Change of circumstances and ending exemptions from Income Management 103-01080070

Exemptions from Income Management are generally granted for 12 months. The exemption may be reassessed prior to the end of the 12 month exemption period in cases where an individual's circumstances have significantly changed, for example, change in principal carer, customer enrols as a full time student and withdraws from the course.

Should a customer wish to be income managed during the period of the exemption the customer should be offered Voluntary Income Management.

If a customer becomes vulnerable during a period of exemption from Income Management, they should be referred to a Services Australia social worker as per business as usual referrals. The social worker will consider what resources may best assist the customer, including an Income Management under the Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient Measure.

An exemption is ended automatically when a customer has lost eligibility for Income Management (for example, income support payment is cancelled) for 13 weeks. This means that if the customer becomes eligible for Income Management again after 13 weeks they would need to re-apply for another exemption. If the customer becomes eligible for income management again within the 13 week period, the previous exemption will apply up to its original end date.

When an exemption expires the customer is sent a letter inviting them to contact Services Australia for an initial assessment interview. The customer has 28 days, or 56 days if remote, to engage with the agency before Auto Income Management applies (additional grace periods apply for parents applying for an exemption during the initial engagement period). A Work Item and Issue appears on the customer record to alert Service Officers that an initial assessment interview is required. The customer can reapply for an exemption during this process.

Customers who are granted an exemption from Income Management under the Disengaged Youth (DEY) or Long Term Welfare Payment Recipient (LTWPR) measures can volunteer for Voluntary Income Management (if eligible).

Note: customers on VIM will revert to Income Management under the DEY or LTWPR measure if their exemption ends and they continue to meet the criteria for those measures.

The Resources page contains an example of an exemption reassessment for a change in principal carer arrangements and an example of when a reassessment of an exemption for a full-time student prior to the end of the 12 month exemption period may be conducted.