Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers outside Australia 103-04020000

For customers receiving:

• Family Assistance payments, go to Step 2
• other payments, go to Step 3

Customers receiving a family assistance payment, for example Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Parental Leave Pay (PPL), cannot be paid to an overseas bank account.

Family assistance payments will continue to issue to the customer's Australian bank account every 2 weeks.

The customer's record will remain in the home environment and the customer's usual service centre will remain responsible for payment.

The customer will need to make arrangements through their bank to access the money while outside Australia. This can generally be done by using an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or by requesting their bank transfer money to an overseas bank account. Tell the customer to contact their bank for more details.

Procedure ends here.

Is the customer leaving Australia for less than 26 weeks?

• Yes,
• the customer will continue to receive payments every 2 weeks into their Australian bank account
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Will this customer remain payable for more than 26 weeks but less than 12 months while outside Australia?

• No, go to Step 5
• Yes, payments will continue fortnightly into an Australian bank account

In exceptional cases, Centrelink International Services (CIS) may agree to pay a customer who has left Australia for less than 12 months using one of the international payment methods. This option must be approved by an APS5 or higher and clearly documented on the customer's record.

If the customer is requesting payment to an overseas bank account, and:

• has a partner receiving a Centrelink payment who is not leaving Australia, go to Step 6
• is not partnered, or has a partner who is either receiving a Centrelink payment and is also leaving Australia, or who is not receiving a Centrelink payment, see Table 2, Step 1

Will this customer remain payable for more than 12 months while outside Australia or leaving Australia permanently?

• Yes, and the customer:
• is not partnered, has a partner receiving a Centrelink payment who is leaving Australia, or has a partner not receiving a Centrelink payment, they will generally have their customer record transferred to Environment I. Current and new Agreement customers living permanently outside Australia are also held in Environment I in Customer Record or Customer First. Note: the Payment Destination Overseas (PAPO) screen can only be updated in Environment I. Follow the process in transferring a customer record to provide additional service options when a customer is going overseas long term See Table 2, Step 1
• has a partner receiving a Centrelink payment and remaining in Australia, go to Step 6
• requests payment to be suspended pending overseas bank account details
• No, procedure ends here

If a customer is a member of a couple and would like to receive their Centrelink payment to an overseas bank account (or by cheque), and their partner is also on a Centrelink payment and remaining in Australia, further discussion with the customer and partner is needed. This includes concession card impacts for the customer remaining in Australia.

It is not possible to have one member of a couple paid every 4 weeks and the other paid every 2 weeks.

The customer and their partner will need to decide if they are both to be paid:

• every 4 weeks. This means that:
• customer and partner records will need to be transferred to Environment I
• the customer may be able to be paid into an overseas bank account, or by cheque, and their partner will continue to be paid to their Australian bank account every 4 weeks
• the customer will become a CIS customer. Update the Office Code (OC) screen to WTW. The partner's OC will remain unchanged
• the customer in Australia needs to be aware they will not be automatically issued with a concession card when it expires. The customer must contact a service centre to get an interim card
• every 2 weeks. This means that:
• customer and partner records will remain in their local environment
• the customer (or partner) cannot be paid into an overseas bank account or by cheque to an overseas address. Both will continue to be paid every 2 weeks to their Australian bank account
• the customer will become a CIS customer. Update the Office Code (OC) screen to WTW. The partner's OC will remain unchanged

Record discussion on a DOC.

The area of international banking is complex. Overseas banking requirements vary from country to country, bank to bank and even by bank account type. For these reasons only skilled staff in CIS are to:

• record overseas payment details on the PAPO screen in Customer First or Customer Record. Overseas bank details should not be recorded in Process Direct
• have a discussion with the customer regarding cheque payment to an overseas address

Is the Service Officer in CIS?

• Yes, and the customer has requested to be paid by:
• direct deposit to an overseas or Australian bank account, go to Step 3
• cheque, go to Step 2
• No, and
• the customer is on the phone - warm transfer the call to the CIS call queue. Procedure ends here
• an overseas bank document is received – (re)categorise overseas bank documents received in Work Optimiser using the update overseas bank work item: ZALL_INTL_BANK_UPD. Procedure ends here

Note the following cheque payment limitations:

Payment nominees:

Payment nominees in Australia or outside Australia cannot be paid by cheque. Payment nominees can be paid to their bank account in Australia or non-sanctioned country.

Countries where cheques have been decommissioned:

Australian payments can only be issued by direct deposit to the following countries:

• Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Kenya, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia

Sanctioned countries:

Payments cannot be paid by cheque or direct deposit to the following countries:

• Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Sudan and Syria

The customer can choose to:

• have their payments deposited into their or their payment nominee's Australian bank account, or
• be paid by direct deposit into their or their payment nominee's account in another non-sanctioned country

For other scenarios, a discussion must be held with the customer regarding the reason they prefer to be paid by cheque. Details of the discussion including the reason the customer wants to be paid by cheque must be clearly documented in a DOC. The customer must be advised of the following:

Cheques are not the preferred option as:

• they are sent by post, which causes a delay in the customer receiving their payment and may even be lost
• this is more of a chance of fraud and theft identity
• it may take days for the funds to become available
• stale cheque timeframes exist for cashing cheques
• the cashing fee may be high
• some providers may refuse certain types of cheques or limit the amounts that can be cashed out
• many banks no longer accept or cash cheques

Exceptional reason to be provided:

An exceptional reason must be provided by the customer for cheque payment to be considered instead of direct deposit. Listed are examples of scenarios where payment by cheque is not acceptable:

• Customer advises that their bank account has been hacked
• Customer should be advised to open an account with another bank and provide updated bank account details
• Customer cannot understand the payment requirements for their country
• An appropriate AUS178 form should be sent to the customer. The customer should be advised to take the form to their bank to be completed

If an exceptional reason is provided, the currency of the cheque will depend on the country to which the cheque is being sent. See Currencies used for International cheque payments.

Does the customer still want to be paid by cheque?

• Yes, advise the customer that approval must be provided before they can be paid by cheque. Go to Step 6
• No, customer wants to be paid to an Australian or overseas bank account. Go to Step 3

The benefits of overseas direct deposits:

• quickest method for the customer to receive their payment
• most secure delivery method as payments can be traced from the agency to the customer's bank, and
• cost effective for the customer

There are 3 overseas direct deposit methods:

• Automated Clearing House (ACH) is an electronic funds-transfer system that facilitates transactions between Citibank and the customer's bank
• Legacy ACH is a funds transfer system between an account held by Services Australia and the customer's bank in the country of payment
• Worldlink Wire (WWR) are electronic fund transfers sent through a correspondent bank or intermediary bank. It is processed manually by the receiving bank rather than sent automatically to the customer's bank account like the ACH payment method

Direct deposit is the default payment method for customers outside Australia. If the customer does not want to receive their payment into an overseas bank account, they can choose to be paid into an Australian bank account. The customer will continue to receive payments every 4 weeks (if in Environment I) and payment will be in Australian dollars.

