BasicsCard 103-01230000

The BasicsCard is a reusable card, which allows customers to use their income managed funds to purchase goods and services at approved BasicsCard merchants through the Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) network. The card has a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for security.

The BasicsCard is another allocation method for income managed funds. However, it will not replace the need to assess and review the priority needs of income managed customers.

All income managed customers are eligible to receive a BasicsCard to access their income managed funds to purchase goods and services at approved merchants.

A BasicsCard can be issued by:

• Service Officers at Centrelink service centres
• remote service centres or by a Remote Servicing Team (RST)
• calling the Income Management Line. It will be posted to the customer’s mailing address

For additional assistance in issuing a BasicsCard, Service Officers can call the Technical Support Line.

The BasicsCard operates through the EFTPOS network at approved BasicsCard merchants. The BasicsCard will not operate at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). The BasicsCard can only be used at an ATM for balance-checking.

When making a purchase the customer will swipe the BasicsCard, press 'savings' and enter their PIN to complete the purchase.

Customers will receive a receipt once the transaction is finalised, no cash out or cash refunds are allowed. All BasicsCard purchases or refunds must be done through the EFTPOS network, no manual or offline transactions are permitted if EFTPOS is down.

The BasicsCard can only be used through registered EFTPOS facilities at approved BasicsCard merchants. These are stores or businesses that have applied and been approved to accept the BasicsCard.

BasicsCard merchants will display BasicsCard stickers and posters in their window to assist customers to identify where their BasicsCard can be used. The larger National BasicsCard merchants may not have these window stickers and posters displayed. The Resources page contains a list National Merchants who accept BasicsCard.

A search tool is available on the Services Australia website for customers to search for approved BasicsCard merchants in a specified area.

The Resources page contains a link to the Organisation Finder service for customers. For information on how to use this search tool, see Business and organisation search tools.

See BasicsCard merchant information, eligibility and approval to assist merchants wishing to apply to be a BasicsCard merchant or to assist existing merchants experiencing any issues.

The Express Plus Centrelink mobile app offers Income Management and BasicsCard customers the functionality to:

• check the balance of their BasicsCard
• view information about their BasicsCard account balance and recent transaction history
• view information about their Income Management account balance and recent transaction history
• transfer income managed funds to the BasicsCard
• recall funds from the BasicsCard back to the Income Management account
• opt in to print their BasicsCard balance on EFTPOS receipt or display on EFTPOS terminal when shopping with participating merchants

The Resources page contains a step process to assist a customer to access the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

All customers will have funds transferred in to their BasicsCard account in one of two models - the Residual Payment method or the Partial Payment method.

Customers are able to change their BasicsCard allocation method by contacting the agency.

Customers can also allocate funds to their BasicsCard through online services or by contacting Services Australia. See Coding Income Management Expenses for more information on allocating funds to the BasicsCard.

Note: BasicsCard is not an available allocation method for school meals, rent (except short-term accommodation) and utilities. These expenses should continue to be paid via the direct deduction facility and Expense Requests.

The BasicsCard cannot be used to purchase the following excluded goods and services:

• alcohol, home brew concentrate, or home brew kits
• tobacco products
• pornography
• gambling services or products

The BasicsCard cannot be used to obtain cash (either at point of sale or via an ATM), cash refunds or gift cards or vouchers (which could result in the purchase of one of the above excluded goods).

Lay-by purchases are available at BasicsCard merchants, but these must be offered in accordance with the requirements of 'Approved Lay-Bys' under the BasicsCard Merchant Terms and Conditions. These requirements include the provision of a lay-by terms and conditions document and a detailed lay-by docket by the merchant to the customer. The Resources page contains a link to the BasicsCard Merchant Terms and Conditions.

Customers who are no longer on Income Management (IM) can still allocate funds to their BasicsCard for up to 60 days. Any regular allocations to the BasicsCard will continue to deliver during this period if the customer has sufficient funds and an active card. After this time, the BasicsCard account is closed and any remaining funds are recalled into the customer's Income Management account to be disbursed.

