Online claim for Mobility Allowance 008-05010030

Customers can use the Payment and Service Finder on the Services Australia website or in their Centrelink online account to check if MOB is an appropriate payment for them. See Resources for a link.

The claim will have known data pre-filled, for example relationship details. They will only have to confirm existing or provide new information.

To start a claim, they need to have a Centrelink online account linked to their myGov account.

To start an online claim for MOB, customers need to:

• Sign in to myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• From the MENU, select Payments and claims > Claims > Make a claim
• On the Make a Claim page, select Get started in the Disabled, ill or injured category
• Select Apply for Mobility Allowance
• The Check your eligibility to claim Mobility Allowance page will show. The customer must select Begin, then
• read the Privacy Notice and answer whether they agree with the privacy agreement
• launch the Digital Assistant if they need help to explain questions in the claim
• answer ‘Check your eligibility’ questions to make sure they are claiming the most appropriate payment based on their circumstances. For MOB, these ‘Check your eligibility’ questions include:
• Do you agree with the privacy agreement?
• Are you in Australia right now?
• Are you either an Australian Citizen, a permanent Australian visa holder or a New Zealand passport holder with a Protected Special Category Visa (SCV)?
• Do you need a lot of help to use public transport due to your disability, illness or injury?
• Do you expect your disability, illness or injury to impact your ability to use public transport for at least 12 months?
• Are you currently getting funded support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)?
• Have you been given a car from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs under the Vehicle Assistance Scheme (VAS) or the Motor Vehicle Compensation Scheme (MVCS)?
• Are you undertaking one or more of the following: Paid work, Self-employment, Vocational training or study (including independent living or life skills training), Voluntary work, Job Search activities, Disability Employment Services?

After selecting Continue, the Introduction page will show and the customer can select Begin to start their Mobility Allowance claim. See Resources for a link to the Services Australia website.

To access their online claim, customers need to:

• sign in to myGov and access their linked Centrelink online account
• from the MENU, select Payments and claims > Claims > My online claims
• if there are no claims in progress, the Make a Claim page shows
• if there is a started claim select either Continue or Cancel the claim

The My online claims page will show if there are incomplete, complete, withdrawn or cancelled claims.

Online claim status

Online claim status explanations on the My online claims page in Centrelink online account:

• Incomplete claims are claims that a customer has started or require additional information from a customer and submission before they are processed. Customers can select Continue claim to go to their claim or Cancel claim to cancel it. An incomplete claim will expire after 13 weeks. Submitted claims are claims waiting to be processed and cannot be edited by anyone online. Customers can withdraw their claim by selecting Withdraw on the My online claims page
• Cancelled claims are claims that were cancelled by a customer before the claim was submitted. Before the claim is cancelled customers are advised that:
• If you decide to apply for a payment after cancelling this claim, you will need to complete and lodge a new claim online
• Do you understand that:
  after it is cancelled, this claim cannot be viewed or continued
  this action cannot be undone
• Completed claims have been processed and are either granted or rejected.
  Note: the rejection reason is not shown on this page
• Withdrawn claims are claims a customer submitted then withdrew because they chose not to pursue it. Customers are advised before withdrawing their online claim that:
• after it is withdrawn, it cannot be reinstated
• they cannot apply for a formal review of this decision
• for more details, see Withdrawal of claims

ACC only

Draft claims are claims that a customer has started online but not submitted. Service Officers can use Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) to finalise questions and submit these claims in discussion with a customer.

For more details, see Viewing and processing online and Assisted Customer Claim (ACC).

The Claim navigation page shows the steps the customer must complete. The customer must complete the steps in the following order:

• Your personal details, see Table 2
• Your circumstances, see Table 3
• Your financial details, see Table 4
• Review and confirm, see Table 5

Select Start to begin each step.

Each step includes modules with relevant questions. The customer can select Previous on each page to go back to the previous question.

The Digital Assistant provides help text to customers with the questions on the current page. They can select Launch the digital assistant, or highlight the digital assistant text, to access help. Staff can also help customers by viewing the details of the online claim. See Viewing and processing Online Claims and Assisted Customer Claim (ACC).

The Claim navigation page will set each step to Completed when the customer has finished it. They can then select Start in the next step.

Customers can change their answers after completing a step by selecting Edit in the relevant step.

Customers can access and complete their claim over multiple sessions. They can leave the Claim navigation page at any time and their responses will be saved.

Customers must answer all mandatory questions.

For Mobility Allowance, question sets include:

• Personal details - personal and interpreter details, identity, address, contact details
• Contact Requirements - Permission to Enquire, Nominee (person or organisation)
• Australian Residence

Some of this information may automatically pre-populate from their record. The customer can edit the answers if they have changed.

Question sets will depend on the customer’s circumstances and the payment they are claiming.

Your activities

Details of any of the following approved activities currently held on the customer's record will show:

• Paid work
• Self-employment
• Vocational training or study (including Independent Living Skills or Life Skills courses)
• Voluntary work
• Job Search activities
• Disability Employment Service

It includes the option to:

• update an existing activity by selecting the Edit button
• delete an activity by selecting the Delete button, or
• add a new activity by selecting the Add button. Go to Item 2

If the existing information is no longer current, the customer can select the Delete button to remove it before adding a new approved activity.