Does the customer want their Australian payment to be paid to an overseas bank account?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, to an Australian bank account, Go to Table 2, Step 1

International bank account details can be accepted:

• on a completed AUS178 form for their country, or
• on a bank statement or document which shows bank details, including bank account number or International Bank Account Number (IBAN), and the name(s) of the account holder(s), and currency of the account with a request for payment to be made to that account, or
• verbally. However,
• the customer must provide written document confirming their new payment details (for example, an official bank statement) as soon as possible to confirm the verbal details
• the customer must be aware of the currency paid and can confirm their bank account can accept payments in that currency
• an IBAN must be validated by entering it into the IBAN Validation Tool
• the customer must provide any non-banking information, when required (for example, TAX ID or passport number)
• an existing payment nominee can verbally provide updated bank account details if the bank account is solely in their name. Otherwise, a new nominee form must be completed. See Changing personal details of nominees

Note: Service Officers must not record bank account details on PAPO if the overseas bank account details provided is:

• not clear (for example, unable to determine if the account number contains the number 5 or 6)
• missing information (for example, account holder’s name has not been provided)
• incorrect (for example, account number contains more numbers than required).

Contact the customer and request all the details required.

Has the customer returned an international Bank Account Details (AUS178) form or bank statement?

Yes, go to Step 5.

No, either:

• obtain overseas payment destination details verbally. Clearly note the following:
• Currency of account: The customer must be aware of the currency paid to the country where their bank account is located. The customer must confirm their bank account can accept payments in that currency. Refer to the country’s task card in OBAD.
• Overseas bank account details: The customer must be able to provide all details relating to their bank account, including intermediary bank details (when required). See Step 5 regarding intermediary bank details.
• Non-banking information: The customer must provide any other additional information, when required. For example, TAX ID or passport number. Refer to the country’s task card in OBAD.
• Written documentation: The customer must provide written document confirming their new payment details (for example, an official bank statement) as soon as possible to confirm the details given verbally.
• IBAN validation: Where a customer has provided an IBAN, the Service Officer must validate the IBAN by entering it into the IBAN Validation Tool

Once all information has been gathered, record the details on the customer’s record. Go to Table 4, Step 1

• The country customer wants to be paid to is not in OBAD, go to Step 5

• send or request the following from the customer:
• for a customer who has requested long-term portability of payments, issue an Information for Pensioners living outside Australia (XOB075) letter
• for a customer already living overseas, issue a Request customer to complete Form or Questionnaire (Q004) letter
• an AUS178 form for the country the customer is going to or wants to be paid in
• record actions on a DOC

Select the relevant option below.

Before requesting the customer’s overseas banking details verbally and/or coding overseas bank account details on PAPO, the country’s banking requirements must be checked in OBAD.

Find the country's banking requirements in OBAD. This must be done to make sure:

• all information needed by that country/bank to update the overseas bank account details has been provided
• overseas bank account details are recorded in the correct format, and
• other essential non-PAPO updates for that country are coded, as needed
• customer's home address must be recorded in a specific format for payments made to the US. See Payments made to an overseas bank account for coding the Address Summary (ADS) screen

Go to Table 4, Step 1.

If the country’s banking requirements do not appear in OBAD:

• contact the CIS VSSO Hub
• request confirmation of the country banking requirements by Residence and International program to enable the recording of overseas bank details for that country
• provide any banking documentation/information customer has provided:
• international Bank Account Details (AUS178) form, and/or
• bank statement provided by the customer, and/or
• verbal bank details (the customer must still provide written evidence of their overseas bank details as a follow up)
• once the country’s banking requirements are confirmed by Residence and International program, go to Table 4, Step 1

If the customer or payment nominee’s USD or EUR intermediary bank details differ to what is recorded in OBAD:

• contact the CIS VSSO Hub and advise the intermediary details customer has provided differs to what is recorded in OBAD
• request that intermediary details are verified by Residence and International program, and
• provide any banking documentation/information customer has provided

Once the country’s intermediary bank details are confirmed by Residence and International program, go to Table 4, Step 1.

Note: Banks may use 2 intermediary banks. If one of the 2 intermediary banks is correctly recorded in OBAD, there is no need to advise.

The customer or payment nominee may not provide USD or EUR intermediary details. Check details in OBAD.

Where intermediary bank details:

• have been provided by the customer or payment nominee and does not appear in OBAD:
• contact the CIS VSSO hub,
• request that intermediary bank details are recorded in  OBAD  by Residence and International program
• go to Table 4, Step 1
• have not been provided by the customer or payment nominee and does not appear in OBAD:
• contact the CIS VSSO hub
• request intermediary bank details from Residence and International program. and
• once the country’s intermediary bank details are confirmed by Residence and International program, go to Table 4, Step 1
• have not been provided by the customer or payment nominee and does appear in OBAD:
• go to Table 4, Step 1

Email the CIS VSSO Hub stating the customer has requested to be paid by cheque. Provide reasons why the customer wants to be paid by cheque.

The VSSOs will then contact Residence and International program and seek approval. An email response (approval or rejection) will be provided.

Has Residence and International program given approval for the customer to be paid by cheque?

• Yes,
• a reply email will be sent to the VSSOs with approval advice
• go to Table 4. Step 4
• No,
• an email response will be sent to the VSSOs
• the Service Officer must contact the customer and discuss direct deposit payment options. The customer may choose one of the following options:
  Australian bank account, go to Table 3, Step 1
  Overseas bank account, go to Table 4, Step 1
  Payment nominee (via a bank account), go to Table 4. Step 1

Make sure that the account is held in the name of the customer or their payment nominee only.

For Australian bank accounts in the customer’s name, confirmation of Australian bank account details in writing is not required.

For payment nominees, ensure a completed and signed Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313 or AUS221) form is returned. See Adding or rejecting a nominee request.

Run the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script.

Is the script working?

• Yes,
• Enter the customer's details using the script
• Confirm the bank details have been recorded accurately on PAPO screen and DOC recorded. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Make sure that the account is held in the name of the customer or their payment nominee only.

Update the PAPO screen by coding:

• AUS in Method of payment: field
• the FI country: field as AU for Australia
• the bank/branch BSB code in the FI identifier: field
• the Account Number: field as given by the customer
• the Account title (account holder name) in the Account Title: field
• the Source: and DOR: fields

DOC the information recorded.

Procedure ends here.

To accurately record bank account details given by the customer or the payment nominee, use:

• the required form that has been completed and returned, and/or
• any supporting bank documents (for example, bank statement)

Note: where a customer has provided a bank statement with their nominee or AUS178 form, the details on the bank statement should be used as the primary bank document.

Has the customer requested to be paid into their overseas bank account?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, the customer has completed, signed and returned the Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313 or AUS221) form nominating:
• an organisation as a payment nominee, see Nominee organisations. Procedure ends here
• a person as a payment nominee. Confirm if the bank account is held in the same name as the payment nominee. See Appointing Nominees. Go to Step 2

Note: Due to validation issues, overseas payment details should not be recorded in Process Direct.

A country’s banking requirements must be checked in OBAD before PAPO is coded.

Overseas bank account details must be recorded using the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script in Customer Record, when possible.

For countries that allow payment in 2 currencies (local currency and either USD or EUR), for example, EUR for Croatia and USD for North Macedonia:

• record overseas bank details for one currency via this script, and
• manually record payments made in the other currency

Using the script

The script will:

• code the fields on the Payment Destination Overseas (PAPO) screen for all the methods of payment
• check the details entered are provided in the correct format for the specific country, as each country has different requirements. For example, a 27-character IBAN has been provided for an Italian bank account
• record a DOC including all account details

Always check that PAPO has been updated correctly.

