button, go to Step 5

If the recovery is awaiting approval or awaiting recall, review the notes recorded in the recall by selecting the appropriate recall radio button, then View notes. If Awaiting Return, select View then View request notes.

The current recall status will display:

• Awaiting approval - an immediate recall of IM funds has been requested and is currently awaiting determination by an officer with an appropriate delegation - APS 6 or above in National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team
• Awaiting recall - the recall has been requested and has been referred to the National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team
• Awaiting return - the recall has been actioned and the TPO has been advised to return the funds

Advise the customer of the status of the recall and that a recall of funds may take up to 6 weeks.

Annotate the Recall Notes with the outcome of the investigation and the conversation with the customer.

Select View/Vary.

Select View/Add recall notes, and enter text with New note tab selected. Select Save and Exit and then Finalise.

Note: if the request to recall was initiated by the TPO and the customer has now contacted with the same request, National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team must be advised. Notes should be added to the recovery activity detailing the customer's contact and request details

Procedure ends here.

If the customer advises that the recall is no longer required, it can be ceased.

• Document the relevant Recall Notes with the conversation with the customer
• Click View/Vary
• Click on View/Add recall notes and enter text with New note tab selected. Click Save and Exit and then click Finalise

Note: updates cannot be made by staff outside NBGRT if the recovery Awaiting Return or if updates have been made by NBGRT.

Select the applicable recall from the Awaiting approval or Awaiting recall list and click on Cease.

As the customer has cancelled this request they will not receive a letter confirming the outcome of their recovery request.

As any ceased recalls in the Awaiting return section require follow up with the TPO, telephone National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team to advise them recovery is no longer required.

Procedure ends here.

If the customer advises that the recall details have changed, or is now advising the recall is urgent, it can be varied. Access to vary a recall is restricted to National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team in many cases, depending on the recall status.

Select the recall from the appropriate section, click View/Vary and make the updates as required.

If the Service Officer does not have appropriate access to vary the recall, an error will be displayed and telephone contact will need to be made with NGBRT.

Document the Recall Notes with the conversation with the customer.

Procedure ends here.

Within the Initiate recall of IM funds workflow, create a new recall request on the Customer recall management screen.

Select:

• Third party organisation (TPO). All TPOs, that have been paid an expense from the customer's IM funds, display in the dropdown list
• The TPO from which the funds are to be recalled.
  If the TPO is:
• an exception TPO, such as 'Private Seller' a new field will display to record the TPO's name
• not shown in the dropdown list, check the notes of the expense request. If payment was made by credit card, select the option 'DHS Accounting Operations Admin' to proceed

Recall Details - complete the following fields:

Reason for recall: select the appropriate option from the dropdown list:

• Coded in error
• Customer request
• Customer is deceased
• IMS child not at school
• System error
• TPO advised (TPO advised the customer)

Expense category: all expense categories paid by the customer to the TPO selected will be available for selection from the dropdown menu.

• Recall of rent expenses:
• When a rent expense category is selected, two additional fields will be revealed Date vacated and Date returned. These additional fields are optional, however if the customer is able to supply these dates the information should be included
• Recall of School Meals Program funds:
• Advise the customer that recalls of School Meals Program funds are only approved in exceptional circumstances. It is the customer's obligation to advise Services Australia if a school meals expense is no longer required
• Customer are not entitle to a refund of any contributions made to a Schools Meals Program arising from a child/ren's temporary absence from school. When calculating the cost of School Meals Programs, allowance is made for absences and public holidays to enable costs to be kept to a minimum. If a child is unable to attend school as they are unwell, the parent or carer can collect the meal from the school on the day
• If there are exceptional or unforeseen circumstances as to why school meals program funds are being recalled, details of this must be included in the recall notes
• When a School Meals Program expense category is selected, the system will reveal a dropdown list of children for whom funds can be recalled. It is mandatory to select the child/ren for whom funds are to be recalled. Select one child and if funds required to be recalled for multiple children, add other children's names in the notes section

Account reference: if applicable, include the customer's account reference with the TPO, otherwise leave blank.

Funds to recall: Select the appropriate option from the dropdown menu:

• All residual funds: if the customer requests the recall of all remaining funds at the selected TPO
• Nominated amount: if the customer is requesting the recall of a specific amount. When this option is selected, a new field Requested amount $ will display for the amount to be recorded
• Select Add

A new recall request must be recorded for each expense category the customer requests funds to be recalled.

