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Reporting employment income online 133-04180000

This document outlines how to help customers report employment income and participation details online. They can do this using their Centrelink online account through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

On this page:

Reporting online

Payment specific information

Eligibility

Table 1

Item	Description
1	Eligibility to report using self service Customers must meet these conditions on their reporting day. Full-time students or Australian Apprentices getting ABSTUDY, Austudy or Youth Allowance (YA) must report employment income every fortnight, and if partnered, their partner is either eligible to report or not required to report Other customers getting one of these payments - status of CUR, SUS (except ANR), CNP or CZR: Age Pension Carer Payment (CP) Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) Disability Support Pension (DSP) Farm Household Allowance (FHA) JobSeeker Payment (JSP) Non-Resident Refugee or Status Resolution Support service Parenting Payment (PP) (partnered or single) Special Benefit (SpB) Youth Allowance (YA) (as a job seeker) if partnered, their partner is either eligible to report or not required to report for notification reporting customers, see Table 3 > Item 6
2	Ineligible reasons - reporting online A customer cannot report online if any of the following apply: not required to report as they do not get an income support payment before their reporting date more than 13 days after their usual reporting date because they are CAN/FRP or DNL have more than 6 outstanding reporting periods after a recent grant or restoration deceased record adding a new Australian Disability Enterprises (ADE) employer or a new Supported Wage System (SWS) employer partner gets CP and the customer does not have permission to enquire (PPE) are getting Parenting Payment (PP) with a future cancellation date within 4 weeks gets Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) payment Youth Bonus Wage Subsidy (YBWS) 26 week suspension period customer or their partner have multiple carer self-employment activities customer and partner have: non-matching reporting regimes, or different Entitlement Period End Date (EPED) codes on their record
3	Manual rate customers If the customer is reporting: zero employment income for themselves (and their partner), they can submit the report successfully any income for themselves (or their partner), this triggers a hand off to a Service Officer to amend and adjust the rate of payment