If the overseas financial institution details are not recorded on RDF, error E338PI - Match not found for FI Identifier will appear.

The script will not:

• validate the account number provided
• record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC for a person payment nominee: When a payment nominee's bank account details have been recorded, manually record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer's record, stating that the payment nominee's bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen, due to limitations of the Nominee script
• code any other non-PAPO coding as referenced in OBAD: For example, reformatting the customer’s HOMe address on the Address Details (AD) screen. This coding must be done immediately after PAPO is recorded. This is critical to ensuring payment is successfully delivered to the customer

Is the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script working?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, bank account details are to be manually recorded, go to Step 4

Follow the directions given by the script.

• Record the customer’s or payment nominee’s overseas bank account details exactly as written on any official documents provided
• The account number must be keyed manually twice to confirm that the details are entered correctly
• Do not copy and paste into the script except if the account number is an IBAN that has been validated by the IBAN Validation Tool
• Record the account holder’s name exactly as provided on the official documentation
• The name may differ to the name the customer is primarily known by on their Centrelink record. See Aliases and other names (legal, preferred, sex and gender diverse customers, cultural considerations etc.
• Do not add a title (Mr/Mrs/Ms or similar) if not explicitly stated on the bank statement
• Do not abbreviate the customer’s name, unless specifically stated in the country task card in OBAD. If the customer’s name is too long, record as much of the name the field allows - even if the name is truncated and not in its entirely
• Verify the bank details have been recorded accurately on the PAPO screen and on the DOC
• Code any other non-PAPO coding as referenced in OBAD. For example, reformatting the customer’s HOMe address on the Address Details (AD) screen
• If the customer's record is:
• suspended, see Restoration of payments (CLK). Procedure ends here
• current, procedure ends here

The country’s banking requirements must be checked in OBAD before coding PAPO.

Customer or payment nominee’s overseas bank account can only be coded manually:

• when the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script does not work, or
• for countries that allow payment in 2 currencies and requires manual recording of overseas bank account as per instructions in OBAD

Extra care should be taken to ensure that all details, especially the account number/IBAN, are coded as per the documentation received and validated using the tools available.

Refer to #OBAD Fields Explained for detailed explanations about the fields used on PAPO.

Code all fields on the PAPO screen with the details needed for the applicable country:

• Method of payment: one of the following:
• DIR for an ACH country
• LWR for a Legacy ACH country
• WWR for a WWR country
• FI country: the country in which the bank account is held in. For example, US for United States, GB for United Kingdom
• Note: Some FI international country codes differ from the country codes used by Centrelink, for example, DE for Germany, HR for Croatia. See the list in #OBAD Fields Explained
• FI identifier: if the country needs an FI identifier to be recorded, code the bank/branch code according to the requirement for that country. Otherwise, leave blank
• If the overseas financial institution details are not recorded on RDF, error E338PI - Match not found for FI Identifier will appear
• FI SWIFT/BIC: if the country needs a SWIFT code to be recorded, code the 8 or 11 character SWIFT code. Otherwise, leave blank
• Account Number: enter the account number or IBAN according to the requirement for that country. Check the country's banking requirements in OBAD. If the account number is an IBAN, the IBAN must be validated by entering it into the IBAN Validation Tool
• Account Type: key for US customers only
• Account Title: record the account holder’s name
• Make sure the account is held in the name of the customer or their payment nominee only
• Record the account holder’s name exactly as provided on the official documentation. The name may differ to the name the customer is primarily known by on their Centrelink record. See Aliases and other names (legal, preferred, sex and gender diverse customers, cultural considerations etc)
• Do not add a title (Mr/Mrs/Ms or similar) if not explicitly stated on the bank statement
• Do not abbreviate the customer’s name, unless specifically stated in the country task card in OBAD. If the customer’s name is too long, record as much of the name the field allows - even if it’s recorded truncated and not in it’s entirely
• IBAN: is a display only field
• This field is left blank where the IBAN is recorded as the country’s primary account number in the Account Number: field
• Where a traditional account number is recorded as the country’s primary account number in the Account Number: field, but an IBAN exists for that country and has been provided by the customer, the IBAN is recorded here
• By recording the IBAN in this field for countries that use a traditional account number, if a country changes their banking requirement and mandates the use of an IBAN, the IBAN can be quickly moved from this field to the Account Number: field. No customer contact or follow up will be needed
• Phone number: leave blank
• PayDtl: record any non-account country specific information. For example, payments to Bangladesh need the nationality of the customer, Republic of Korea need the customer's phone number to be provided
• Intermediary Details section – FI Country: field and either the FI Identifier: or FI SWIFT/BIC: field need to be recorded for those countries if the currency paid differs to the local currency. For example, payments to Chile are made in US Dollars, not in local currency Chilean Peso. Therefore, US intermediary details needs to be recorded in this section

Source: and DOR: fields are to be coded accordingly.

Record a DOC.

It is very important to record a PAPO DOC. The PAPO screen does not have a history screen. If the information is lost, there will be no record on the system if a DOC is not properly recorded.

Record a DOC with the following details:

Ext Details: PAPO Update

Txt: PAPO screen has been updated manually based on overseas

bank details provided by <choose: customer/payment nominee>

Details have been provided <choose: in writing/by phone>.

Bank details provided:

Method of payment: <record DIR, LWR or WWR>

FI Country: <record 2-letter country code>

FI Identifier: <record the SWIFT code or FI ID coded>

Account Number: <record the account number or IBAN coded>

Account Title: <record the name of account holder as coded on PAPO>

Extra Information: <section to record any extra information, if required for example, customer verbally confirmed currency of account is Euro etc>

<END OF DOC>

Note: When a payment nominee's bank account details have been recorded:

• Record a Display on Access (DOA DOC on the customer's record, stating that the payment nominee's bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen, due to limitations of the Nominee script
• Code any other non-PAPO coding as referenced in OBAD. For example, reformatting the customer’s HOMe address on the Address Details (AD) screen

If the customer's record is:

• suspended, see Restoration of payments (CLK). Procedure ends here
• current, procedure ends here

This step is to be followed only if the customer has been approved to be paid by cheque by Residence and International program. See Table 2, Step 5.

Cheques can be sent to any country except Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria and Tunisia.

To see what currencies are used for each country, see Currencies used for International cheque payments

Script works:

In Customer Record, run the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script.

• Follow the directions given by the script
• Record a valid direct deposit exemption reason
• Confirm the details have been recorded accurately on the PAPO screen and DOC recorded

Script does not work:

Update the PAPO screen manually:

• Code 'CHQ' in Method of Payment: field
• Code a valid direct deposit exemption reason (to be provided by Residence and International program)
• Code Source: and DOR: fields
• Record a manual DOC with all the details input on the PAPO screen, including exemption reason

If the customer's record is:

• suspended, see Restoration of payments (CLK). Procedure ends here
• current, procedure ends here

Staff may be notified of a change which affects a group of customers whose payments are made to a certain country or bank.

This can include a:

• country:
• placed under international financial sanctions
• experiencing economic or political turmoil not allowing its citizens to withdraw money from their bank account
• banking regulator or central bank changing banking requirements
• bank:
• advising of a sale to another bank (merger) causing the customers’ existing bank details to be invalid
• collapsing and customers no longer able to access their funds from this bank
• no longer accepting payments in the currency in which Centrelink pays customers

When this occurs:

• and the impact is not immediate, there is a limited time before customers' bank details become invalid
• issuing a payment to a sanctioned country or bank account where details are no longer valid is the same as a rejected payment with the following adverse impacts:
• Services Australia incurs a fee for every rejected payment
• Reconciliation of rejected payments is a time-consuming process, resulting in delays in payment delivery to the customer
• customers can face potential financial hardship

Known banking impacts are recorded on OSDD News. See the Resources page for a link to Resources and International program.