There is a daily spend and maximum balance limit for the card:

• Daily Spend Limit is automatically set at $1,500. A customer can request to set this limit between $20 and $1,500. If the BasicsCard daily spend limit is reached for a 24 hour period (midnight to midnight), the customer will be required to wait until midnight before the daily spend limit resets and additional purchases using their BasicsCard can be made
• Maximum Card Balance is automatically set at $3,000. A customer can request to set this limit between $100 and $3,000. A customer may request to lower the daily spend or maximum card balance limits of their BasicsCard, however, if that customer is deemed as 'vulnerable', appropriate referrals should be made. Service Officers should ensure a full assessment of the customer's circumstances is undertaken and any appropriate referrals made

For more information, see BasicsCard changing daily spend and maximum card balance limits.

The BasicsCard is a useful method to access income managed funds when a customer is travelling away from home. There are stores and businesses across Australia where customers can use their BasicsCard. Customers can search for approved merchants using the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app on their mobile device or using the search tool on Services Australia website.

As all Centrelink Service Centres now have BasicsCard stocks, customers can attend any service centre to have a new or replacement BasicsCard issued.

A BasicsCard can be issued to a payment nominee on behalf of a customer. A payment nominee can also control transfer to the card on behalf of the customer.

Customers should be encouraged to regularly check their BasicsCard balance, in particular before they shop to ensure they have enough funds available for their planned purchases.

To check their BasicsCard balance customers can:

• Use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app. Customers can obtain their balance by logging on using their Centrelink Access Number (CAN) and password
• Use one of the 4 major banks (Westpac, Commonwealth, NAB or ANZ) in their location without charge
• Call the BasicsCard Balance Enquiry Line or the Income Management Line. These services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Resources page contains a link to Phone us on the Services Australia website. Customers can locate the phone number for the BasicsCard Balance Enquiry Line and Income Management Line under Centrelink phone numbers
• Access Centrelink services online via their myGov account
• Use the online balance enquiry service on the Services Australia website. Customers can obtain their balance by entering their BasicsCard number and PIN. The BasicsCard balance enquiry service also supports mobile devices, including smart phones
• Visit their local Centrelink Service Centre

Note: customers may also refer to their Income Management and BasicsCard accounts as their kitty.

Service Officers needing the help of a Local Peer Support to achieve first contact resolution of a BasicsCard/Income Management issue can call the Technical Support Line.

What you need to know

• Some Service Officers with only BasicsCard Application Enquiries skill tags get calls from customers which are out of scope, even though their skills tags are listed as:
• CLK_IMDa_BasicsCardApplicationEnquiries, and
• CLK_IMBb_IncomeMgmtA-HIVROpt-LostorStolenCard
• Before transferring a call, Service Officers must complete all in scope actions, this includes:
• Suspending and activating BasicsCards
• providing balances to customers
• supporting customers to conduct BasicsCard transferring of funds via self-service or
• transferring funds to the BasicsCard if the customer is ineligible to use self-service or it is not appropriate due to the customer’s circumstances
• supporting the customer with any other digital product/self service function they may require

Wherever possible, customer enquiries must be answered or issues resolved at the first contact.

What you need to do

Staff may get out of scope Income Management, and other payment enquiries, even if they only have BasicsCard skill tags. Where possible, enquiries received relating to another payment type should be answered in the first instance. The call should only be transferred it there is not sufficient knowledge and/or experience to answer the query. See Conditions for transferring or referring calls.

Transferring within business hours

Transfer options:

• If the customer needs help with an out of scope Income Management query, cold transfer them to the Income Management queue
• For urgent payment requests for Income Management customers, cold transfer the call using the unannounced 'UPC Urgent Payments Income Management' Services Australia Workspace transfer option
• If the customer is Indigenous, resides in a remote location and needs help with an out of scope payment query, cold transfer the customer to the Indigenous Assisted Remote queue
• If the customer is Indigenous, living in an urban or rural location, and needs help with an out of scope payment query, cold transfer them to the Indigenous Assisted Non Remote queue
• Transfer all other customer enquiries to the appropriate Main Business Line (MBL)

Transferring outside business hours

Transactions after business hours (customer’s local time of day) are limited to:

• suspending lost or stolen BasicsCards
• providing balances to customers
• transferring funds to the BasicsCard. This is if the customer is ineligible to use self-service or it is not appropriate due to the customer’s circumstances

For any other customer enquiries outside of business hours, tell the customer:

• about the self service options or
• to call back within business hours.