Maintenance Action Test (MAT) for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customers 277-51070000

Check details on the Maintenance Action Indicator on the customer's record. Go to the Family Assistance/ Maintenance Action page.

For further information, see MAT codes.

Does the customer have a current child support assessment for the child/ren?

• Yes, and the MAT code is CAM (Child Support assessment made) or CCC (Child Support has commenced payments) and the customer:
• confirms the correct child support assessment is showing, no further action is required
  Procedure ends here
• advises that an incorrect child support assessment is showing, refer to Child Support data has not loaded onto Centrelink system or is incorrect affecting customer's record
• advises that their child is turning 18 years of age, go to Step 4
• No, and the customer advises:
• they have a child support assessment but the data is not present on their record, refer to Child Support data has not loaded onto Centrelink system or is incorrectly affecting customer's record
• they have applied for a child support assessment but a child support case has not yet been started (customer has not yet received an assessment letter from Child Support and is requesting details be updated), see Applications for child support assessment through Centrelink
• they do not have a child support assessment for the child, go to Step 2
• they wish to seek an exemption from taking maintenance action, see Exemptions from seeking child support for FTB customers

In some cases, it is not applicable for a customer to take action to obtain child support.

For cases involving shared care where the payer in a child support agreement increases their level of care to more than 65%, see Table 3, Step 1.

In all other cases involving shared care, see MAT for customers with shared care.

Does the customer need to take action to obtain child support?

• Yes, and the child:
• has already turned 18 years of age, go to Step 3
• is under 18 years of age and is not turning 18 in the current calendar year, see Table 2, Step 1
• is under 18 years of age and turning 18 in the current calendar year, go to Step 4
• No, in some cases the customer is not required to take action to obtain child support. For example, when an exemption has been granted or when the customer is a non-parent carer such as a grandparent, legal guardian or other family member and they are not partnered to a biological parent of the child:
• Ensure that each child is in the correct group on the Maintenance Entitlement Group Summary (MNGS) screen.
  See How to group children on a customer's FTB record
• Update the customer's MAT codes to reflect the exemption reason. See Exemptions from seeking child support for FTB customers
• Otherwise, record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

Has the child completed Year 12 or equivalent?

• Yes, the MAT does not apply. Procedure ends here
• No, and the child
• is not in full-time secondary study, the MAT does not apply. Procedure ends here
• is in full-time secondary study, continue with this step

In limited cases there may be an incorrect reduction to the rate of FTB part A paid for a child when they turn 18 years of age.

This may occur where the customer has had a Child Support extension granted but the data has not been updated to the customer’s record.

See Increasing FTB Part A after action has been taken to obtain child support, if the customer advises they have:

• lodged an extension which is pending, or
• had an extension granted by Child Support for the 18 year old child that has not been updated on their Centrelink record

The following scenarios must be escalated to consider whether the customer should be treated as meeting the MAT. The Resources page contains a link to the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk

• a child support agreement in place before the child turned 18, and
• no underlying administrative assessment existed (this can be checked via the Maintenance Group Annual Entitlement (MNGE) screen), and
• the child support agreement ended when the child turned 18, and
• one party took steps to extend the agreement however the other party refused (both parties signatures are required to extend the agreement) The party who attempted to extend the agreement has taken reasonable maintenance action
• an administrative assessment in place before the child turned 18, and
• the child's 18th birthday falls in the school holiday period in between 2 secondary school years. When this occurs, Child Support may have rejected the customer’s application to extend the child support case (or may have refused to let the customer apply to extend). The Resources page contains a scenario

The maintenance action code of 'MED' (Manual workaround pass) should be coded (only where approval to do so has been obtained from the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk) to ensure the customer continues to receive more than the base rate of FTB Part A where it is deemed reasonable maintenance action was taken. For help coding, see Maintenance Action Test (MAT) .

To continue to receive more than the base rate of FTB Part A for a full-time secondary student once the child turns 18 years of age, a payee must apply to Child Support for an extension to their child support assessment prior to the child's 18th birthday. The assessment can be extended until the last day of the secondary school year that falls within 365 days of the child's 18th birthday.

If the child's 18th birthday falls in the school holiday period in between 2 secondary school years, Child Support may reject the customer’s application to extend the child support case (or may refuse to let the customer apply to extend). If this occurs, these cases must be escalated to the Level 2 Policy Helpdesk to consider whether the customer should be treated as meeting the MAT.