A customer may advise in writing or over the phone of a bank merger, or similar, which could affect numerous customers. It is important that staff recognise this and escalate immediately, if the details are not already on OSDD News.

Staff should forward details relating to any unknown widespread banking impact directly to Residence and International program for investigation via email.

The following information is to be provided in the email:

• Type of event (for example, bank merger)
• Which country and/or bank is affected (name of the bank and/or SWIFT/FI ID)
• Date of the event or effect
• If it is:
• a bank merger, include the name of the bank and/or SWIFT/FI ID
• an issue with the currency in which the payment was made, whether the bank can accept a different currency
• Banking impacts. State what is impacted (for example, change in SWIFT/FI ID, new account number/IBAN have been provided)
• CRN of known affected customer(s)

Has the customer provided any bank correspondence showing details of the changes?

• Yes, attach/ to the email and send to Residence and International program
• No, request that the customer provides correspondence from the bank advising of the changes

Residence and International program will investigate and, if appropriate, co-ordinate appropriate actions to ensure customers continue to receive their payments.

Has Residence and International program co-ordinated a bulk customer contact?

• Yes, and information has been provided to staff via the appropriate channels, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 2

Overseas payments may be rejected at different stages by:

• Centrelink's system
• the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
• Citibank
• intermediary or correspondent bank (if applicable)
• the beneficiary's bank

It is important to investigate the reason for the rejection and take appropriate action to stop future rejections.

Payments rejected by Centrelink’s system:

• are easily identified by the reason Rejected payment showing next to the payment on the Payment Summary (PS) screen
• do not have a payment ID allocated to them. the payment ID can be viewed either on the Payment Detail (PD) screen, or the Payment List (PAYSLIST) screen

Was the payment rejected by Centrelink’s system?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

Payments rejected by Centrelink's system are not stripped and sent to the RBA. These payments do not leave the agency. Payments rejected at this stage indicates they have not met minimum Centrelink payment requirements. Reasons include:

• Arrears in excess of system limit
• A maximum arrears amount of A$25,000 can be issued in Environment I at one time
• A rejected payment above of this amount can be reissued by the Service Officer. The system will automatically reissue the amount in separate smaller instalments less than the system limit as part of the reissue process. Do not attempt to reissue large payments in excess of Centrelink system limit via the PYAJ screen. Go to Step 7
• Overseas Financial code is not valid
• Error THIS PAYMENT HAS BEEN REJECTED-O/S FI Table – FI SWIFT/ID code invalid will appear on the Payment Details (PD) screen
• Applies to direct deposit payments if the overseas bank code is not recorded or has been suspended in the overseas FI table (OFS) in RDF
• RDF needs to be checked to ensure the bank details are current (active or suspended). Customer may need to provide updated bank account details
• Payment is to a Group payment schedule
• Payments cannot be made by group payment from a customer record in Environment
• If the customer needs payment by group payment to an organisation in Australia, their record must remain in the local environment and payment will be made every 2 weeks. Otherwise, get the overseas payment details from the customer and update the PAPO screen

Has the problem been corrected?

• Yes, as the payment has not been issued, payment can be reissued immediately if the customer is entitled to it. Go to Step 16
• No, contact CIS VSSO Hub for help

Was the payment made by overseas direct deposit (ACH (DIR) or Legacy ACH (LWR) or Worldlink Wire (WWR))?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No,
• Cheque (CHQ), go to Step 6
• Australian bank account (AUS), see Returned or rejected Centrelink payments

When a payment is rejected by a financial institution (bank), a DOC is normally recorded on the customer's record with the reason for the rejection. The DOC may be recorded by Residence and International program or Finance Tasmania team.

The RBA’s system may reject upfront when:

• ACH or Legacy ACH payment amount is over 12,000 Euro (approx A$18,000)
• WWR payment amounts are under US$25 (approx A$35)
• certain payment requirements are not adhered to (for example, IBAN does not start with the correct country code)

ACH and legacy ACH payments are subject to a maximum limit of 12,500 Euro (approx. A$18,000) limit. This applies to every transaction.

Centrelink’s system does not provide a way to inhibit a payment over this amount and issue in smaller amounts. Payments above this limit will need to be rejected by the RBA’s system. The payment will be returned to Centrelink and then sent to the customer’s bank in smaller amounts.

The RBA will notify Finance Tasmania team when a payment is rejected in this manner. Due to the limited access to the Payment Adjustment (PYAJ) screen, staff in the CIS VSSO Hub will be required to action these cases. Finance Tasmania team will contact CIS VSSO Hub to split the amount and process via the PYAJ screen. A DOC will be placed on the record to advise payment has been rejected.

There is no minimum limit on the amount that can be paid via the ACH payment method.

WWR payments are subject to a US$25 (approx. A$35) minimum limit per transaction.

Unlike the ACH and legacy ACH payment methods, there is no maximum limit on the amount that can be paid via the WWR payment method.

Centrelink’s system does not provide a way to automatically inhibit a payment under this amount and issue in larger amounts. Manual action is required.

Arrears of A$35 or less

Where a customer is receiving their Australian payment via the WWR payment method AND has arrears of $35 or less AND are in receipt of a regular payment, arrears are to be inhibited. Arrears will be paid together with the next regular payment.

Before finalising an activity with arrears less than $35, on the Assessment Results (AR) screen:

• Type ‘Z’ beside the ASC/Z field
• Press [Enter]
• The Assessment Consequences (ASC) screen will appear
• On the ASC screen, the Imm Arr field will be defaulted to Y
• Change the Y to N
• Arrears are now inhibited and will be issued with the next regular payment
• Press [Enter] until the AR screen appears again

Activity can now be finalised. Clearly DOC that arrears have been inhibited and will be paid with the next regular payment.

For final payments (for example, the customer has voluntarily withdrawn their Australian payment), the payment will need to be issued to an Australian bank account that belongs to the customer or their payment nominee. They cannot be issued as a one-off payment because payments are issued via the same WWR payment method.

To record customer’s Australian bank account details, go to Table 3, Step 1.

To appoint a payment nominee in Australia, see Appointing nominees.

Regular payment of A$35 or less

Where the customer’s regular Australian payment every 4 weeks is under the $35 limit, the customer will need to be paid periodically – either every 6 months or 12 months. The period will depend on the amount of Australian payment the customer would be issued for that period. Allowing a payment of $35 or lower to be issued will cause the payment to reject resulting in a delay to the customer receiving their payment (financial hardship), cost to the agency and re-work for staff.

If the customer has not been previously contacted about their 6 or 12 monthly payment frequency, contact the customer, and advise them of the change to their payment frequency.

Where the customer’s 4-weekly payment is A$35 or less AND the total amount for 6 month is:

• greater than A$35 - customer is to be paid every 6 months
• equal to or less than A$35 - customer is to be paid every 12 months

If the customer’s total amount for 12 months is equal to or less than A$30, contact the Residence and International program.

