Paid Parental Leave (PPL) employer initiated reviews and appeals 109-05100000

• For an employer determination decision, go to Step 2
• For a PPL funding amount decision, go to Step 6
• If a held DOC created to change the paymaster role has become due and has been allocated to the Paid Parental Leave Employer Processing Team (PPLEPT) to action, go to Step 9

Employers have 14 days after they are given written notice of the employer determination decision to apply for a formal review. Note: the time taken to deliver the notice must be taken into account when deciding if the employer has applied for a formal review within 14 days of being given the notice.

The application for a formal review must be in writing and be signed by a person authorised by the employer.

Has the application been made in writing by an authorised person within 14 days of the employer being given written notice of the decision?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, tell the employer they cannot apply for a formal review. If the employer refuses to accept the employer determination, start the Assisted dispute resolution process. Procedure ends here

An application for a formal review must include supporting documentary evidence or a statutory declaration.

Note: documentary evidence may include such things as records of the employment start and/or termination date.

In Process Direct, check if the employer is registered for Business Hub. Search for the employer's CRN from:

• the Business Hub Access management tile, and
• the Business Hub Request Documents tile

If the employer is registered in Business Hub, they must upload supporting documents. They do this through the Providing Parental Leave Pay for new claimant's tile.

To view documents provided by the employer:

• Enter the Process Direct Inbox
• Key the organisation CRN. The CRN must be 10 consecutive characters with no spaces. For example, 408XXXXXXA

Select the below:

• Provider Change of Circumstances from the Main Category
• Employment requests review from Benefit
• Go
• the Employer Requests Review work item
• Application to ensure the work item is for the relevant employee
• Documents to view the employer uploaded document
• Status, then Change Status and select Completed for Possible Status
• Save

To assess the Employer Determination grounds for review, go to Step 4.

If the employer is not registered in Business Hub and:

• is registered in Centrelink Business Online Services, check Organisational Online Mail for supporting documents
• is not registered for online services, check for supporting documents sent via mail, email or fax

Does the application for a formal review include documentary evidence or a statutory declaration?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, make genuine attempts to contact the employer. If the contact is:
• successful, advise the employer as they have not provided evidence to support their application for a formal review, a review cannot be done. Discuss the employer determination and if the employer refuses to accept the determination, commence the Assisted dispute resolution process. Procedure ends here
• not successful, start the Assisted dispute resolution process. Procedure ends here

An application for a formal review may only be made on the following grounds:

• the employee will not receive PPL for at least 40 consecutive PPL days that are week days, or
• the employee has not, or will not have been an employee for at least 12 months before the baby's expected date of birth (for pre-birth claims), or the later of the expected date of birth or actual date of birth (for post birth claims), or
• the employee is not an employee for which a mandatory employer determination is made and the employer has not elected to provide PPL to that employee, or class of employee, or
• the employee is not likely to be an Australian-based employee of the employer for the required period, or
• the employer does not have an Australian Business Number

Has the employer applied for a formal review for one of these reasons?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, make genuine attempts to contact the employer. If the contact is
• successful, advise the employer as they have not apply for a formal review for one of the above reasons, a review cannot be done. Discuss the employer determination and if the employer refuses to accept the determination, commence the Assisted dispute resolution process. Procedure ends here
• not successful, start the Assisted dispute resolution process. Procedure ends here

If 28 days or more of arrears have accrued, the paymaster role needs transferring from the employer to Services Australia to avoid payment delays to the employee. The paymaster role should be transferred, not revoked, as this will ensure the PPL employer determination remains in force while the review is being completed.

Have 28 days of PPL arrears accrued?

• Yes, contact the employee to discuss transferring the paymaster role from the employer to Services Australia:
• Confirm with the employee that the transfer will not impact any salary obligations they may have such as salary sacrificing
• Inhibit all employer advices
• For coding of PPL delivery transfers, see Table 4 in Delivery of PPL
• Go to Step 7
• No, if the formal review is in progress:
• DOC the employee’s record - create a Fast Note by selecting Auto text, use Families > Paid Parental Leave > PPL Determination Review > 28 days
• HLD the DOC for 28 days from the employee’s first PPL day
• Go to Step 7

An application for a formal review must be made:

• within 14 days after the day of the second payroll cut-off in relation to the PPL funding amount
• in writing and be signed by a person authorised by the employer

Has the application been made in writing by an authorised person within 14 days of the second payroll cut-off?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, make genuine attempts to contact the employer. If the contact is:
• successful, advise the employer that a review cannot be done. Discuss the PPL funding amount decision and commence the Assisted dispute resolution process. Procedure ends here
• not successful, start the Assisted dispute resolution process. Procedure ends here

For help recoding the application, see Request for an explanation or application for a formal review.

Has the employer requested their application be withdrawn?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, procedure ends here

The employer may withdraw their application at any time before the review is completed. This can be verbally or in writing.

A withdrawn application is 'taken never to have been made'.

For help with recoding the withdrawal, see Request for an explanation or application for a formal review.

• If less than 14 days have passed since the employer was given written notice of the employer determination, see Employer registration for PPL
• If 14 days or more have passed since the employer was given written notice of the employer determination, see Table 2 of Assisted dispute resolution for employer obligations for PPL

Procedure ends here.

If 28 days or more of arrears have accrued, the paymaster role may need to be transferred from the employer to Services Australia.

Has the employer accepted the employer determination?

• Yes,
• Annotate and close the due DOC on the employee’s record
• Procedure ends here
• No,
• Contact the employee to discuss transferring the paymaster role from the employer to Services Australia
• Confirm with the employee that the transfer will not impact any salary obligations they may have, such as salary sacrificing
• Inhibit all employer advices
• For coding of PPL delivery transfers, see Table 4 in Delivery of PPL
• Annotate and close the due DOC on the employee’s record
• Go to Step 10

The ARO will create a review outcome DOC on the employer's record. This DOC will contain instructions for implementing the ARO's decision.

For help with implementing the ARO's decision, see SME explanations, ARO referrals and implementing ARO decisions.

The ARO will send an outcome letter to the employer. This letter will set out the relevant legislation, findings of fact and reasons for the ARO's decision. It will also explain the employer's right to request a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and provide the AAT's contact details.

When allocated, the ARO decision work item is to be re-categorised via Work Optimiser as 'ZIAM_EIR_PEP_ARO'.

Procedure ends here.

To request an AAT review, the employer must submit an application via the AAT website, by phone or in person. If an application for an AAT review is received by Services Australia, it must be sent to the AAT as soon as possible and not more than 7 days after it is received.

An application for an AAT first review of an employer determination or funding amount decision must be made within 14 days after the day on which the ARO decision was made.

For help with implementing the AAT decision, see Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). An employer cannot seek an AAT second review.