Policy advice escalation process (CS) 277-09130000

Before escalating:

• attempt to resolve the issue within the operational area by following the three-tiered technical support procedure for child support
  Note: at each level of escalation, check the Child Support Guide and Operational Blueprint
• consult peers before escalating because they may be able to provide the required advice
• for submissions requesting Child Support Program Advice Team authorisation for a decision, ensure the decision cannot be authorised at a lower level
• ensure the Child Support Program Advice Team is the correct escalation point. Consider if the enquiry should be directed to another area such as Privacy or Letters

If the Program Support Manager (PSM) cannot resolve an issue after following the technical support procedure for Child Support, they can escalate the enquiry to the Child Support Program Advice Team.

Specialist APS6 staff may also escalate directly if their request for advice is urgent. The relevant PSM must be copied into the referral.

Email a completed request for advice to Child Support Program Branch . See Resources for the request template.

Where a response is required by a particular date, include this in the email subject line and provide a brief explanation about why a response is required by that date.

Wherever possible the Child Support Program Advice Team will meet requested dates.

A link to the response timeframes for provision of policy advice is available on the Resources page.

The Child Support Program Advice Team will:

• provide the referring officer with the name of the officer handling the request
• investigate the issue and if required seek further information
• seek legal advice and/or liaise with Department of Social Services (DSS) where necessary
• communicate the oral and/or written response to the referring officer and the relevant PSM if the relevant PSM is not the referring officer
• forward requests for amendments to the Child Support Guide to DSS for consideration as required
• work with the owning business area to amend the relevant operational blueprints as required

The PSM must consult with the officer allocated to the task. If the officer is not available and the matter is urgent, PSMs can make further enquiry to Child Support Program Advice or to another relevant Advisor working on the issue.

Once the response has been provided, the referring officer is responsible for implementing it. This includes advising any other staff involved and documenting the program advice on the relevant customer record. For more information, see Technical Support in Child Support and Documenting Child Support information in Cuba.
Note: it may not be always be appropriate to copy the entire policy advice into Cuba. Do not include full names of staff.

If the PSM has follow up questions, consult with the officer who provided the advice. If this is not possible, re-escalate by email to Child Support Program Branch and draw the attention of the new officer to the original question and previous response.

Presenting the same issue to a different officer may result in seemingly conflicting advice. Differing responses are commonly the result of different questions being asked or different facts being presented.

If the PSM has concerns about a policy response, raise them with the officer who provided the advice.

If the PSM is still not satisfied, they may escalate their concerns to their line manager who may contact the Director of the Child Support Program Advice Team.

All Child Support Guide feedback and queries from internal Services Australia staff must be emailed to the Child Support Guide feedback mailbox. There is no prescriptive format for the email.

The Child Support Program Advice Team will refer feedback to DSS as appropriate.

See Resources for a link to response timeframes.

Note: personal feedback to the Child Support Guide must be managed using a private email address at the Contact us link on the Child Support Guide page.

Requests for legal advice about child support legislation are coordinated via the Policy Advice legal referrals mailbox.

See Resources for a link to the process and considerations for requests for legal advice.

See Resources for a link to response timeframes.