Correcting a complex Child Support error 277-09030020

Various types of errors may occur on a child support case, including:

• TFN errors, refer immediately to the Solutions Gateway Team (SGT)
• Cuba errors (including MAR apportionment errors and non-aligning child support periods)
• duplicate customer records
• errors of fact (including keying errors)
• invalid decisions
• errors made by delegates, for example, change of assessment and departure prohibition order decisions
• decisions not yet made

If an error is identified, Services Officers must:

• create a CSO - potential error intray on the case and document the potential error
• not discuss the potential error further with the customer until after they have raised it with an SO5 or above if:
• they are unsure an error has occurred
• they are not delegated to make the relevant correction decision, or
• it is unclear what delegation level is required to approve the correction

For:

• information about Invalid decisions, see Item 7 in the Customer identified errors table
• examples of error corrections, see Resources page

To prevent an error having further negative impact:

• record a special recovery condition if correcting the error is likely to reduce a customer's debt. This will stop the automated recovery of their TRIP. See Tax Refund Intercept Process (TRIP) Cuba Process Help
• do not run eligibility on duplicate customer records or related cases before Service Support Officer (SSO), Parent Support, or Solutions Gateway Team (SO5) analysis. Running eligibility may prevent the customer record from being immobilised
• update letters relevant to the error with a status of keyed to pended. See Letters Cuba Process Help

• For duplicate customer record errors create either:
• Data Integrity - Dup Customer intray on the primary and duplicate customer records, or
• Mutual Customer Matching Error intray on the primary and duplicate customer if a Centrelink Liaison Unit (CLU) Service Officer is actioning the Mutual Customer Mismatch report
• For all other errors, create a CSO - potential error intray on all impacted customers

Document the potential error on each intray and the action that is being taken. Be mindful to maintain privacy standards. Do not record any information that may breach a customer’s privacy. If unsure about what to record, seek support from a Team Leader or Service Support Officer (SSO).

If the customers are locked:

• route the CSO - potential error or Data Integrity - Dup Customer intray to the locked Service Officer
• describe the potential error for follow-up

If the customer is locked to the PST or SGT team (or if one of the customers in any related case which may be affected by the possible error correction is locked to the PST or SGT team):

• route the CSO - potential error or Data Integrity - Dup Customer intray to the locked PST or SGT Service Officer
• describe the potential error for follow-up

If the customers are not locked, lock the customers in line with the Customer Management Approach (CMA) for Child Support.

Some specialist areas are not required to lock customers. Check if the customer has an issue that is being managed by a specialist area. If so, contact the Service Officer managing the issue before correcting the error (or recommending not to correct the error), to confirm:

• an agreed customer management strategy is in place
• they are aware of the error, possible impacts and timeframes for correction
• action(s) to be taken and who will be completing the action

Review:

• the Complex system processing for reverse child support cases and/or Network News Update (NNU) bulletins to determine if this is a systemic issue
• decisions relevant to the error
• verify facts and error types
• documentation
• evidence already provided by the customer
• external data, for example Centrelink information
• the correcting errors principles
• legislation and policy documents, see Correcting errors on Child Support cases
• the duplicate customer records

See New Zealand 'In' case management - Registrations between IR, NZ and Child Support to determine whether the duplicate customer record is necessary.

Do not use the Correcting errors macro to document the investigation findings.

If the review found an:

• error did not occur, go to Step 5
• error did occur, go to Step 6

If on investigation, an error did not occur:

• document the outcome of the investigation in the customer’s communication window under the Category of TECHNICAL ENQ and Issue of ERR ISSUE
• remove special recovery condition (if no longer required) - see Tax Refund Intercept Process (TRIP) Cuba Process Help
• and letters were pended as a preventative measure, change letter status to keyed
• and the customer was previously advised of the potential error, contact the customer to tell them no error has occurred. Note: if they insist that an error has occurred, seek SSO support
• document the conversation in the customer's Communication window
• unlock the customers, see Customer Management Approach (CMA) for Child Support

Procedure ends here.

Review the complex error criteria to confirm it is a complex error. For more information on error types, including international residency decisions errors, see Correcting errors on Child Support cases.

The Registrar is not obliged to consider correcting an error. The Registrar may decide to leave an error uncorrected or correct an error from a particular date. Where correction of an error is considered, a decision must then be made to correct the error or not.

For guidance on the factors to consider as part of the decision making process, see Correcting errors principles.

Complex error correction recommendations are made at the SO3 and SO4 level, and must be referred to an SSO, or if applicable, Solutions Gateway Team SO5, as per authorisations and delegations in Correcting errors on Child Support cases.

An SSO, Parent Support or Solutions Gateway Team SO5 can complete and authorise a complex error correction, unless it is a type of complex error correction that must be referred to a Program Support Manager or Program Advise team.