Customer can opt to be paid to a bank account in an ACH country (including Australia) or legacy ACH country or via a payment nominee if they would like to receive their payment, at A$30 or lower amount, every 4 weeks. See Direct deposit methods.

DOC the conversation with the customer.

Suspend the customer’s payment for reason OTH from Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1) under section 52 of the Social Security Administration Act (SSAA) 1999 for 6 or 12 months (as per above) to avoid future or any further payments rejecting. Inhibit the auto advice to the customer.

Record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the customer’s record with subject: WWR payment limit. State reason why customer is to receive 6 or 12 monthly payments and that a new manual review needs to be recorded every 6 or 12 months to ensure the payment is issued to the customer and then suspended while the customer receives this amount. This procedure can be reviewed if the customer’s rate changes.

In Customer Record, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
• Review Reason: ACC (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
• Due Date: 26 week or 52 weeks minus 2 weeks before following pay strip
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: <today's date>
• Notes:
  'Customer paid via WWR to <insert country>. Amount is under US$25 every 4 weeks. Customer to be paid every <6 or 12> months. Customer’s payment is due to be issued <insert pay strip date>. Please SUS/OTH. Refer to OB: 103-04020000 Table 5, Step 5.'
• Keywords:
  BAY4
  RGNWTW
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action.

When the review is due, and the customer is entitled to their payment:

• Restore the customer's payment
• Place a new review on the RVR screen to suspend the customer’s payment soon after the payment has been issued. In Customer Record, create a manual review and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
• Review Reason: ACC (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
• Due Date: <insert 5 business days after pay strip>
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: <today's date>
• Notes:
  'Customer paid via WWR to <insert country>. Amount is under US$25 every 4 weeks. Customer to be paid every 6 or 12> months. Customer to be paid <insert strip date>. Please SUS/OTH. Refer to OB: 103-04020000 Table 5, Step 5. (WWR Payment Limit)'
• Keywords:
  BAY4
  RGNWTW
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank

If the reason for the rejection is not obvious (for example, deceased customer), find the country's banking requirements in OBAD and, check

• the bank account details recorded on PAPO are correct, and
• where applicable, any non-PAPO updates have been correctly coded

This includes:

• the currency of the account (for example, customers in Uruguay can only be paid in a local currency account (Uruguayan New Peso, not in US Dollars)
• the bank account number (for example, traditional bank account number has been recorded instead of an IBAN)
• the name of the account holder is recorded exactly as per the official bank document provided by the customer

If PAPO and non-PAPO coding is correct and the reason for the rejection has not been determined, contact the customer to discuss the reason for the rejection.

Has the reason for rejection been established and bank details corrected?

• Yes, go to Step 16
• No, go to Step 7

Cheques become stale within a certain timeframe if not cashed. Stale cheque timeframes vary from country to country but range from 20 days of the date issued to 6 months.

Cheques may also be returned and scanned to the customer's record with no obvious reason for the return. Returned cheques need to be actioned as returned. See Table 6, Step 4.

Has the reason for the returned or uncashed stale cheque been identified?

• Yes, the cheque has been returned or uncashed due to:
• death of customer. See Requesting refunds and raising debt for payments made after death of customer
• another issue that has since been resolved, go to Step 16
• No, go to Step 9

Customers may experience financial hardship (and re-work to be undertaken by staff) when payments are:

• issued with incorrect bank account details
• reissued without corrective action, or
• issued when it is known the payment will be rejected

It generally takes weeks even months before a payment is rejected/returned by an overseas bank. That is why it is important to ensure preventative measures are taken before issuing payments to an overseas bank account.

Service Officers must take care when:

• recording incomplete or unclear bank or bank account details. Go to Step 8
• reissuing a rejected/returned payment or the cheque has become stale. Go to Step 9
• issuing next or future payment where there is information that the payment may be rejected/returned (due to a bank merger, potential death of a customer or similar). Go to Step 10.

If the customer’s overseas bank account details are not clear or the customer has not provided enough details to code or recode overseas bank account details on the PAPO screen, try to contact the customer and request details (see Table 2, Step 4). Do not assume details.

Customer contacted

If the customer provides over the phone:

• overseas bank account details for:
• a future payment, see Table 4, Step 1
• payment to be reissued, go to Step 15
• Australian bank account details, see Table 3, Step 1

If the customer is unable to provide bank details over the phone, go to Step 11.

Unable to contact

If unable to contact the customer by phone, go to Step 12.

Check the customer’s record for any reason to indicate why the payment may have rejected/returned or the cheque has not been cashed (stale cheque). Ensure customer’s digital documents are investigated too.

If the reason has been recorded by Residence and International or Finance Tasmania team, see payment rejection reasons.

Check OSDD News for details of any known bank mergers or global bank changes.

There may be a single rejected payment or a history of multiple rejections made to the customer’s bank account, even though the bank account details are correct.

The customer may be able to advise the reason for the rejected payment(s). Otherwise, there may be other issues with the account not evident to the customer or Services Australia. The customer may need to contact their bank to seek provide alternative bank account details.

Staff must attempt to contact the customer if the issue is not able to be resolved immediately:

• call the customer to discuss why their payment has rejected and get the new bank account details
• make 2 genuine call attempts
• clearly DOC the call attempts on the customer's record

If customer contact is successful, discuss reason for payment rejection. Request updated bank account details, when required.

If the customer

• provides overseas bank details over the phone
• record the bank account (see Table 4, Step 1)
• go to Step 16
• provides Australian bank account details over the phone
• record the bank account (see Table 4, Step 1)
• go to Step 16
• is unable to provide bank details over the phone, go to Step 11

If unable to contact the customer by phone or call attempts are unsuccessful, go to Step 12.

Do not issue a new cheque to the customer. Make 2 genuine call attempts to contact the customer to discuss:

• why the cheque was returned or not cashed, and
• why they are not receiving their Australian payment via a bank account. Refer to the process in Cheque payment method

To ensure the customer has a valid need to be paid by cheque instead of direct deposit, the customer will need to be re-approved by the Residence and International program in order to continue to receive their Australian payment by cheque.

Does the customer want to be paid by direct deposit?

• Yes,
• via an Australian bank account. Go to Table 3, Step 1
• via an overseas bank account. Go to Table 2, Step 4
• but the customer is unable to provide bank details over the phone, go to Step 11
• No,
• they want to continue being paid by cheque. Go to Table 2, Step 2

If customer contact is unsuccessful, go to Step 12 to suspend the customer’s payment and request bank account details. Ensure the letter contains the 28 day return warning.

It is common for the agency to receive information that will impact a customer’s payment, causing future payments to be rejected/returned.

Common issues include:

• Bank closures and mergers
• International sanctions

This needs to be treated as if the payment has already rejected.

Make 2 genuine call attempts to call the customer and get the new bank account details. Clearly DOC the attempts on the customer's record.

Customer contacted

If the customer wants to provide:

• overseas bank account details, see Table 4, Step 1. Note: request from the customer updated bank details in writing as well
• Australian bank account details, see Table 3, Step 1
• overseas payment nominee request - the customer will need to complete, sign and return the Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313 or AUS221) form. See Table 4, Step 1

If the customer is unable to provide bank details over the phone, go to Step 11.

Unable to contact

If unable to contact the customer by phone or call attempts are unsuccessful, go to Step 12.

The customer may not want to provide their bank account details over the phone. There could be a number of reasons for this, including privacy concerns (are they really talking to staff at Services Australia?) or complex international bank account numbers.

