Farm Household Allowance (FHA) 002-02000000

The Farmer Assistance Line staff assist customers with all general enquiries regarding payments and services for rural customers and farmers. This will ensure an appropriate referral is made when an enquiry requiring specialised expertise (such as social work or complex assessment) is received.

Farm Household Allowance (FHA) Processing staff are responsible for assessing FHA new claims and other generic FHA functions.

The work undertaken by FHA processing staff includes (but is not limited to):

• processing FHA new claims
• assessing and finalising FHA debts
• Activity Supplement and Farm Financial Assessment (FFA) Supplement voucher processing
• action ACTDOCs and callbacks
• providing explanations of decisions

Once the customers claim has been granted, an FHCO officer is allocated.

The role of the FHCO is to:

• provide a dedicated case management service to recipients of FHA
• support customers to improve their long term financial security
• monitor a customer's compliance with their mutual obligation requirements, and
• annually assess the customers' farm financial information

FHCOs will contact customers to introduce themselves and answer any questions they may have about their payments or mutual obligation requirements. FHCOs also formally request and provide support for the completion of the Farm Financial Assessment (FFA). Once the customer has completed their FFA with a financial assessor, the FHCO will arrange a time to negotiate a Financial Improvement Agreement (FIA) with the customer.

FHCOs meet with the customer to review their FIA at least every 12 weeks.

The CAO is a policy officer who specialises in assessing complex income and assets test cases, especially cases involving complex financial arrangements and business structures.

The primary functions and objectives of the CAO are to:

• undertake assessments of certain categories of cases upon referral
• provide information, advice and recommendations to Service Officers, Financial Information Service Officers (FISO), Authorised Review Officers (ARO) and Zone Office staff
• enhance the level of expertise and the ability of Service Officers in assessing sole trader cases, partnerships, income streams, apportionment, and self-managed superannuation funds (SMSF)
• assess training needs, conduct training and information sessions, and develop learning aids
• provide information to accountants, financial advisors, solicitors and other third parties

CAO assessments

CAOs make assessments on varying categories of complex casework, however, they have specific delegations and responsibilities in the following cases:

• attribution of income and assets to a customer resulting from their involvement with a private company or trust on or after 1 January 2002
• approval or rejection of payment under assets hardship rules
• assessment of Special Disability Trusts