Specialised Quality and Customer Complaints staff and SAS technical SO6 are authorised to make complex error corrections however some complex errors must be referred to a Program Support Manager for analysis.

Escalate any non-simple clerical errors to the Program Advice team for advice and approval.

If unsure or not confident at any time in the identification, or action required to correct the error, seek Technical support. The SSO will provide support in taking the corrective action.

A case is considered to have a data integrity issue if it is likely to take longer than one month to resolve and the error needs one of the following forms:

• Cuba Application and Child Support System Issues
• Cuba Service and Business Request Form
• Pluto System and Access Issues, or
• Child Support online account and Express Plus Child Support mobile app issues

Note: for online data issues:

• Service Officers:
• must lodge the Child Support online account and Express Plus Child Support mobile app issues form in mySupport, and
• may be contacted by mySupport with more troubleshooting steps to help the customer resolve the issues
• If no contact from mySupport is received in 7 days, complete the SGT Referral macro as below
• For all other data integrity issues, do not submit a mySupport form. SGT will review the case and log the relevant mySupport form if needed

Once a data integrity issue is identified:

• complete the SGT Referral macro
• select the reasons:
• Referral Type - ‘Intray’
• Intray referral - ‘Data Integrity Issue’
• create the SGT Referral intray
• copy the macro notes into the intray
• route the SGT Referral intray to:
• Region: National Office
• Office: National Office
• Stream/Team: MC SGT PST National
• Position: Z - SGT Referrals

Initial customer contact may not be required where:

• a customer is not affected by the error
• one or all of the customers are unlikely to be aware of the relevant facts, or
• the facts can be easily verified

If correction of an error is being considered by the Registrar, one customer may have already notified the Agency of the error. Contact with the other parent may or may not be required depending on the circumstances of the error. For examples of where initial contact may not be required, see Resources page of Correcting errors on Child Support cases.

Is initial customer contact required?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, see Table 2

Call the customers to:

• confirm the facts about the potential error. Do not tell the customer that an error actually occurred or discuss the expected outcome. They can be advised Child Support are investigating the possibility that an error may have occurred
• tell them the matter will be reviewed. This may include discussing retrospective or prospective correction. Do not assume that the customer wants a retrospective correction
• offer the opportunity to comment on views about resolving the potential error. For example, does the customer want the issue corrected if it is found to be an error
• offer to forward evidence if the error relates to a decision not yet made/processed or an invalid decision (if required), with an agreed due date. The decision should be made in line with the relevant Operational Blueprint procedure
• tell them any issues will be resolved as quickly as possible and they will be contacted after a decision has been made
• discuss any outstanding issues

Note: do not discuss the expected outcomes with the customer. All complex recommendations must be authorised by an SSO, Parent Support or Solutions Gateway Team SO (5), Program Support Manager or Program Advice. The authoriser may not accept the recommendation.

Document the discussion in the customer's Communication window.

Use the Correcting errors macro to create a recommendation to correct or not correct the complex error. (This will be pasted into the most relevant Cuba window when the error correction is finalised).

Complex errors are reviewed by an SO5 (SSO/PST/SGT) for analysis and/or authorisation.

Copy and paste the macro error submission document into the CSO - potential error intray notepad, Data Integrity - Dup Customer or Mutual Customer Matching Error intray notepad. SO3/4s should then refer the error to an SSO. The SSO will determine if it is more appropriate to be referred to SGT.

Request online Technical Support where appropriate

The SO5 will:

• review the macro error submission details review the correcting errors principles
• analyse the error to determine:
• what the error is
• if the error should be corrected or not, and
• what corrective action is required in Cuba

Some errors must be referred to a Program Support Manager for analysis/authorisation, go to Step 4 for more information.

If the error involves reverse cases, determine if this is a system issue which has endorsed manual processing, see Complex system processing for reverse child support cases.

For duplicate customer records:

• check for international case involvement as these records may have been created intentionally. See New Zealand ‘In’ Case Management - Registrations between IR, NZ and Child Support - Receiving and Registering Case and determine the most appropriate corrective action
• create a TSO - error correction intray if the error can be corrected at the SSO/PST/SGT SO5 level, or create a QA - error correction intray if Program Support Manager authorisation is required. Note: copy all notepads from the error correction intray to the newly created intray
• delete the other intrays

If more information is required:

• contact the Service Officer to discuss
• document what action is needed in the online notepad and either the TSO - error correction or QA - error correction intray
• route the intray to the Service Officer

The following errors must be referred to a Program Support Manager for analysis/authorisation:

• a decision is recommended to not correct the error
• a decision is recommended to partially correct the error by applying the correction from a date later than the error’s date of effect
• external remedies are not available. For example, Change of Assessment is not available as the error occurred more than 7 years ago
• it has a rate impact on a period of the assessment that is greater than 2 years. The impact relates to the assessment not the debt outcome or collection status
• it has a financial impact greater than $10,000 (collect or private collect)
• a mixed assessment is in place or required
• an error was made on an error correction decision
• a decision is recommended to be considered invalid
• a change of assessment (COA) decision is recommended to be reviewed and altered. Note: this does not apply to COA keying errors
• an error was made in the processing of a reverse case where a Change of Assessment or Court Varied Assessment has required manual adjustments of the assessment
• a departure prohibition order decision is recommended to be reviewed and altered
• a high threat of escalation, for example Ministerial or Ombudsman. If the case is locked to a specialist Customer Service staff member or SAS technical SO6 who is authorised to make complex error corrections, referral to a Program Support Manager is only required if one of the other above criteria is met
• if the particulars of the case indicate that a correction to the register is being considered (under s42 of the CSRC Act) in a situation where this does not flow from a change that is consistent with an underlying amendment to a child support assessment, court order or child support agreement, then this should be escalated for approval from Program Advice for advice

If the error:

• needs to be referred to the Program Support Manager, go to Step 5
• can be authorised by the SSO, go to Step 9

To refer an error that requires Program Support Manager analysis and/or authorisation, the SO5 will:

• work with the Service Officer to make sure the recommended error correction is appropriate
• make sure the information in the Correcting errors submission macro is accurate and complete. All information relating to the error correction must be included in the error submission
• create the 'Correcting errors submission' document for Cuba
• paste the document into an email for the Program Support manager. How staff approach this step will differ, dependent on Program Support manager preferences
• send the email to the appropriate site mailbox
• add a note in the intray notepad advising the matter has been referred to the Program Support Manager

The Program Support Manager (PSM) will:

• review the macro error submission details
• contact the SO5 (SSO, PST or SGT) if more information is required
• review the correcting errors principles
• analyse the error, determine what the error is
• determine if the error should be corrected or not
• determine what corrective action is required in Cuba
• refer to the Child Support Program Branch if necessary

New Customer and Mainstream Services PSMs are authorised to make certain parentage related decisions invalid where an application for assessment has been accepted or refused in error due to the decision maker:

• failing to take account of material evidence such as a birth certificate that was already in the department’s possession
• denying a customer procedural fairness by making a decision before the expiration of a policy stated time frame
• failing to explore all nine fact situations that could have satisfied the presumption of parentage provisions
• denying a customer procedural fairness by not consulting them before making the decision
• making a keying error that resulted in the decision being incorrectly refused

If required, PSM’s can seek advice from the Child Support Program Advice team when there are complex circumstances.

If the error involves reverse cases, determine if this is a system issue which has endorsed manual processing, see Complex system processing for reverse child support cases.

PSM’s can make decisions to not correct an error where all associated customers agree with the outcome or, where one customer does not want an error corrected and the other parent is uncontactable.

When deciding if an error is to be corrected or not, the decision-maker must consider the correcting errors principles.

The following errors must be referred to Program Advice:

• a decision to either not correct the error or partially correct the error by applying the correction from a date later than the error's date of effect (unless all associated customers agree with this outcome)
• a decision is recommended to be considered invalid that is outside of the PSM’s authorisation
• a Change of Assessment decision is recommended to be reviewed and altered
• a Departure Prohibition Order decision is recommended to be reviewed and altered
• escalate any non-simple clerical errors to the Program Advice team for advice and approval

Note: where these types of errors relate to an international customer, refer the errors to the Child Support Program Branch.

If the error:

• needs to be referred to Program advice, go to Step 7
• can be authorised by the Program Support Manager, go to Step 8

To refer an error that requires Program Advice analysis, the Program Support Manager will:

• forward an email with the error submission and their recommendation to the Child Support Program Branch
• add a note in the QA - error correction intray notepad to advise the matter has been referred

Program Advice will:

• review and consider
• decisions to either not correct an error or partially correct an error by applying the correction from a date later than the error's date of effect (where all associated customers do not agree with the outcome)
• recommendations to determine a decision invalid (outside of PSM authorisation)
• recommendations to review and alter a Change of Assessment decision or Departure Prohibition Order decision
• recommendations regarding a decision to amend the Child Support Register under s42 of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, when:
  - this is not a simple clerical error, and
  - it is not a flow on consequence of an underlying child support assessment, court order or child support agreement being amended
• provide written instruction and authorisation to the Program Support Manager on the appropriate corrective action. Program Advice will not update the error submission with an authorisation document

Go to Step 8.