If the payee fails to seek an extension, in most cases the MAT requirement will not be met from the 18th birthday and only the base rate of FTB Part A will be payable until the last day of secondary school for the year in which their child turns 18 years.

The MAT continues to apply where:

• a senior secondary school child has turned 18 years, and
• the school year in which they turn 18 years has not ended, and
• the customer (payee) was entitled to receive child support prior to the child's 18th birthday

To continue to receive more than the base rate of FTB Part A (and, if applicable, to retain any ancillary benefits), before the child turns 18 years the payee must contact Child Support to apply for an extension to their child support case.

Note: an application for an extension must be lodged before the child's 18th birthday unless there are exceptional circumstances that warrant a late application. Only Child Support can determine if exceptional circumstances apply.

Customers are sent a letter by Child Support 3 months prior to the child turning 18 years, advising:

• of the option to extend their assessment or agreement until the last day of secondary school for the year in which the child turns 18 years
• that the application must be made prior to the child's 18th birthday
• their FTB payments may be affected and that they should contact Centrelink to discuss

FTB customers with a MAT code of CAM or CCC for the relevant child/ren will be sent a letter 28 days prior to a child turning 18 years old, advising that if they do not apply for an extension to the child support case before the child turns 18 years of age, the amount of FTB they receive will reduce.

If a customer (payee) contacts Centrelink about extending their child support case, warm transfer the customer to Child Support via Softphone. For contact details, see Child Support to apply for an extension to their child support assessment.

The Resources page contains a comprehensive set of scenarios demonstrating maintenance action test outcomes for children turning 18.

Rejection of extension by Child Support

If Child Support reject the application for an extension past the child's 18th birthday because the child is not in secondary study for Child Support purposes, but the child is in a category defined as a full-time secondary student for Centrelink purposes, a manual MAT exemption/pass will need to be applied. Refer these cases to a:

• Families Override Contact, (for contact details, see Families Override Contacts) or
• Service Support Officer to update the MAT code for the child to 'MED'

Child Support extension data has not been updated to the customers record

If the customer has advised that they have already lodged an extension which is still pending or had an extension granted by Child Support for the 18 year old child, and the extension data has not been updated on the customer’s Centrelink record. See Increasing FTB Part A after action has been taken to obtain child support.

Record details on a DOC.

Advise the customer that reasonable action to obtain child support must be taken within 13 weeks (91 days) (the DMA period) of the latest of:

• date child was born
• date child entered their care
• date they separated from the child's other parent
• date their percentage of actual care increased to 35% or more
• such later date that they first become entitled to apply for maintenance

The DMA period for the child will be automatically updated if any of the first 4 events are recorded.

Scenarios where the fifth event may apply:

• date of arrival in Australia for customers arriving from overseas. The PDE MAT code must be manually applied from the date of arrival
• date the other parent of the child/ren moves to a reciprocal country (including Australia) from a non-reciprocal country. The date of event is the date supplied by the customer or the date Services Australia becomes aware of the payer's change of residency, whichever is the earlier.
  The PDE MAT code must be manually applied from the earlier of the 2 dates

The Resources page contains examples of the above scenarios.

The fifth event (list above) does not trigger a DMA period and the PDE MAT code must be manually applied from the relevant date.

A customer may claim FTB after their DMA period. This may occur when a customer:

• arrives from overseas and is not yet residentially qualified for FTB Part A (due to serving a NARWP), or
• has a Separated Under One Roof (SUOR) assessment finalised more than 91 days after the separation date

When this occurs, consider whether it is reasonable to expect the customer would have known to take maintenance action upon arriving in Australia or during the SUOR assessment period. If the answer is no, consider extending the DMA period.

Does PDE need to be manually applied to initiate a DMA period?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

To manually commence a 13 week DMA period for a customer who meets the fifth criteria of the 13 week (91 day) timeframe, Service Officers must refer the case details to ICT via existing referral protocols. Where appropriate, ICT will apply a 'PDE' (Pseudo DMA Event) manual MAT code to simulate a DMA period for the customer.

To refer a record to ICT, see Resources for a link to Business Process and Design Branch, then select the FCC ICT Referral Process link in the Featured content section.