If the customer does not want to give their bank details during this call:

• ask them to call back with their payment information, or
• ask them to provide their updated bank details in writing, preferably via FAX

Tell the customer their payment will be suspended pending this information and to expect a letter with today’s date advising their payment has been suspended. This is to avoid a delay in the bank returning their payment which may be rejected.

• Suspend the customer's payment for reason OTH from Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1) under Section 52 of the Social Security Administration Act (SSAA) 199. Do not inhibit the auto advice to the customer
• In Customer Record, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
• Review Reason: ‘ACC’ (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
• Due Date: <date is 13 weeks from today>
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: <today's date>
• Notes:
  'Customer to provide updated overseas bank account details <insert today's date>. Payment is SUS/OTH pending return within 13 weeks as per s.52 SSAA 1999.'
• Keywords:
  BAY4
  RGNWTW
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank
• DOC actions and conversation with the customer

Procedure ends here.

Consider mail and email options.

Check for any mailing issues for customers outside Australia. Note if the country where the customer receives mail is open or closed to postal services.

Is the postal service open to their country?

• Yes, go to Step 13
• No, go to Step 14

Suspend the customer's payment for reason OTH from Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1) under section 52 of the Social Security Administration Act (SSAA) 1999 for 13 weeks to avoid further payments rejecting. Inhibit the auto advice to the customer

Advise the customer their payment will be held pending updated bank details. A letter and International Bank Account Details (AUS178) form for the customer’s country is to be issued.

• There are 2 letters available using the script in Customer Record. These letters are to be used for direct deposit payments only (not cheque).
• Run the Multi-Lingual Letters Script. Select the appropriate letter:
• PMT001 – bank has merged or customer’s bank details are no longer valid
• PMT002 – payment has been withheld pending the provision of additional information (TAX ID or similar)
• Where the script is not available, or relates to a cheque payment, issue a request to complete form or questionnaire (XOB999 or XOBS32), or a similar letter, to the customer telling them:
• direct deposit payments - further payments will not be issued until requested bank details are provided within 28 days, under section 52 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
• cheque payment - cheque has been returned /is stale and offer payment by direct deposit and updated bank account details are required within 28 days, under section 52 of the Social Security (Administration Act 1999). Include an international Bank Account Details (AUS178) form for the customer's country
• For a bulk action request, Residence and International program will advise which Multi-Lingual Letters Script letter to use or provide approved letter text for XOB999, XOBS32 or similar free text letter if unable to run the script
• For individual cases, or cases where the script letter doesn’t suit, staff need to follow free letter text guidelines
• In Customer Record, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: <customer's payment type>
• Review Reason: ACC (Bank/BS/CU Accounts)
• Due Date: < date is 13 weeks from today>
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: <today's date>
• Notes:
  'Customer to provide updated overseas bank account details <insert today's date>. Payment is SUS/OTH pending return within 13 weeks as per s.52 SSAA 1999.'
• Keywords:
  BAY4
  RGNWTW
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action
• Record actions on a DOC

When the review is due and the customer has not contacted

Attempt to call the customer to get the new bank account details.

If contact is successful, request updated bank account details from the customer over the phone. See Table 2, Step 4

If the customer does not want to give their bank account details during this call:

• Ask them to:
• call back with their payment information, or
• provide updated bank details in writing, preferably via FAX
• Tell the customer their payment will be suspended pending this information
• Clearly DOC the conversation with the customer
• Note that the customer has been advised their payment will be SUS/FRC for up to 13 weeks and then cancelled if updated bank details not received
• Update suspension reason to SUS/FRC under section 81 of the Social Security Act (SSA) 1991
• Do not inhibit the advice to the customer
• Procedure ends here

If unable to contact the customer by phone, check if there are mailing issues for customers outside Australia.

If postal services to the customer’s country are open:

• Extend the suspension for another 13 weeks by changing the suspension reason to SUS/FRC under section 81 of the Social Security Act (SSA) 1991
• Do not inhibit the advice to the customer
• Procedure ends here

If payment suspended SUS/OTH

Does the customer have an email address on the Email Address (EMA) screen or on their record?

• Yes,
• Change the suspension reason to SUS/FRC under section 81 of the Social Security Act (SSA) 1991. Do not inhibit the advice to the customer
• Scan a copy of the auto letter. The letter will be emailed to the customer
• Forward a scanned copy of the auto letter to the CIS VSSO Hub. They will coordinate an email reply. Procedure ends here
• No,
• Payments to remain SUS/OTH Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1) under section 52 of the Social Security Administration Act (SSAA) 1999 for another 13 weeks
• DOC the record or annotate an existing DOC. Document that updated bank account details are still needed but a letter cannot be sent because of postal service closure and customer does not have an email address recorded
• Extend the manual review for an extra 13 weeks to check if mailing delays still apply. Procedure ends here

If payment not suspended

Suspend the customer's payment for reason OTH from Date Last Paid + 1 (DLP + 1) under section 52 of the Social Security Administration Act (SSAA) 1999 for 26 weeks to avoid further payments rejecting.

Does the customer have an email address on the EMA screen or on their record?

• Yes, go to Step 15
• No,
• Payment to remain SUS/OTH for another 13 weeks
• DOC the record or annotate an existing DOC. Document that updated bank account details are still needed but a letter cannot be sent because of postal service closure and customer does not have an email address recorded
• Extend the manual review for an extra 13 weeks to check if mailing delays still apply
• Procedure ends here

Advise the customer their payment will be held pending update bank details. A letter and international Bank Account Details (AUS178) form for the customer’s country is to be issued.

There are 2 letters available using the script in Customer Record only. Run the Multi-Lingual Letters Script. These letters are to be used for direct deposit payment only (not cheque). Select the appropriate letter:

• PMT001 - bank has merged or customer’s bank details are no longer valid
• PMT002 - payment has been withheld pending the provision of additional information (TAX ID or similar)

Note: For cheque payments, a manual letter needs to be issued. See below.

Where the script is not available, issue a request to complete form or questionnaire (XOB999 or XOBS32), or a similar letter, to the customer telling them:

• direct deposit payments - further payments will not be issued until requested bank details are provided within 28 days, under section 52 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
• cheque payment - cheque has been returned /is stale and offer payment by direct deposit and updated bank account details are required within 28 days, under section 52 of the Social Security (Administration Act 1999), and copy of the international Bank Account Details (AUS178) form for their country has been attached

Scan a copy of the auto letter. It will be emailed to the customer.

Forward a scanned copy of the auto letter to the CIS VSSO Hub. They will coordinate an email reply.

Procedure ends here.

Payments rejected by:

• Centrelink’s system can be reissued as soon as the reason for the rejection is resolved
• The RBA – can be reissued immediately
• any other financial institution - generally only reissued to a customer after the payment has been returned to the agency

Returned payments are generally identified in 2 ways:

• on the PS screen with the code 'RTN' and/or
• a rejection DOC recorded by Residence and International program or Finance Tasmania team explaining the return and that staff can reissue payments if appropriate

Note: Where a rejection DOC is recorded by Residence and International program, staff do not need to wait for the PS screen to be recorded with RTN before reissuing.

In limited circumstances, payments can be reissued to customers who are considered to be in financial hardship before advice of their return or return action on the system. However, the customer must be advised that in the event the funds are not returned to the agency a debt will be raised, to recover the issued funds.

