Voluntary Income Management and enhanced Income Management 103-01190000

Customers needed to request to be welfare quarantined and be eligible to participate in IM under the VIM measure prior to 4 September 2023, to have been eligible to enter into a VIM Agreement with the agency.

They also needed to:

• be in receipt of a category H welfare payment
• live in a declared IM area
• not have an excluded payment nominee for IM purposes

To be eligible for VeIM, a customer must:

• request to be welfare quarantined and agree to enter into a voluntary enhanced IM agreement with the agency. Note: VIM customers who choose to move to VeIM must also give informed consent to move from IM to enhanced IM
• reside in a specific enhanced IM location. Note: VIM customers who choose to move to VeIM can reside in any location
• receive an eligible (not CAN or CZR or SUS/IMP) qualifying payment
• not have an excluded payment nominee arrangement (with a public trustee, organisation, or an individual who is not subject to IM or enhanced IM
• not be currently subject to, or eligible for another IM or enhanced IM measure

The customer cannot enter into a Voluntary enhanced IM agreement if:

• an agreement was terminated by the customer within the last 21 days (the agency must not enter into another agreement with the customer within 21 days after the termination), or
• an agreement was terminated by the customer on 4 or more occasions during the 12-month period that precedes the date when the new agreement is to come into force

To volunteer for enhanced IM, customers must attend a service centre, visiting Remote Servicing team or call the SmartCard eIM hotline.

The customer can also get access to a temporary SmartCard during their visit, or the customer can call the SmartCard eIM hotline.

Note: if the customer resides in the Cape York and Doomadgee region, they cannot request to have their payments welfare quarantined under enhanced IM through the agency. They must contact the Family Responsibilities Commission (FRC).

A compulsory period of 13 weeks applies when a customer enters into a VeIM Agreement.

Customers may terminate the VIM or VeIM Agreement at any time after completing the mandatory 13 week period, by contacting the agency.

Services Australia can also terminate the VIM or VeIM Agreement if certain events occur.

Customers that move out of location, will continue their participation under the rules of their originating location and remain on VIM or VeIM for the mandatory period. After the mandatory period, customers will remain on VIM or VeIM until they choose to terminate their Voluntary Agreement.

For more details, see Customer moves out of an Income Management (IM) or enhanced IM area.

A customer must be in receipt of an eligible welfare payment to be eligible for welfare quarantining under a Voluntary Agreement. The customer or their partner must be in receipt of the following dependent on whether they are welfare quarantined under IM or enhanced IM:

• IM: customer or their partner must be in receipt of a category H welfare payment
• Enhanced IM: customer or their partner must be in receipt of a category A payment under enhanced IM. Customers may also receive a secondary category B payment. These will also be quarantined at the same percentage as their Category A payment

The following payments are welfare quarantined under this measure:

• 50% of a customer's regular fortnightly eligible welfare payment is quarantined
• 100% of ABSTUDY (with Living Allowance or Pensioner Education Supplement) payments
• 100% of lump sum and arrears payments are quarantined

There are specific payments that are not income managed.

A customer can be eligible for more than one IM or enhanced IM measure at the same point in time. In these cases, a hierarchy is used to determine which measure the customer will be subject to.

If a customer is eligible for any other measure of enhanced IM, that measure takes precedence over VeIM as VeIM sits lowest in the hierarchy of enhanced IM measures.

For more details, see Hierarchy and movement between Income Management and enhanced Income Management measures - Overview.

Customers on VIM whose payment is restored or re-granted to date paid to +1 (that is, no payment gap), the customer is deemed to have maintained continuous eligibility for IM. will be given the option to remain on VIM or enter into a voluntary enhanced IM agreement (which will entail the customer’s move from IM to enhanced IM as a new customer).

Customers on VIM whose payment is not restored or re-granted to date paid to +1 (that is, there is a payment gap), must have their voluntary agreement ended even if they are within their mandatory 13 week period. If the customer would like to remain on welfare quarantining, they must commence VeIM as a new customer by entering a new voluntary agreement.

For more information, see Enhanced Income Management (enhanced IM).

Customers can terminate their voluntary enhanced IM agreement at any time:

• if they moved from the Cashless Debit Card program to the enhanced IM program on 6 March 2023, or
• after the completion of the 13-week mandatory participation period

If a customer moves out of an enhanced IM location, enhanced IM will continue unless the customer requests to terminate their voluntary enhanced IM agreement.

If the customer wishes to terminate their agreement, they may do so via the SmartCard eIM hotline, in person in a service centre, or with a visiting Remote Servicing team. The customer’s verbal request and agreement to the conditions of termination will be taken as their written notice to end their agreement.

After the customer requests to terminate their agreement, and agrees to the conditions of termination, their participation in enhanced IM will end immediately, and their next payment will be paid to their nominated bank account.

Note: when a customer terminates their agreement, they may become eligible to participate in enhanced IM under a compulsory measure.

If the customer’s payment is suspended or cancelled while their voluntary enhanced IM agreement is active, they will be placed on the enhanced IM program again if that payment is restored or re-granted within 13 weeks of the suspension or cancellation date.

If the customer’s payment is suspended or cancelled for 13 weeks or more while their voluntary enhanced IM agreement is active, the customer will need to request a new voluntary enhanced IM agreement to commence enhanced IM.

The agency can also terminate the voluntary enhanced IM agreement.

For more information, see Ending enhanced Income Management.