Continue the workflow and include as much details as possible:

• An explanation and reason for the recovery in the recall notes. Click on Add recall notes, enter text and then click Save and Exit
• The amount requested (if known), including whether the amount was advised to the customer by the TPO
• The date range if applicable (for example period of potential overpayment)

Is the request urgent requiring the immediate return of funds? Select Yes or No as appropriate.

Note: this section assesses the customer's eligibility for an immediate re-credit. Which Service Officers would already have considered in Step 4 in Table 3.

Has the customer requested an urgent recall of funds from a TPO?

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

In limited circumstances where the customer has requested a recall of funds from a TPO, they may be eligible for an immediate re-credit of recalled funds. Approval for an immediate re-credit can only be granted by an officer with appropriate delegation - an APS 6 Team Leader or above in National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team.

This section assesses the customer's eligibility for an immediate re-credit referral.

Complete the assessment by selecting 'Yes' or 'No' to each criteria:

• Does the customer have any funds available in their IM balance to make an immediate payment?
• Is the customer entitled to a Crisis Payment?
• Does the customer have access to existing allocations to meet the immediate priority need?
• Can the expense be met through a referral to an external service or agency?
• Has the customer nominated where urgent re-credit funds should be directed?

Select the Check eligibility button.

The urgent assessment outcome will be displayed based on the responses given:

• Urgent assessment outcome - customer not eligible for urgent re-credit
• If the customer does not meet the urgent assessment guidelines, they are not entitled to an immediate re-credit and other methods must be explored to meet the customer's immediate needs. The recall can be finalised, and funds will be re-credited to the customer once received from the TPO. If the recall is no longer required, the recall can be cancelled by selecting the Cancel button
• Urgent assessment outcome - customer eligible for urgent re-credit
• If the customer meets the urgent re-credit guidelines, they may be eligible for an urgent re-credit, however the final determination for approval can only be granted by an officer with appropriate delegation - an APS 6 Team Leader or above in National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team
• Reason for urgent recall: Select the appropriate reason from the dropdown menu
• Urgent re-credit amount $: Record the amount the customer requires as an urgent re-credit. This amount should be the amount the customer requires immediately, to meet a current need and will likely be less than total amount requested for recall
• Add recall notes: notes are mandatory for requests for immediate re-credits. Service Officers must include the reason for the immediate re-credit and details of where the urgent re-credit funds need to be directed. If the funds are not required to be directed elsewhere, approval will not be granted

Select Finalise to refer the urgent recall request to the National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team for the final determination.

Ensure the customer's contact details are up to date and advise them they will be contacted about the outcome of their request.

If the customer cannot be contacted, the outcome will be documented on their record so they can be advised at their next contact.

Procedure ends here.

Record any additional notes to support the recall of funds by selecting the View/Add recall notes hyperlink, ensuring all relevant information is recorded.

Select Finalise to complete the activity and return to the Customer recall summary screen.

Advise the customer:

• recovery from the TPO can take up to 6 weeks, although it could be quicker than that depending on the TPO concerned
• the funds will be returned to their Income Management account within 24 hours of NBGRT being advised that the funds have been returned
• In some circumstances, the agency may contact the customer to discuss the request. Confirm telephone details recorded and update if required

This information will go to the NBGRT for processing.

Procedure ends here.

See Step 1 in Table 3.

The recovery activity for processing by NBGRT will be:

• received via the Recovery Workload Management screen in Customer First when generated by Service Officers completing the Initiate recall of IM workflow, or
• initiated by NBGRT when TPOs request a recovery or funds are being recovered for a deceased customer

On receipt of the activity, NBGRT will review the request to determine the action required.

Is the request marked as urgent?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 4

Initial contact with the TPO is required to confirm they have received the money and it has not yet been spent by the customer. Once this has been confirmed, seek approval for the urgent recall by sending an email to an APS6 Team Leader or above, with a copy to NBGRT with all the relevant information to enable the Team Leader to make an assessment.

Note: if the customer has an outstanding recovery for the TPO and an urgent recovery is now requested, contact the Deduction and Confirmation Branch - Income Management for advice on how to proceed and when to raise the debt. If the Request to Return Income Management funds letter has only recently been sent, a debt notice may cause confusion. Always phone the TPO to check the status of the funds being returned.