To reissue the funds:

• Record the decision to reissue on a DOC
• In Customer Record, run the Payment Suite - International script

Is the script working?

• Yes,
• Note the Delivery Date of the returned payment(s) on the PS screen
• Enter the Delivery Date(s) when prompted by the script. Follow directions given on the screen. Respond to any messages encountered
• Record details in a DOC
• Procedure ends here
• No, follow process in Coding the replacement payment

If the customer advises they have not received their payment, investigate their record. Check if:

• the customer is entitled to the payment (for example, their payment has not been suspended or cancelled)
• the payment has not already been rejected by the Centrelink system or financial institution. See Payment rejection reasons
• an in-country disruption has delayed the customer receiving their payment (for example, a public holiday in the country customer is being paid to)
• the payment is being paid to a bank account that belongs to the customer, and
• enough time has passed for the payment to be delivered

Cheque payment delivery times

The customer should allow about 2 weeks from the issue date of the payment for cheques to arrive.

• Advise the customer that they need to allow enough time for the cheque to be delivered
• Cheques may be delayed due to holiday periods or disruptions in mail in the destination country
• Invite the customer to be paid by direct deposit. See Table 2, Step 3 for the benefits of direct deposit

Overseas direct deposit payment delivery times

Direct deposit payments are delivered within 2 to 6 business days of the issue date. The delivery date showing on the PS screen is the date most direct deposit payments would be delivered by. The date is 7 days after the issue of the payment. See Overseas Payment Schedule for strip and issue dates for payments outside Australia.

Has it been identified why the payment has not been received?

• Yes, and payment has been:
• suspended or cancelled and the customer is not entitled to the payment

Tell them why payment has stopped and, if applicable, what they need to do to have their payments restored. Procedure ends here

• rejected by the Centrelink system or a financial institution, see Table 5, Step 1
• delayed due to a public holiday or similar in the country to which the customer is being paid
  Tell the customer the payment delivery timeframe and ask them to contact again if payment is not received by this date. Procedure ends here
• issued to a bank account that does not belong (and never has belonged) to the customer, go to Step 6

• No, go to Step 2

The customer's method of payment is recorded on the PAPO screen. There are 3 payment methods available to customers overseas:

• Direct deposit (DIR, LWR, WWR)
• Australian bank account (AUS)
• Cheque (CHQ)

If the customer is paid to an Australian bank account, see Replacement payments.

Has the payment been issued to an overseas bank account?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, it has been sent by cheque. Go to Step 4

Find the country in OBAD to check overseas banking requirements for each country.

Check the bank account details recorded on PAPO are correct. This includes:

• the currency of the account (for example, a US dollar account has been recorded on PAPO for a customer in Chile and bank account details provided by the customer confirm US dollar account, not local currency (Chilean Peso) account))
• the bank account number (for example, bank account recorded in the correct format)
• the name of the account holder is recorded exactly as per the official bank document provided by the customer (for example, surname then first name)
• country pay file requirements are met (for example, customers in US must have the HOMe address recorded in a specific format and the address must match the address on the bank account)

Was the payment issued to the correct bank account?

• Yes, and the customer:
• states they have not received their payment, go to Step 5
• is unable to retrieve the payment from their open overseas bank account, Centrelink is unable to request a recall of a payment issued to the correct bank account. The customer needs to contact their bank directly. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 6

A stop cheque needs to be requested before a replacement cheque can be issued. This process will confirm that the cheque issued to the customer has not been cashed.

The customer must be advised not to cash the original cheque if it is delivered after the 'stop request' is placed, as this may result in their bank charging dishonour fees.

• In Customer Record, run the Payment Suite - International script
• Complete the customer details, following the directions given on the screen. Respond to any messages encountered
• The script will record 2 DOCs.
• The first is a Data DOC that is automatically allocated to the Finance Tasmania team to action.
• The second is a Stop DOC that has the information in a readable format. This DOC needs to be placed on hold by the actioning officer for 7 business days pending Finance Tasmania team's outcome. If an outcome has not been received within this time frame, follow up with this team

The Finance Tasmania team will confirm if the cheque has/has not been cashed. It may take as little as one week before a Results DOC is placed on the customer's record with the outcome to this request.

Cheque stop is successful

Only if the cheque stop is successful can a replacement cheque be issued. See Table 5, Step 5.

Cashed Cheque

If the stop cheque request outcome shows that the cheque has been cashed:

• contact the customer to advise the result
• ask the customer if they cashed the cheque or if they believe it has been fraudulently negotiated
• If the stop cheque was legally cashed, procedure ends here

Fraudulently cashed cheque

If the customer advises the cheque has been fraudulently negotiated:

• invite the customer to be paid by direct deposit. See Table 2, Step 3
• the customer will need to provide:
• 4 samples of their usual signature
• signed affidavit confirming they were never in possession of the cheque nor did they cash it
• contact the Finance Tasmania team to tell them of possible fraudulent negotiation. They will investigate and advise of results to the actioning Service Officer. This will take at least 4 weeks

If the investigation confirms the cheque was:

• fraudulently cashed:
• issue a replacement payment only once a signed affidavit is received. Go to Step 11
• cashed by the customer:
• Finance Tasmania team will provide a copy of the cashed cheque to be forwarded to the customer
• contact the customer and advise them of the outcome, provide a copy of the cashed cheque
• advise the customer a replacement cheque will not be issued. Procedure ends here

Before a trace can be undertaken, the customer will first need to contact their bank to confirm payment(s) has not been received.

Give the customer the following details to help their bank in tracing the missing payment(s):

• Date payment was issued
• Expected time frame for delivery to the bank
• The AUD amount
• The foreign currency amount issued
• See OBAD for the currency paid to the country
• See Resources page for exchange rates used for overseas direct deposit payments
• 16 digit Payment ID/TRN of the missing payment(s)

The customer will need to provide a copy of their bank statement showing all transactions for the last 3 months before and at least one month after the expected payment.

If the payment is to a bank account in the Czech Republic or Turkey, contact the Finance Tasmania team to check if the payment has been returned to Services Australia Citibank account, but not yet identified.

Trace process

A trace can be put on a payment to a Worldlink Wire, ACH or Legacy ACH country when the customer declares they have not received a direct deposit payment into their bank account but the money has not been returned to Centrelink over at least a 2 or 3 month period.

Once bank statements have been provided by the customer, give the following information to the Finance Tasmania team:

• Customer's CRN
• Date of issue of payment to be traced
• The AUD amount
• The foreign currency amount issued
• See OBAD for the currency paid to the country
• See Resources page for exchange rates used for overseas direct deposit payments
• 16 digit Payment ID/TRN of the missing payment(s)

Record all information in a DOC.

When the results of the trace are known, the Finance Tasmania team will contact the Service Officer with the outcome.

Procedure ends here.

Was the payment incorrectly paid to another person?