The PDE code initiates a DMA period which will trigger issue of MARNL(s) and the creation of reviews.

PDE appears on the Maintenance Action Input (MNMA) screen and results in DMA on the MNMR screen. Coding of the PDE MAT code is restricted to ICT.

Procedure ends here.

If the customer's current partner is the biological parent of the child and the customer is not, the partner must take action to obtain child support. In most cases, the customer should apply for a child support assessment.

Does the customer/partner intend to seek child support?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

Online is the preferred option for child support applications. If this option does not suit the customer's circumstances, customers can be warm transferred to Child Support via Interaction Workspace (iWS) Softphone. Warm transfer may be a more appropriate action when the customer has no immediate online access and is already receiving FTB A at base rate due to no maintenance action.

Read the following to the customer:

'Once you receive an assessment from Child Support you can decide whether you want to privately collect child support payments or if you want Child Support to collect child support payments on your behalf'.

'You are always advantaged by receiving child support as soon as possible, as only a proportion of the child support you receive will affect your family assistance'.

'You can make an application for a child support assessment online via the Services Australia website. If this is not an option, I can transfer you now to Child Support who can make an assessment of the child support payments you should receive'.

'You do not have to apply today, you have 13 weeks from the date of event to apply for a child support assessment or to request an exemption from applying for a child support assessment. You may wish to delay applying to sort out parenting issues'.

Does the customer want to apply right now?

• Yes, customers should contact Child Support directly, either online or by phone, to apply for a child support assessment. Refer the customer to Child Support. For contact details, see Child Support. Go to Step 9
• No, advise the customer they can lodge an application for child support online (via the Services Australia Website, the Resources page contains a link), or by calling Child Support
• For customers required to take child support action, go to Step 8
• For other customers, procedure ends here

Is the customer/partner seeking an exemption from seeking child support?

• Yes, see Exemptions from seeking child support for FTB customers. Procedure ends here
• No, and the customer/partner does not take reasonable action to obtain child support or apply for an exemption within the 13 week (91 day) timeframe,
  Go to Step 6

Tell the customer that:

• The FTB Part A will be limited to the base rate for the child/ren and
• If the customer is:
• an income support payment customer Rent Assistance (RA) can be paid with their income support payment (this will occur automatically),
• not an income support customer their RA will cease
• If the customer fails the MAT for:
• all children in care, the customer’s existing HCC may be cancelled. Refer to Health Care Card (HCC) as the customer may be able to retain their HCC
• only some of the children in care, the customer may continue to be eligible for a HCC for all children, including the one/s who failed the MAT

Has the customer chosen to accept FTB Part A base rate?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, record details on a DOC. Use Fast Note, select Auto Text use Families > Updates > No Maintenance Action. Procedure ends here

Customers may only choose to accept the base rate of FTB Part A if they do not have an active child support assessment for the child. It is important to ensure the customer is aware of the financial consequences of accepting the base rate of FTB A and makes an informed decision to accept base rate. A referral to a social worker should be considered as a maintenance exemption may be appropriate:

• Run the Maintenance Action workflow to update the MAT code for the child to 'AXB' (accepts base rate) from the date of the conversation with the customer, and
• Clearly record details of the conversation on a DOC, including:
• discussed/investigated whether a possible exemption based on the customer's circumstances may be applicable
• discussed/offered social work referral to discuss whether a maintenance exemption may be appropriate
• discussed options regarding different collection methods (private collect versus Child Support collect)
• discussed implications of AXB if the customer's situation changes, so the customer can make an informed decision if they do/do not want to accept this option
• what they need to do in the future if they change their mind in regards to AXB, that is, they must contact to request AXB be ended
• income support customers who were receiving Rent Assistance (RA) with their FTB will be paid RA with their income support payment until they satisfy the MAT

Note: if AXB is coded within the 13 week (91 day) timeframe, the AXB will not apply until the end of the DMA period. This is because the customer cannot fail the MAT during the DMA period.

Procedure ends here.

Ensure the customer is aware of their obligation to take reasonable action to obtain child support and advise that a Maintenance Action Requirement Notification letter will be automatically issued to the customer if they remain within the 13 week (91 day) timeframe when the FTB claim is granted or the circumstance change is recorded.

The MARNL advises the customer of the action required and the effect on their FTB rate if they do not take action by the specified date.