The Program Support Manager will:

• make sure the appropriate decision authorisation is documented in Cuba and the correcting errors intray using the Correcting errors macro (authorisation) including Program Advice authorisation if applicable
• refer the case back to the SO5 (SSO, PST or SGT) via the appropriate site mailbox to arrange processing and customer contact requirements
• make sure letters are issued advising all affected customers of the decision to correct to not correct the error including review rights

Note: manual letters are needed for decisions to not correct an error, see Step 11.

The SO5 must action the complex recommendation for:

• a duplicate customer record, see Correcting a duplicate Child Support customer record
• corrections setting a registration back to recorded, go to Step 10
• all other errors, go to Step 11

• Take note of the original collection status in the Service Options window and any subsequent Opt In/Opt In Arrears and Opt Out/Discharged arrears before raising a request to an SSO who has CUB-S access (CUB officer)
• After the registration has been set back to 'recorded' make sure the Service Options window is reflecting the original collection status

After saving eligibility, the collection status will revert back to its original collection status. This will override any Opt In/Opt Out decisions made during the registration period.

If the collection status needs to be amended by reinstating Opt In/Opt Outs, make sure any discharged arrears, opt in arrears and paid amounts have been included. The amounts will re-post automatically to the Accounting window when accepted.

A liability recalculation will be required to apply credit/debit to the Accounting window. After an SO5 (SSO, PST or SGT) has confirmed liability recalculation is accurate, they will ask a CUB officer to save the recalculated amount.

Note: there may be a slight difference between the amount posted from Opt In/Opt Out adjustments and liability recalculation. This may be due to monthly rate being calculated differently, that is, the original calculation based on 30.4375 days and the new calculation on days in that particular month.

After completing this process, the account should return to the original amount prior to correction.

Decision not to correct an error:

• consider if feedback is appropriate
• finalise the online request where appropriate
• issue a UQ95.01 – Notification of decision not to correct an error letter to affected customers explaining the decision and their review rights

Decision to correct an error:

• correct the error in Cuba and document. If the error involves a reverse case, see the Complex system processing for reverse child support cases
• run eligibility and assess the Pre-confirmation window for the expected outcome (do not save eligibility)
• when an error correction involves setting a registration back to 'recorded':
• Take note of the original collection status in the Service Options window and any subsequent Opt In/Opt In Arrears and Opt Out/Discharged arrears before raising a request to a CUB officer
• The registration that has been set back to 'recorded' will need to mirror the collection status for the life of the case in order to prevent unintended consequences, that is, removing ongoing liabilities for previously collectable cases or generating collectable liabilities for previously private collect periods
• consider the application of other policies and procedures if necessary, for example, the overpayments policy if the error correction will create an overpayment. See Child support overpayments and other payee debt
• where the decision is authorised, paste the authorised decision/referral of the correcting errors macro into the most relevant window
• consider if feedback is appropriate
• finalise the online request where appropriate
• add a notepad to the TSO - error correction or QA - error correction intray with a pointer to the error submission/authorisation macro document
• document any post action requirements. This includes letters which must be checked to make sure customers are notified of the decision and their review rights
• route the TSO - error correction or QA - error correction intray to the Service Officer. If the matter is being handled by the Service Officer, this intray may be kept to finalise

Contact all impacted customers to:

• explain the decision to correct or not correct the error and any impact on the assessment
• make an arrangement for debt repayment if arrears or overpayment will be created by the error correction, see Debt repayment
• advise there may be an impact on their Family Tax Benefit, transfer the customer to Centrelink if they require information
• advise if active case numbers or Customer Reference Numbers have changed following duplicate customer correction
• advise them of their objection rights
• document customer contact
• explain that the decisions and their objection rights will be provided in writing

Where the error correction has no impact on the assessment or the child support account:

• issue a UQ95.00 - Notification of decision to correct an error letter to the customers explain the error correction and their review rights
• phone contact is not required

If any of the impacted customers dispute the facts or the effect of the correction, seek Technical support before taking any further action.

For complex errors:

• follow up any recommendations made by the SO5 (SSO, PST or SGT), Program Support Manager or Child Support Program Branch
• save eligibility. SO5 (SSO, PST or SGT) will have processed the corrective action but not saved eligibility unless a duplicate record was immobilised or parallel records maintained)
• if the case was set back to 'recorded' as a part of the correction, check the collection status for impacted registration period to make sure it mirrors the original collection status, before the case is set back to recorded
• check correctness of the letters and make sure they inform the customer of the decision and their objection rights, if applicable. If a letter has not generated, create a unique letter advising the customer of the decision and objection rights, see Letters for Child Support customers
• delete error correction intray
• if a decision was made not to correct an error, issue a Notification of decision to not correct an error
• finalise any outstanding issues including collection