• Yes, and the recipient is:
• an existing customer, go to Step 7
• unknown, go to Step 8
• No, but payment was made to a payment nominee with whom the customer:
• has a voluntary payment nominee arrangement in place when the payment was delivered. The customer cannot have the payment replaced. The customer will need to contact their former payment nominee and request the payment themselves. Procedure ends here
• has an involuntary payment nominee arrangement
  Payment details cannot be cancelled without the authority of the nominee. See Cancelling a nominee arrangement. Procedure ends here
• has stopped the nominee arrangement but the payment has been incorrectly issued to the former payment nominee's account, go to Step 7

Overseas bank account details belonging to a customer may have been incorrectly recorded on another customer’s record. The recipient who owns the bank account details may be a customer or payment nominee and be:

• in receipt of 2 Centrelink payments – based on bank account details recorded on their record as well as on the incorrect customer’s record
• suspended, pending updated bank account details - bank details were incorrectly recorded on a record belonging to another customer who also had stopped receiving payments

If the incorrect recipient is known and it is not a case of suspected fraud, the bank account holder, regardless of whether they are a customer or payment nominee must be contacted by phone (where applicable) to make them aware that they have received payment(s) they were not entitled to.

Use extreme care to protect the identity and privacy of the correct recipient.

As the payment has been successfully credited to a valid bank account, the overseas financial institution will not consider the return of the funds without the recipient being informed and permission sought.

Is the incorrect recipient able to return the amount owed to Services Australia?

• Yes:
• Advise the incorrect recipient to contact their bank and request payment is returned to the agency within the next 28 calendar days. Customers should send payments to:
  Bank: Reserve Bank of Australia
  Address of bank: GPO Box 3947, Sydney NSW 2001 AUSTRALIA
  Account Number: 318778 (Note: Australia does not use IBANs)
  Name on account: CSDA Official Collectors Receipts Account
  SWIFT: RSBKAU2S
  BSB: 093003
  The incorrect recipient must include their CRN, or if payment nominee, the CRN of the customer on whose behalf they are receiving payments, in the comments/description section of the wire. The CRN is required to help identify the customer
• If no funds or only part of the payment is returned, a debt will need to be raised on the incorrect recipient (customer), regardless if they or their payment nominee are the recipient, to recover the remainder of the funds. See Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
  If incorrect recipient is a payment nominee, Service Officer must review nominee arrangements
• Record a DOC on the incorrect recipient’s record providing date, time and method of contact as well as what was discussed, agreed to (return funds or raise debt) and any other action taken
• No:
• Advise the incorrect recipient that a debt will be raised, regardless if they or their payment nominee are the recipient to recover the remainder of the funds
• Raise a debt against the incorrect recipient. See Create a new debt record manually on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• If incorrect recipient is a payment nominee, Service Officer must review nominee arrangements
• Record a DOC on the incorrect recipient’s record providing date, time and method of contact as well as what was discussed and agreed to (return funds or raise debt) and any other actions taken

For the customer who did not receive payments they were entitled to due to administrative error:

• Update PAPO with the customer’s correct overseas bank account details. Go to Step 10
• Issue (reissue) all payments owed to the customer. Go to Step 11
• If payments are unable to be reissued via the PS screen, PYAJ may need to be used is there are issues reissuing via the PS screen
• Ensure the customer has been contacted (preferably by phone) to advise them what has occurred and action taken
• Do not disclose any details of the incorrect recipient
• Record a DOC on the customer’s record advising what has occurred and what action has been taken
• Do not record the incorrect recipient’s CRN or name in the DOC

Procedure ends here.

Overseas payment details may have been provided to Services Australia that:

• contain incorrect account details (for example, Incorrect digit in the account number or IBAN) provided by the customer or payment nominee
• have been incorrectly recorded on PAPO by a Service Australia officer

Confirm the customer's correct account details and make sure PAPO screen is updated accordingly. Go to Step 10.

Before considering reissuing payment(s) to the customer, the bank must be contacted and refund requested.

Refund from the financial institution

Request a refund of payment directly from the bank:

• Send an XOB999 letter to the financial institution. Use the following approved text:

Payment(s) for the amount of <amount in foreign currency> issued <insert date/s> from Services Australia has been incorrectly paid to a person who is not our customer. Payment was issued to - Name of account holder: <insert full name of non-customer OR unknown> holds account number <insert non-customer’s account number or IBAN> via SWIFT/FI ID <insert non-customer’s SWIFT of FI ID>.

As we do not have any contact details, we are unable to contact this person. Please advise the account holder they have incorrectly received payment from Services Australia and arrange the refund of amount issued.

Please contact the Reserve Bank of Australia (SWIFT: RSBKAU2S) for further payment details or to confirm refund. Quote: INC RCP <insert customer’s CRN> in your SWIFT message to the bank.

This request is provided under s1234A of the Australian Social Security Act 1991.

Note: if the approved text does not meet the specific circumstances, an XOB999 should be drafted and submitted for approval by CIS VSSO hub as per the free letter text guidelines.

Reissuing payment(s)

If the customer provided incorrect bank account details:

• ensure correct bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen. Go to Step 10
• if the customer is experiencing financial hardship, the payment can be reissued before the outcome of the request for a refund. However:
• advise the customer that a debt will be raised against them in 28 calendar days to recover the funds issued to the incorrect account. To raise a debt against the customer, see General debt raising information. If funds are successfully returned to Services Australia within 28 calendar days, no debt will be recorded against the customer. Once the customer has repaid their debt in part or full, arrears will be issued to the customer. See How to manually calculate arrears

If an administrative error was made by a Services Australia Officer:

• ensure correct bank account details have been recorded on the PAPO screen
• issue (reissue) payment(s) owed to the customer. Go to Step 11
• if payments are unable to be reissued via the PS screen, PYAJ may need to be used
• for any debt relating to an administrative error, see Administrative error waivers

Record details on a DOC.

Procedure ends here.

An overseas financial institution may request via the RBA detailed payment information relating to a refund request.

The request will be sent to Residence and International program who will then consider forwarding to actioning Service Officer to provide the required payment details.

When requested, download the Payment refund request template and complete the details in the spreadsheet.

Completing the template

The following details must be provided for every payment:

• Payment period. Payment period is located on the Payment Details (PD) screen
• Payment ID/TRN
• AUD amount. The Australian dollar amount issued
• Foreign Exchange rate. The foreign exchange rate used for that payment. See:
• OBAD for the currency paid to the country
• Resources page for a list of exchange rates applied to 4 weekly payments outside Australia
• Foreign currency amount issued. The amount in the correct foreign currency amount for the country (to derive this, multiple the AUD amount with the Foreign Exchange rate)
• Payment issued. Date payment was issued
• See Resources page for Overseas Payment Schedule
• Comments. Any comments, if required (for example, part payment owed)

Staff are to provide these details via email to Residence and International program.

Record all information requested in a DOC.

The customer must provide bank account details for an account they have legal access to (either solely or jointly).

Note: not every country has joint bank account facilities. The name on the bank account must include the name of the customer or payment nominee.

A customer can give their overseas payment destination details verbally. Make sure that all details are provided and/or confirmed. This includes:

• confirming the currency of the account
• confirming the exact name of the account holders
• for IBAN, ensuring it is validated by entering it into the IBAN Validation Tool. Refer to OBAD for country specific requirements

Ask the customer to provide verification of their new payment details as soon as possible, for example, an official bank statement.

In Customer Record, run the Payment Suite - International script.

Is the script working?

• Yes:
• Note the Delivery Date of the returned payment(s) on the PS screen
• Choose Reissue a Payment
• Enter the Delivery Date(s) when prompted the script
• Follow directions given on the screen. Respond to any messages encountered
• The script will create a DOC. Annotate the DOC with any additional information, as required
• Procedure ends here
• No, follow process in Coding the replacement payment