Urgent recovery approved

• Select the recall activity from awaiting approval and click Assess Urgent request
• Enter the confirmed amount, Determination and Amount to be re-credited to the customer's Income Management account
• Select Finalise to complete the activity which will re-credit the funds to the customer's Income Management account
• Notify the customer of the outcome of their urgent request:
• Contact by telephone, two reasonable attempts should be made informing them the urgent recovery has been processed
• Advise the balance of their Income Management account
• Explain a debt may be raised if the funds returned from the TPO, do not cover the amount of funds re-credited to their Income Management account
• Direct Income Management money (BasicsCard or one off payment to TPO) to pay for priority needs as directed

Note: if the customer cannot be contacted, create a DOA DOC on the customer's record detailing information to be relayed to the customer at their next contact.

Go to Step 3.

Urgent recovery not approved

Proceed as instructed by the Team Leader. Contact the customer by telephone, two reasonable attempts should be made to inform them their request for an urgent recovery has been declined.

If the customer cannot be contacted, update the recovery activity and create a DOA DOC on the customer's record detailing information to be discussed with the customer at their next contact.

Go to Step 4.

From the Recovery Workload Management menu:

• Select recall activity from Outstanding by clicking on the applicable CRN
• Click on create debt
• When the warning text 'are you sure this TPO recall request should be transferred to a debt' displays, select OK then Continue. A debt shell will be created
• The customer will be sent to the Income Management Refund letter advising of the recovery outcome

To action the debt activity, refer to Income Management debts.

Procedure ends here.

NBGRT will try to contact the TPO to investigate and confirm the amount to be returned.

If the TPO agrees with the amount the customer has requested or cannot be contacted, go to Step 5.

If the TPO disagrees with the amount requested, go to Step 6.

Issue recovery request letter generated through the Initiate recall of IM funds workflow and send to TPO.

If the TPO could not be contacted, send the recovery letter as an unconfirmed amount.

See Step 1 in Table 4.

If the TPO advises of different amount to that requested by the customer (a lower amount, no funds to be returned or a higher amount) enquire how the amount was determined. Advise the TPO that if the customer disputes the amount, the TPO may be required to provide supporting evidence.

Note: contracted TPOs are required to keep detailed records of how income management funds have been used.

The amount advised by the TPO should be recorded in the Initiate recall of IM funds workflow, including details of the conversation with the TPO and how the amount advised was calculated.

Contact the customer by phone to advise them of the TPO's response to their recovery request. Two genuine attempts to contact the customer must be made. Details of attempts must be recorded in the recovery notes.

Was customer contact successful?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 9

Advise the customer of the TPO's response to their recovery request and why the amount differs to that requested.

Does the customer agree with the amount advised by the TPO?

• Yes,
• Record the discussion and customer's agreement in the recovery notes
• Issue the Recovery letter to the TPO with the new agreed amount
• See Step 1 in Table 4
• No,
• Obtain any further details from the customer which would support their disagreement with the amount advised by the TPO
• Contact the TPO to advise the customer does not agree with the amount, and provide any additional information supplied by the customer
• If the TPO does not agree with the customer, ask the TPO to provide evidence of the amount they have advised will be returned (if not already provided)
• Once evidence has been received from the TPO, evaluate and forward details and recommendations to the Deduction and Confirmation Branch - Income Management Helpdesk. Advice will be provided to National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team
• Proceed with the decision as advised by the Income Management Helpdesk. Make sure all information is recorded in the recovery notes
• Make genuine attempts to contact the customer to advise the outcome and their internal review options
• See Step 3 in Table 4

If unable to contact the customer after 2 genuine attempts, place a DOA DOC on the customer's record with a 3 month expiry.

The DOA DOC should contain the recovery information and the attempts made to contact the customer to relayed at their next contact:

• Summary: IM Recall - TPO amount differs
• Customer requested $xxx from TPO. TPO advises they have $yyy to return due to [insert reason]. Attempts made to contact customer on dd/mm/yy and dd/mm/yy.
  Recoveries team have proceeded with recovery request based on amount advised by TPO to ensure any recovery of funds is not delayed
• Customer will receive a letter once the process is finalised to advise the outcome of this request

Issue the recovery letter with the updated amount advised by the TPO. Ensure the recovery is fully documented, including the changed amount reason. This information may be required later if the customer requests an explanation or applies for a formal review of the decision.

See Step 1 in Table 4.

NBGRT will confirm when funds have been returned by a TPO and investigate whether the amount returned is the same as that requested or agreed to by the customer.

