Integrated care – Complex care 277-03060050

Complex Care Service Officers in Integrated Care manage customers where care is disputed.

Do not confuse disputed care with disagreed care.

To refer a customer to the Integrated Care Team, see:

• Child Support staff, see Customer Referral Guidelines (CRG) – Child Support
• Centrelink staff, see Notification and assessment of shared care arrangements for Family Tax Benefit (FTB)

Service Officers in Integrated Care, work in both the Centrelink and Child Support programs. The following customer management processes apply:

• Child Support’s Customer Management Approach (CMA). Staff undertake Minimum Collection Activity and common activities until the care decision is made. See Common and specialised activities for Child Support staff
• In scope Centrelink Business Imperatives on the Resources page

The 'Ready for Work' option in Customer First allocates work to Integrated Care Service Officers.

Note: always add DISAGREE or DISPUTED keywords to any work item, Fast Note or workflow before actioning.

Complex Care Service Officers in Integrated Care implement Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) 1 and 2 care decisions for Child Support in both Child Support and Centrelink systems when the Child Support Registrar is the respondent.

The Appeals Support Team manage all other ART decision outcomes.

Customers can ask ART for a review of a Child Support Objection or Centrelink ARO care decision.

From 1 July 2010 (15 May 2019 for WA ex-Nuptial cases) there are no time restrictions on ART1 appeals related to care decisions.

If the appeal was lodged late the date of effect of the ART decision for child support will be the date the appeal was lodged.

If there were special circumstances that prevented the customer from lodging their application within time, the tribunal may consider the appeal was lodged on time.

The customer can also ask for an ART (ART2) second review of:

• an ART1 decision of a care percentage decision and/or
• Date of effect of an ART1 care decision

ART2 appeals must be lodged within 28 days of notification of the ART1 decision. There is extension of time provisions to ART2 appeals.

During an ART2 review of a care percentage decision the tribunal can also:

• Stay the objection decision under appeal
• Stay an ART1 decision

If the ART stays:

• an objection decision, the Objection decision is removed and the original decision applies
• the ART1 decision, the ART1 decision is removed and the objection decision applies

• International cases where one customer resides overseas
• Personalised Services
• Deceased Customers/Child
• New Child Support registrations
• Income Support new claims (NCL) and Benefit Transfers
• Double Orphan Pension (DOP), Dad and Partner Pay (DAP) and Parental Leave Pay (PPL) claims
• FTB newborn claims (with Newborn Child Declaration FA081)
• Child Care Subsidy new claims
• Foster Care and Health Care Cards
• Other specialist work. For example, Member of a Couple Assessments (MOCA) in Centrelink and Change of Assessment (COA) in Child Support

Integrated Care

• Make and give effect to disagreed and disputed care determinations
• Manage all Disagreed Care changes and Complex Care activities generated across Services Australia
• Make evidence-based care decisions and support customers to understand impacts of care changes on Child Support assessments, Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Subsidy and Income Support Payments
• Finalise all in-scope Child Support and Centrelink activities across multiple systems including Cuba, Customer First, Process Direct and Work Optimiser
• Receive work via pull allocation from all systems - Smart Centre WLM Principles support consistent work practices and identification of priorities
• Manage urgent activities and customer escalations for families in crisis including Ministerial, Ombudsman, Complaints and Social Worker referrals
• Meeting Quality On Line (QOL) and Quality Management Application (QMA) to ensure Centrelink payment correctness
• Applying Child Support Customer Management Approach (CMA) process, Centrelink Business imperatives and Quality Standards in Service Delivery

Complex Care Service Officers

Complex Care Service Officers in the Integrated Care Smart Centre manage disputed care referrals and complex care determinations across Child Support and Centrelink Programs. Responsibilities are to:

• make and give effect to Disputed Care determinations
• check and review Disputed Care referrals and consider if Actual Care in Special Circumstances (ACSC) applies
• check and review special circumstances referrals from Centrelink for Child out of care without consent
• make and give effect to ACSC determinations, see References page for a link to Child Support Guide 2.2.4: Interim care provisions & disputed care arrangements
• implement Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) care decisions for Child Support:
• First review (ART1)
• Second review (ART2)
• implement Authorised Review Officer (ARO) Review of Decisions where:
• Integrated Care was the original decision maker
• Centrelink has escalated the case for urgent implementation, or
• a request is received by Integrated Care National Team for support to manage a review outcome in a holistic, integrated manner