Suspension of Mobility Allowance (MOB) 008-05070010

Has a letter been returned to the agency for the reason 'return to sender - no longer at this address'?

• Yes, see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Payment may be suspended if a customer is temporarily not qualified for payment or the payment is not payable because of:

• a failure to comply with the requirements for payment, or
• information is required to ensure that payments are directed correctly (such as a valid address or bank account details)

Reasons for suspension are:

• there is no payment destination coded
• a direct credit payment is returned
• a review form is not returned by the due date
• verification information is not returned by the due date
• whereabouts is unknown
• failed to reply to correspondence

Is it appropriate to consider suspending payment?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, procedure ends here

MOB must not be suspended if:

• it is only suspected a customer is no longer eligible for payment
• there is unverified information (for example, a tip-off) which suggests the customer may not be eligible

A decision to suspend must not be made without the customer being given the opportunity to provide information to address any adverse outcome.

Has the customer been issued with an appropriate request for information/action?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 4

Information must be requested from the customer via a notice under the appropriate section of the Social Security (Administration) Act: Sections 63, 67, 68 or Part 5/Division 1.

Requests for information must include:

• details of the information/action required
• the timeframe for response (noting this must be reasonable)
• the consequences of non-compliance, and
• reference to the relevant Act under which the request has been made

Issue a request for the required information. See Requesting information (CLK)and mail delivery information.

If the customer has a correspondence nominee, copies of letters and notices must also be sent to the nominee. Payment must not be suspended if contact with the nominee has not been made or attempted.

Procedure ends here until the information is provided or the review for the return of information has matured.

Has the customer responded to the request for information/action within the timeframe allowed?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, and
• the request was 'returned to sender', see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink, or
• the timeframe has elapsed without a response, go to Step 6

If the request for information work item falls due and the customer has not responded, determine if special circumstances exist to warrant an extension of time to respond.

Special circumstances may include:

• customer has practical difficulties in meeting the timeframe because they live in a remote area or overseas, and the necessary timeframe was not provided with the original request
• customer needs to get the documents from a third party, or
• an emergency interfering with the claimant's plans to lodge within the timeframe. Generally, the emergency is unforeseen and for a short term. For example:
• a medical emergency
• a family emergency
• recognised natural disasters

Is an extension required?

• Yes, resubmit the request for information and DOC the reason for extension including special circumstances. Procedure ends here until response is received or new reasonable timeframe is reached
• No, the customer has failed to reply to correspondence, see Step 1 in Table 2

Update the customer's record with the information provided. If the customer's circumstances preclude payment, MOB will automatically suspend or cancel.

Record a DOC on the customer's record as per Online Document Recording (ODR).

Check a notification has been sent advising customer of the outcome including their review and appeal rights.

Procedure ends here.

Payment must only be suspended when:

• there is sufficient evidence the customer is not qualified for the payment, or the payment is not payable
• the period of ineligibility is expected to be for a short time or where there is reason to believe non-compliance with any legislative issues will be resolved, and
• all necessary actions have been completed, for example, information requested, attempted customer contact

Is the decision to suspend MOB correct?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, record a DOC on the customer's record providing information on why a manual suspension is now not required, as per Online Document Recording (ODR). Procedure ends here

Update the customer’s record with the information provided.

Where possible, the system makes an automatic determination and issues a suspension letter to the customer and nominee (if relevant).

If the system does not automatically suspend, MOB must be manually suspended. In the customer’s record, go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen and code the following:

• ‘MOB’ in the Svc Rsn: field
• ‘SUS’ in the Action: field
• the suspension reason in the Reason: field
• the date the suspension is to take effect, in the Effect Date: field
• the Source: field and DOR: field
• Include the following details on a DOC if relevant:
• decision made, payment type and Act/Guide reference upon which decision was based, see Online Document Recording (ODR)
• date of effect of decision
• reason for decision if made under section 80, including why the person was not qualified or why the payment is not payable
• details of the non-compliance with a notice if decision made under section 81
• follow up action required on contact
• if contact with the assessing Service Officer is required before restoration can take place or whether Smart Centre Call staff may restore the payment
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen:
• If the suspension code of Other ('SOT') was used, inhibit the automatic suspension letter in the Actions section before finalising the activity
• Finalise the activity

See Table 3 for sending a manual advice.

If a Q134 letter must be sent to the customer following the suspension activity, a Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity is generated, usually overnight, and allocated by Workload Manager (WLM) for a Service Officer to action.

Has a manual suspension letter already been issued to the customer at the time of suspension?

• Yes, finalise the MFU
• No, send a manual letter. Select the MFU from the Activity List (AL) screen and manually issue a Q134 letter. The letter must include the following information:
• payment type
• decision
• date of effect of the decision
• a clear explanation of the reason for the decision
• a clear explanation of what they must do to have their payment restored and the consequences for not doing this (that is, payment will be cancelled)
• a reasonable timeframe to take required action to avoid cancellation
• their review and appeal rights
• the relevant section of the legislation under which the decision was made

If a customer contacts about the suspension of their MOB, see Restoration of Mobility Allowance (MOB) for follow-up action.