Reporting online

Table 2

Item	Description
1	Online guides Centrelink online account help - Report employment income (QC 62522) Centrelink online account help - Report employment income - Carers (QC 52093) Centrelink online account help - Report zero employment income (QC 83978) Express Plus Centrelink mobile app help - Report employment income (QC 50121) Express Plus Centrelink mobile app help - Report zero employment income (QC 83930) For more help, see: Centrelink digital support products, and Staff Training Simulations
2	Single Touch Payroll (STP) Employers Where STP data is detected and the customer is a notification reporter, they will automatically be changed to a statement reporter to have the STP data shown to them through their reporting services. If STP employer details are available, statement reporting customers are required to confirm or reject the pre-filled employer name and Australian Business Number (ABN) or Withholding Payer Number (WPN). If the customer: confirms the pre-filled employer, they will be asked if it is the same employer from a list of existing employers on their record. This helps avoid duplication of existing employer details. If a customer can match the STP employer information to an existing employer, the STP employer's ABN will merge with the existing employer. Otherwise, the customer can select New employer where the STP employer is added as a new employer rejects the pre-filled STP employer, they will get a message advising that this employer has not been added to their record. If the customer rejects the pre-filled STP employer more than once, the STP employer will not show again If STP employer details show, customers cannot submit their report without confirming or rejecting the information. Customers must continue to report gross employment income they and their partner are paid from any non-STP employers and, if required, the number of hours (and minutes for Carer Payment (CP) customers) they have worked in their reporting period. If the customer or their partner's income support payment does not require reporting of hours worked, the Add Hours button will not appear in the reporting service.
3	Advise employment details in the Report employment income service Notification customers can update their employment details through the Report employment income service in their Centrelink online account and Express Plus Centrelink mobile app if one of the following applies: have started work have one off income to report, or have had a change to their weekly or 2-weekly continuous income After the update, the customer (and in some cases their partner) will be required to commence, or continue, fortnightly reporting of their gross employment income. Notification reporters may include customers getting: ABSTUDY Living Allowance Youth Allowance (YA) (student) Austudy Age Pension Carer Payment (CP) Parenting Payment (PP) (single and partnered) Disability Support Pension See Employment income options online.
4	Customer experience Statement reporters do not have a reporting task on their homepage before their reporting due date. They cannot record employment income paid and hours worked before their reporting due date. Customers can use the Earnings Worksheet (SU505) to keep track of any pay events and hours worked they need to report on their next reporting due date. When a customer selects the Report income task or Report employment income menu option online or in the app on their reporting day (or after their reporting day, if reporting late) they can: confirm or reject a pre-filled STP employer name and Australian Business Number (ABN) or Withholding Payer Number (WPN) check, confirm or change pre-filled STP employment income data add additional STP employer pay components and pay events that are not pre-filled yet view the pre-filled employment cessation date and reason reported by their STP employer when they cease work. Mutual obligation customers may be required to provide details why they ceased employment, when the cessation reason is dismissal or voluntary answer additional questions when pre-filled unused leave and redundancy payments have been included with cessation details, such as the number of days the leave covers or the average weekly wage answer additional questions when pre-filled unused leave on termination income is included in their pay event, but no employment cessation details are included in the STP data enter their and their partner's (if applicable) non-STP employment income paid and if required, hours worked in the reporting period enter Carer Activity Details or answer the activity test question (if applicable) view and edit previous reports for up to 6 past reports submitted (this does not apply to confirmed STP employment income) accept the Declaration and submit their report Customers benefiting from pre-filled STP data enter the STP Confirmation Service when selecting the Report employment income task. After reviewing and confirming the STP data, customers are required to read and agree with the terms and conditions on the Declaration page. When accepted, customers are returned to the Report employment income workflow where it shows assessable STP income they confirmed under My pay. They can add any non-STP employment details for them and their partner (if applicable) and any hours they worked (if required). Both statement and notification reporters can access the Report employment income task at any time through the Income and assets menu option to view and update their previous reports. They can also view their upcoming reporting periods. A Reporting tips message may show to help customers report the right way. They need to select Got it to continue.
5	Review and submit page This page shows information given by the customer, including: Employer name Date paid Gross employment income reported Hours worked during the reporting period Response to mutual obligation or participation requirement question (if required) The partner's employer, gross income amount paid, and hours worked (if applicable)
6	Triggering new tasks Customers will get a message that they need to action new tasks that are created when: they have a pre-filled STP workers compensation pay component and need to complete a Compensation and damages form (MOD C) they have pre-filled or manually added 'Unused leave' on termination income. If the STP employer has not reported cessation of employment, they will be asked if they still work for that employer. If they answer No, they will need to provide an Employment Separation Certificate form (SU001) Age Pension and Carer Payment (CP) customers, who have pre-filled STP leave and/or termination payments, answer Yes when asked if there are any changes to their income and assets. The new task shows for 28 days so customers can select this to update their income and assets details These tasks will show on their Centrelink online account homepage or Express Plus Centrelink mobile app home screen.
7	'Other Income' messaging If the customer has Other income, they must update this after they finish reporting. They update it by selecting MENU > Income and assets > Income and assets details > Manage income and assets. Other income can include income from the following sources: grants or scholarships other lump sum payments termination payments (not reported through STP) income from a sole trader or partnership business See Income and assets options online.
8	Partial reporting period Customers can report for a partial period if they need to report employment income and their current reporting period is less than 2 weeks. For example, upon grant of payment, a change of reporting cycle or they are going overseas with no portability provision. However, they may not be eligible to report due to other reasons. For example, their partner's entitlement period does not match. A message advises the customer why they are unable to report. Service Officers The online transaction will become a hand off activity for manual intervention. Check the Online Interaction Summary for the reason the customer was ineligible or unable to report online. Complete the transaction for the customer.
9	Reporting for past reporting periods All customers who have recently had their payment granted or restored can submit outstanding reports where there are up to 6 past reporting periods. They can submit each report separately, up until their current entitlement period. They can confirm or reject the pre-filled Single Touch Payroll (STP) employer name and ABN or WPN and confirm or adjust pre-filled STP employment income data. This includes adding STP employer pay components and/or pay events that are not pre-filled yet. They can report their partner's past income. They need to include activity test details if they have participation requirements. If a debt shell generates, it maps with code XWA and keyword NDBEAN.
