Farm Household Case Officer (FHCO) cases 002-02070030

Messages

Script

Introduction

I’m contacting to advise that your claim for Farm Household Allowance has been received and will be assessed. Did you intend to lodge a joint claim for your partner as well?

Establish if is a joint claim, if the claim is not a joint claim and customer thought it was, advise.

The claim you have lodged is just for you, if your partner wants to apply, they need to lodge a claim themselves within 14 days of your lodgement date to have their claim backdated to the same date you lodged your claim.

Confirm with the customer.

If you want your partner to ask questions on your behalf, you will need to arrange for them to have Person Permitted to Enquire (PPE) authority. If any more information is needed to finalise your claim, we will contact you. You will be required to complete tasks online, you will need to ensure you have an online account set up. You can upload requested information or documents via your myGov account.

If the customer does not have a myGov account discuss the registration process and benefit of registering.

myGov is a simple and secure way to access government services online in one place. With a myGov account, you can access services from Centrelink, Medicare, Australian Taxation Office and many others. You can choose which services you want to link to your myGov account. It also has a secure Inbox where you can get messages from some of your linked services

Check if the customer is subscribed to Electronic Messaging and or online letters Centrelink letters online and Electronic Messaging - if not, discuss.

Would you like to be registered for Electronic Messaging and or Online Letters? Electronic Messaging enables the agency to contact you by SMS or email about things that are important. This means you may receive messages instead of letters. By subscribing to Online Letters, you can view most of your Centrelink letters electronically in your myGov Inbox instead of receiving them through the post.

Discuss Farm Household Case Officer.

If your claim is granted, you will be assigned a Farm Household Case Officer and you’ll be able to get in contact with them directly. In the meantime, you can track the progress of the online claim in your Centrelink online account, or if you need to enquire about your claim please contact our Farmers Assistance hotline. You can contact them on 132 316. Mon - Fri between 8 am to 5 pm

Farm Household Allowance obligations.

Are you aware that the Farm Household Allowance does have obligations you must meet? Obligations can include on-farm or off-farm tasks or activities that you agree to, to try and improve your financial situation. Your agreement is negotiated by you and your Farm Household Case Officer. These activities are negotiated with your individual farming situation in mind and are tailored towards your goals and reviewed at least once every 12 weeks. We may be able to help cover the costs of some agreed activities. Video chat appointments are available to assist with managing these appointments and can be a great alternative when you are not able to attend in person

Rural Financial Counselling Service.

Do you know about the Rural Financial Counselling Service? This is another service you might find helpful that you can access immediately. The Rural Financial Counselling Service can provide you with free, independent and confidential assistance with your current and long-term financial planning for your farming business. They can also help with short-term assistance to access other government and industry programmes, referrals to professional services and negotiating with creditors, debt mediation and succession planning.
Would you like me to pass on your name, phone number and address to the local Rural Financial Counsellor who can contact you to discuss what other support they can provide you?