The customer needs to select Add, then choose one of the following approved activities from the dropdown list:

• Paid work
• Self-employment
• Vocational training or study (including Independent Living Skills or Life Skills courses)
• Voluntary work
• Job Search activities
• Disability Employment Service

The next fields vary depending on the type of approved activity chosen from the dropdown list. All options require the customer to provide:

• details of the approved activity such as the name of the business, employer, organisation or provider
• address and contact number of the business, employer, organisation or provider
• start date of the activity. Note: if they enter a date in the future, an error message will advise Date cannot be in the future, and they are not able to proceed
• more details, depending on the type of approved activity selected. This may include course dates, hours of employment, start date of activity duties undertaken as part of voluntary work and a question asking if the customer is required to travel to and from home to undertake their approved activities

The customer is given an option to get an advance lump sum of Mobility Allowance for at least 6 months, if their claim is successful.

If they choose to get an advance payment of MOB, they will not get any fortnightly payment for 6 months.

If the customer indicates they want to get an advance payment, they are asked if they plan to leave Australia within the next 6 months.

If the customer selects Yes, they are advised:
To receive a Mobility Allowance Advance payment you must remain qualified for this payment for the next 6 months. You have advised you plan to travel overseas in the next 6 months therefore you are not eligible for an Advance payment.

Current payment destination details will show if the customer is currently in receipt of a payment. The customer can either select this account or add a new one.

Customers need to provide bank account details, including:

• branch (BSB) number
• account number
• name of account (it must be in their name, or a joint account including their name)

If the customer requested a nominee to get their payments, they are required to give their own bank account details to make sure they get their payment until their nominee arrangement starts.

Payment destination page in Assisted Customer Claim (ACC)

If the customer advises they do not have a bank account and they have barriers to opening a bank account, a temporary exemption can be granted for 28 days.
Note: the customer will not get any payments until they provide a payment destination.

To bypass the Payment destination page, select the I do not have bank account details checkbox. No account information will be saved and the Service Officer can continue the claim through to submission.

Before selecting the checkbox, consider all of the following:

• this option must not be selected where the customer has a bank account but is unable to provide the details when ACC is being completed
• this checkbox must only be selected if the customer does not own a bank account and is unable to provide a payment destination within 14 days because they have barriers in opening a bank account or where no payment destination is provided within a paper claim
• where this option is selected, the customer must be advised that they will not receive any payments until a payment destination is provided
• the customer must be advised to provide their bank details as early as possible

For more information, see Payment destination.

The Confirm details page contains a summary of tasks to be completed and all the information given by the customer so they can check what they have entered is correct.

The customer’s answers are grouped into sections:

• Personal details (About me)
• Contact requirements (Nominee (person or organisation) or person permitted to enquire),
• Residency (Australian residence, countries lived in)
• Circumstance details (Mobility Allowance activity details)
• Financial details (Payment Instructions)

If all the information is correct, the customer needs to:

• select Next
• accept the Declaration, then select Next
• accept the Acknowledgement, then select Next
• select Submit

For ACC

• Tell the customer the documents and forms they need. This will appear on the task list
• Explain the options available to them to upload their documents online

To submit their claim, customers must:

• answer all mandatory questions in each step
• accept a declaration and acknowledgement

Customers will need to verify their identity in person when:

• their Identity Status is Not Confirmed or is not shown on the Identity Confirmation Dashboard in Process Direct, or
• they are deemed as exempted

After a customer submits their claim, they cannot update their online claim answers. They will need to contact the agency if they want to provide information in relation to their submitted claim.

A Receipt page shows that includes:

• Claim submission date
• Claim ID
• due date to complete outstanding tasks
• a list of Required tasks to complete
• some tasks may have information that link out to a website page to explain what type of documents are required and valid for this task. This is accessed by selecting a word underlined in the task.
• a link to download or print required forms
• an Upload button to use the Upload documents service
• Mobility Allowance Medical Report
• a link to a fillable PDF version of the Medical Report - Mobility Allowance (MA002)
• the date by which the Medical Report must be returned
• information about how the Medical Report can be completed and how to return it to Services Australia
• a link to Additional information. This section includes the due date and instructions to complete and return the Mobility Allowance Medical Report
• View claim history button to view the history of their claim, including any tasks they have completed
• View claim answers button to view the information they provided

Customers can use the Upload documents service to provide further information or documents for their claim.

The system automatically:

• creates a Process Direct transaction
• creates a DOC which includes documents requested through Tasks to be completed

Customers can:

• track the progress of their claim using the Claim Tracker
• access their submitted online claim and return to the Claim details page at any time

The Claim details page shows:

• Date of submission
• Claim ID
• 3 phase claim tracker

Customers can select:

• View claim history to view the history of their claim, including any tasks they have completed
• View claim answers to view the information they provided

Customers can:

• cancel their online claim before it is submitted
• withdraw their online claim after it is submitted

See Cancel or withdraw an online claim

Customers who provide a mobile phone number or email address will be advised they will automatically be subscribed to the Electronic Messaging service unless they have previously declined. They will be asked to nominate a preferred contact method (SMS or email) for notifications.

Customers will also be subscribed to get their Centrelink letters online. They will be delivered to their myGov Inbox.

The customer is advised they can opt out of these services at any time.

On the Claim details page, the customer can select View claim answers to view the claim information they gave and print the page.