10	Correcting employment income Pre-filled STP income If a customer needs to change pre-filled STP income in the reporting service, they must correct the amount shown before selecting Submit and continue on the Declaration page. The customer can also add additional pay components and pay events for the STP employer that have not pre-filled yet in the STP confirmation service. The customer cannot make further changes to the pre-filled or added data after they submit the Declaration. If the customer contacts to update confirmed STP income, they must provide evidence to make changes. Correcting pay details in the Report employment income service If a customer has added gross income for a non-STP employer in the Report employment income service and not yet submitted their report, they can edit or delete the details they manually added. They must complete all corrections and submit their report to be paid. Customers can also correct details for the past 6 reporting periods (this does not apply to confirmed STP employment income). They can do this by selecting: Previous reports on the reporting dashboard in the Report employment income service the View and update employment income option from the main menu Note: the mutual obligation requirements field may change because of this update to the income field.
11	Report submitted after payment strip If the customer submits an income report on their reporting date, but after the payment strip, a message tells them their new payment date.
12	Partnered customers Their partner's income may show on the customer's reporting dashboard. The Summary page shows existing income details for their partner if the partner has given the customer permission to enquire (PPE). Customers can report their partner's income by: selecting: Add pay and adding new employer details, or an existing employer and adding the employment income selecting Add hours and adding new employer details or selecting an existing employer and advising hours of work (if required) viewing and checking their partner's employment income information on the Report employment income page before submitting the report A nominee can only complete the reporting obligations of the customer and not the customer’s partner. The nominee must still report employment income paid to the customer’s partner to ensure payment accuracy For a list of partnered customer reporting scenarios, go to the Resources page of Reporting overview, see Table 3 and the attachment Expanded partner reporting matrix. If customer and partner both report Single Touch Payroll employment details do not pre-fill for partners. The system compares information reported by both customers. It does not automatically duplicate employment income already recorded. If a customer updates the income details that their partner reported for them, the latest report will override the income details already declared for that reporting period. To minimise the chance of duplicating income, tell customers: if both members of a couple are required to report and only one of them has STP income, the customer with STP income should report first. This will reduce potential cases of income duplication due to the partner manually reporting the customer’s STP income first. When the customer reports later, they are immediately directed to the STP confirmation service to review and confirm the pre-filled STP data that the partner has already reported the customer must review employment income shown when completing their report to make sure: the total income amounts are correct, and there are no duplicated employer or income entries although they cannot amend STP income, they can amend non-STP income reported by their partner using the Edit or Delete options to make sure the total income reported is correct
13	Job seekers unable to meet mutual obligation requirements Eligible job seekers with a benefit status of CUR or SUS and getting the following payments, can advise if they are unable to meet their mutual obligation requirements: Parenting Payment Single (PPS) (youngest child in care 6-13 years) JobSeeker Payment (JSP) Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker) Special Benefit (SpB) (who have mutual obligation requirements) They must also have an approved activity code. For example, PTW, VWK or SEL, either approved initially by Services Australia or their employment service provider (where applicable). Customers can select the following reasons why they are unable to meet their obligations: Illness or Injury Sick child (or children) Cancelled shift Short term reduction in hours due to public holiday (e.g. Easter, Christmas) Pupil-free day(s)/school holidays No longer undertaking activity Other Except for Other or No longer undertaking activity, the Declaration page shows and the customer can then submit their report. Customers who advise they have not met their mutual obligation requirements for a third consecutive fortnight, or select Other or No longer undertaking activity are told reporting could not be completed. They will need to contact to complete their report. Customers may not get this option if they have used a reasonable excuse in the Report employment income service through their Centrelink online account or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app for the previous 2 consecutive reporting periods. Customers are to contact the agency to discuss options for an exemption from mutual obligations or a change to their approved activity and to complete their report.
14	Receipt page When the Receipt page tells a customer their report was submitted successfully, the following details show: receipt ID date and time the report was submitted Income Bank, Working Credit or Work Bonus balance for the customer and partner (if applicable) next reporting date for the customer and partner (if applicable) any Centrelink appointments due for the customer a link to the View payment history service to see their next payment details. The next payment amount will only show for the customer and partner (if applicable) if it is zero an option to view the information they have provided, including confirmation or rejection response to pre-filled Single Touch Payroll (STP) employer name and Australian Business Number (ABN) if the customer gets an income support payment (ISP) and Family Tax Benefit (FTB), a message to prompt them to update their annual family income estimate for FTB if they need to other information based on their circumstances, for example, new tasks added for customers to complete The customer should print or save the receipt details in case they need to contact about their payment. They can print or save the page as a PDF by selecting Save your Receipt. If a submitted report is not successful, the service will show a message and tell them why and what they must do. They will get one of the following messages: Failed to submit Action required Update failed because <reason for failure> When this happens in the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app and it is during office hours, the service may show a Contact us now button. If customers select this: the Digital Assistant opens they are told it looks like there is a problem with their income reporting and they need to speak to a Service Officer they can select Yes or No to Would you like me to start a phone call to a Service Officer now?. If they select: Yes, the call is transferred to the Centrelink reporting line phone queue (the customer shows as already authenticated in the IVR) No, the customer will need to contact another time to complete their report
15	View information reported - Online Interaction Summary screen To view the information the customer has reported in the past: In the customer's record in Customer First, go to Online Interaction Summary this resource is located by going to Workspace > Customer Online Account > Online Interaction Summary update the status field to completed and select Search Select the customer's name for the relevant completed transaction, then the Notes tab to view the details Information shows as on the customer's receipt page. This includes: information provided by the customer date and time of the report period the report was for outcome of the report To locate and interpret failed reporting transactions in the Online Interaction Summary in Customer First, see Table 4 in Self service reporting troubleshooting.