A reminder MARNL will be sent to the customer 21 days after the initial MARNL was sent if:

• it is within the DMA period
• no Child Support assessment data has been received, and
• the initial letter was sent on or before day 63 of the DMA period.

If the DMA period has lapsed, an automatic letter will be sent advising the customer they have not taken reasonable action to obtain child support and that base rate FTB Part A will be paid until action is taken.

Record details on a DOC.

Procedure ends here.

If customer is still linked to the person who is to pay child support, the records must be unlinked before the maintenance action can be updated. See Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Parental Leave Pay (PPL) and/or Child Care Subsidy (CCS) customer separates.

See Item 2 'Updating MAT code for FTB instalment customers' in MAT codes to update the MAT code for the child to APP or CAC from the earlier of:

• the date confirmation is available that the customer has applied for a child support assessment, or
• the date the customer lodged an application for child support payments, as confirmed by Child Support

If the other parent is not a resident of Australia, use PRP (seeking proof of parentage) as a manual workaround to ensure the recipient is given 90 days before an automatic review is applied. See Action to obtain child support when the paying parent is overseas and the MAT.

Note: if APP, CAC or PRP was coded in the past 3-6 months, see Step 8 in the Establish if a child support assessment is required table in Applications for child support assessment through Centrelink.

Confirmation that the customer has applied for child support could include:

• warm transfer to Child Support where customer has contacted Centrelink directly and cannot provide a case number
• cold transfer the customer to Child Support to start an application
• witnessing the customer contact Child Support from a phone within the office
• documentation from Child Support to show the customer has applied for an assessment
• the customer is transferred to Centrelink from Child Support directly or the Service Officer contacts Child Support and they provide the following information:
• Child Support case number
• child/ren's names the case applies to, and
• start date of Child Support case
• the customer verbally providing their online application ID number, date and time from their online application receipt
• the customer verbally providing their Child Support case number, child/ren’s names the case applies to and the application date

Record details on a DOC. Include the name of the child and the paying parent and the date. Finalise activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen.

Where an FTB child is the subject of a child support agreement and the payee under the agreement has less than 35% care (and a child support terminating event has not occurred) the agreement will end for the child.

The agreement may be suspended for 28 days after the care percentage changed, or up to 26 weeks in some cases. A suspension period is provided so that the agreement can re-start for the child if the person regains at least 35% care during the agreement suspension period.

Child support may become payable to the new carer (previously the payer) when the agreement ends or is suspended if there was already an administrative assessment in place when the agreement was accepted.

The MAT requirements when an agreement ends or is suspended for a child will vary depending upon whether:

• there was already an administrative assessment in place when the agreement was accepted (these cases are known as non-initiating agreements), or
• the agreement started the child support case (these cases are known as initiating binding agreements)

MAT requirements are different for WA Ex-nuptial cases. Refer the case to the Child Support Program Branch.

If the agreement is:

• an initiating binding child support agreement, go to Step 2
• a non initiating child support agreement, go to Step 3.

If a customer who is a payer under an initiating binding child support agreement has an FTB child and their level of care increase to more than 65%, the agreement may end or be suspended for a period. The customer will need to take reasonable maintenance action.

If the customer contacts, refer them to Child Support to discuss maintenance action. This will allow all required information to be obtained and advice given to the customer about their child support options. For contact details, see Child Support.

For the individual with increased care above 65%, (previous payer under the agreement) to satisfy the MAT, the following action is required:

• When an initiating agreement is suspended for a child, the parent with increased care (above 65%) of the child is unable to apply to receive child support until the current agreement based assessment ends. They can make an election to end their agreement based assessment and then apply for a formula-based assessment (or an exemption, if applicable) in order to meet the MAT
• When an initiating agreement is ended for a child, the case for the child will end. The parent with increased care (above 65%) of the child must apply for an administrative assessment (or an exemption, if applicable) in order to satisfy the MAT

The customer’s FTB entitlement will then be based on the child support formula assessment, and they will meet the MAT.

If the child support case was not started by the agreement and the agreement ends or is suspended, child support will be payable under a formula assessment to the parent (new payee) who has gained care of the child from the date the agreement ends.

They will therefore meet the MAT, unless a child support care suspension period applies beyond the 13 week DMA period (if applicable), see Table 1.