Have funds been returned by the TPO?

• Yes, and:
• the amount matches or is greater than the recall request, go to Step 2
• recovery was initiated by the TPO or initiated by National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team for a deceased customer go to Step 2
• the amount is less than the recall request, go to Step 3
• No, and:
• it is more than 28 days since the recall request was made, go to Step 4
• it has been more than 14 days since a reminder letter was issued, go to Step 5

Finalise the recovery and re-credit of funds to the customer's Income Management account. Clearly DOC all action taken in the Initiate recall of IM funds workflow.

Note: for customer requested recoveries an Income Management Refund letter will be sent to the customer advising the outcome of their recovery request.

Procedure ends here.

Confirm whether the customer has agreed to a different recovery amount than that requested by checking:

• the notes within the Initiate recall of IM funds workflow, and
• the AL screen (on the customer's record) for the ACTDOC confirming whether the customer agrees with the new amount or wishes to discuss/dispute the amount

Finalise the recovery and re-credit funds to the customer's Income Management account. Clearly DOC all action taken in the Initiate recall of IM funds workflow.

Note: for customer requested recoveries only, an Income Management Refund letter will be sent to the customer advising the outcome of their recovery request and the amount returned differing to that requested.

Does the customer agree with the amount returned by the TPO?

• Yes, procedure ends here
• No, see Step 1 in Table 5

If the TPO has not returned the requested funds within 28 days of the initial request, NBGRT will issue a system generated reminder letter to the TPO allowing a further 14 days for funds to be returned.

If funds have not been returned 14 days after the reminder letter was issued, NBGRT will refer the outstanding recovery via the RRR workflow to the state Account Manager for follow up with the TPO.

The state Account Manager will advise NBGRT to:

• reissue a further remind letter (as outlined in Step 4 above), or
• send details to the Deduction and Confirmation Branch - Income Management for debt consideration

Note: if NBGRT are advised to raise a debt the customer will be sent the Income Management Refund letter once debt processing has been completed. This letter is only issued if the customer initiated the recovery of funds.

Procedure ends here.

If a customer does not understand or does not agree with the amount returned from the TPO, advise their review and appeal rights.

A request for an explanation will be referred to the National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team. Go to Step 2.

An application for a formal review will be referred to an Authorised Review Officer. Procedure ends here.

When a customer has requested an explanation of the amount returned by the TPO, the Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the National Business Gateway (NBGRT) Recoveries and Debt Team will:

• Investigate the decision to get a clear understanding of why the decision was made
• Make genuine attempts to contact the customer

Was the contact successful?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 5

Explain the decision, including any information previously provided by the TPO about the amount returned.

• If the customer is satisfied, complete the explanation. Go to Step 4
• If the customer would like additional information or the TPO has not previously advised or provided information about the amount returned:
• Contact the TPO to discuss the amount returned
• The TPO may be required to provide additional evidence to support the amount returned. As contracted TPOs are required to keep detailed records of how income management funds have been used, evidence may include a transaction statement, lease/rental agreement, and/or account statement etc. If the TPO asks for information to be requested in writing, seek advice from the Deduction and Confirmation Branch - Income Management
• Evaluate evidence provided by the TPO. Forward all details and recommendations to the Deduction and Confirmation Branch - Income Management who will provide advice
• Complete the explanation based on the advice provided by the Programme team

Note: always when the customer has representation, full details must be emailed to the Deduction and Confirmation Branch - Income Management.

Advise the customer they can apply for a formal review if they do not agree with the decision.

Run the Internal Review/Explanation script and finalise the request for an explanation with one of the following outcomes:

• Decision not changed if there are no changes to the decision
• Decision partially changed (varied) if there are partial changes to the decision
• Decision completely changed (set-aside and substituted if the decision is completely 'set aside'

If the customer wants to apply for a formal review of the decision, this can be recorded when finalising the explanation.

Procedure ends here.

Record unsuccessful contact attempts in the explanation DOC. Include what number(s) were called, the date, time and result of each call.

Run the Internal Review/Explanation script and finalise the request for an explanation with one of the following outcomes:

• Decision not changed if there are no changes to the decision
• Decision partially changed (varied) if there are partial changes to the decision
• Decision completely changed (set-aside and substituted if the decision is completely 'set aside'

The script will create a Q449 letter to be sent to the customer inviting them to contact.