Payment specific information

Table 3

Item	Description
1	JSP, YA, SpB and PPS customers This applies to JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker), some Special Benefit (SpB) and Parenting Payment Single (PPS) job seeker customers with mutual obligation or participation requirements. When a customer has already recorded income and hours that meet their requirements, the mutual obligation or participation requirements question defaults to Yes. When a Centrelink managed job seeker with an approved activity coded on the Activity and Exemptions Summary (AEX) screen records income and hours that do not meet their requirements or they answer No to their specific mutual obligation requirement question, their online update will not complete and a STArted EANS/STM activity creates on their record. When the customer contacts to discuss the failure, Service Officers can: use this information, and complete the report on behalf of the customer
2	Carer Payment (CP) customers The customer can provide the number of hours and minutes worked each week. This excludes Carer Payment (XWP) customers. The 'Add hours' section will not show for a customer or partner if they are CP (XWP) as there is no requirement to capture activity hours from these customers. If the customer is not a CP (XWP) customer and they exceed the 100 hour work limit and have respite days available, they need to indicate if this absence from care is temporary or ongoing. Exceeding temporarily Would they like to use respite days rather than having CP suspended or cancelled? Yes, the system deducts one day of respite from their current respite balance for every 8 hours (or part thereof) over 100 hours and updates the customer's record. The number of respite days they have left shows on the Carers page. For an example scenario, see the Resources page No, this triggers a hand off Always exceeding The system assesses the 100 hour work limit in a 4-week period based on all activities on the customer's record, including self-employment or foreign employment hours. If the customer advises that the absence is ongoing, this triggers a hand off. For the process when a CP customer or partner contacts, see Carer Payment (CP) processing in the Earnings and reporting tool.
3	Australian Apprentices who stop work Australian Apprentices who get ABSTUDY, Austudy or Youth Allowance (YA) need to report fortnightly. If the customer does not report employment income online, the update will not complete. When discussing the customer's employment status. If the customer: remains registered as an Apprentice/Trainee and has no income from work, the Service Officer can complete their report is no longer registered as an Apprentice/Trainee, see Customer no longer an Australian Apprentice
4	Customers getting an income support payment (ISP) and Family Tax Benefit (FTB) After they submit their report, a message on the Receipt page prompts the customer to update their annual family income estimate for FTB if they need to. If the customer reports income over the ISP threshold and this results in their or their partner's ISP reducing to nil (due to an employment income nil rate period), the customer must provide a new FTB income estimate. A task will show on the customer's online account homepage to prompt them to update their income estimate.
5	Extended employment suspension period for Age Pension and Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers An extended employment suspension period of up to 2 years may apply for customers who get the following payments: Age Pension Disability Support Pension (DSP) Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Age Pension Invalidity Service Pension Income Support Supplement Veteran Payment Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers can access the extended employment suspension period when: they work 30 or more hours per week on an ongoing basis, or their employment income (combined with their partner's employment income, if applicable), exceeds the income cut off resulting in an employment income nil rate period, and this is the twelfth full entitlement period in a row, where they have received an employment income nil rate period for the above reason
6	Employment income nil rate period See Employment income nil rate period.
7	Notification reporter using Report employment income service If a customer (and their partner) does not work or has income that meets an exemption from reporting, they are profiled as a notification reporter, unless they: get a payment with mutual obligations requirements, or have a source of other paid income Notification reporters must advise of any changes to their employment details within 14 days. They can do this through their: Centrelink online account > select MENU > Income and assets > Employment income > Report employment income Express Plus Centrelink mobile app > under Frequently used, select Report Advising employment details Customers with existing 1WE or 2WE employment income showing under My pay can advise a change to the amount and the date paid by selecting Edit next to their amount When there is existing income showing, customers can select Add more pay (in Centrelink online account) or Add Pay (in the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app) if they have additional employment income for another employer An existing employer will not show when selecting Add pay or Add more pay if the customer previously reported income for the employer as a notification reporter or declared income as a statement reporter more than 6 fortnights in the past. The customer will need to select Add new employer to add them back before they can add pay details New employers can be added by selecting Add new employer Customers cannot update their partner's employment details where the partner's PPE is N (No) or where the partner gets an income support payment Carer payment (CP) customers are asked questions to determine the level of care provided. These details will be recorded on the Carer Payment Activity Summary (CPAS) screen
8	Statement reporter using Report employment income service A statement reporter is required to report any employment income themselves and their partner were paid in the reporting period, on their reporting date. The reporting date is generally their Entitlement Period End Date (EPED), although may be earlier due to national public holidays. A customer is profiled as a statement reporter when they: have mutual obligation or participation requirements, or must advise of their and/or their partner's employment income before being paid Customers can access the Report employment income service from their reporting date. If they attempt to use the service to report income before then, a message will show the date they need to come back and report. They can access the Report employment income service through their: Centrelink online account > select Report income task from the homepage, or Centrelink online account > select MENU > Income and assets > Employment income > Report employment income Express Plus Centrelink mobile app > under Frequently used, select Report If a customer needs to make an update or advise employment income for a previously completed reporting period, they can update up to 6 previous reporting periods (this does not include confirmed STP income) in the View and update employment income service. This applies to finalised reporting periods. They can do this when reporting for the current reporting period or as a separate update though their: Centrelink online account > select MENU > Income and assets > Employment income: Report employment income > Previous reports, or View and update employment income Express Plus Centrelink mobile app: under Frequently used, select Report, or select Update report on the receipt screen of the submitted report Using the View and update employment income service: View details, customers can view the details reported for the period selected Edit, selecting Edit for the completed reporting period will return them to the Report employment income service where they can add new employer or pay details, or edit income details previously reported Customer/Partner: customers cannot update their partner's employment details where the partner's PPE is N (No), if the partner has mutual obligation requirements or gets Carer Payment (CP) Statement reporter stopped working for an STP employer When customers stop working for an STP employer, STP cessation data may pre-fill in a reporting transaction. Where no further STP data is available after 6 fortnights, and the customer gets a payment not subject to mutual obligation requirements, their reporting profile will revert to that required for their income support payment, unless the customer and/or partner have other employment income. Note: if STP data is reported in later reporting periods, the customer's record will be re-profiled for statement reporting. For further information, see Single Touch Payroll (STP) processing. Statement reporter stops working for a non-STP employer Customers who have ceased work for a non-STP employer, and do not have mutual obligation requirements, will be changed to a notification reporter when there are no longer 2 instances of employment income in the last 6 reporting periods. See Recording and correcting employment income details.
9	Failed report due to unsuccessful update In some circumstances, an online report will not finalise successfully. The customer is shown a message advising them to contact Services Australia. When a customer submits an Report employment income update, a Change of Circumstance (CoC) transaction is created. The status of the transaction is automatically set to completed, however a started activity remains on Activity List (AL) in Customer First. If a customer contacts a Service Officer, or a Service Officer is allocated a work item for an unsuccessful online update: go to Online Interaction Summary in Customer First locate the Earning transaction and select the customer’s name under Description view the information provided by the customer in the Earning activity, including employment income details and the resulting error or hand off reason action the update address the hand off reason or error identified, such as a duplicated employer name/ABN or check if an exception is still met for 1WE/2WE continuous income select and review the started activity on Activity List (AL), making sure any employment income details are updated on EANS/EAPP check outcome is correct and finalise the activity record details on a DOC Customers who get Disability Support Pension (DSP) Customers who get DSP and record employment of 30 hours or more per week, are shown an unsuccessful message on the receipt page. They are advised to contact the agency to complete the update. A work item is created due to the unsuccessful update. When customers contact, a Service Officer will discuss their employment. See Commencing or returning to work or self-employment Disability Support Pension (DSP). Service Officers must select the started update to finalise the report. Customers who get Carer Payment (CP) When a carer reports that 'care not met' exceeds the allowable hours, they are shown an unsuccessful message on the receipt page. They are advised to contact the agency to complete the update. When customers contact to discuss their situation, Service Officers must refer to Carer Payment (CP) and Carer Allowance (CA) carer undertakes paid employment, self-employment, voluntary work, education or training activities. Service Officers must select the started update to finalise the report.