Requesting a document rescan, retrieval or location 111-10010120

Before requesting a rescan or retrieval:

• ensure the request is appropriate and the document is within the retention period
• check the scanning dates and classification timeframes for an indication of the oldest images in the queues that are awaiting manual classification. An image awaiting classification will often not be visible on the customer's record (see the Resources page for a link)
• review the customer's record to confirm a request has not already been made

If a request has already been lodged, go to Step 6.

Do not request a document retrieval if:

• copies of the document can be printed by the Service Officer and posted to the customer
• the document would have already been returned to the customer (see the Resources page for a list of documents automatically returned)
• the documents have been destroyed after the retention period
• the service officer has processing delegation

Exception: when the image cannot be opened or contains inappropriate material. These can be referred for a 'rescan'. Although there are no physical documents to rescan, other processes can be applied to resolve the issue.

Do not request a rescan if:

• the classification timeframe for the relevant scanning date has not been reached
• there is a coversheet or control form to indicate poor image quality, image 'bleed through', or missing pages
• the information can readily be obtained by other means
• the documents are outside the retention period. Exception: if the image cannot be opened, contains inappropriate material or information relating to multiple customers
• the document was lodged through the Upload documents service, faxed, emailed or uploaded through Document Tools, unless an exception applies
• checking whether extra documents were provided, or because supporting documents are generally expected with some forms or documents. As documents may not be checked for completion, the absence of a coversheet or control form is not enough to suggest other documents were received but not scanned. Note: if a customer confirms extra documents were included in the envelope or lodged at a service centre, a document location request may be appropriate

If requesting a:

• document/s to be split, go to Step 2
• rescan, go to Step 3
• retrieval of documents, go to Step 5
• document location, go to Step 6
• follow up on previous request, go to Step 7

Only Service Officers with processing delegations are approved to split documents. If a service officer doesn’t undertake this type of work, they are required to complete a rescan retrieval request to split the document.

When the documents do not contain mixed customer records and the Service Officer:

• has processing delegations, go to Step 8
• does not have processing delegations, go to Step 3

Submit rescan requests via the Request for document rescan, retrieval or location webform. See the Resources page for a link.

For Centrelink customers only:

• record the details of the request using a Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > Enquiry > Rescan/Retrieval/Registered Post enquiry
• complete/close the Fast Note as this is for information purposes only

Note: the webform is the hand off activity for the work item to be completed.

Record details of the request including where the document was scanned.

If the request is deemed inappropriate, the Service Officer will need to update the customer record.

If there is a work item created or updated as a result of the digital image, consider if the work item now needs to be updated or cancelled. For more information, see Workload Management.

Does the original image need to be removed?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, procedure ends here

If document removal is needed, it must be done once the rescanned image is available to view on the customer's record.

Note: it may not be possible to move or remove an image if it has been used to make a decision on the customer record. Also consider if the document needs to be escalated as a sensitive or inappropriate image. See Removing a digital image from customer records.

Service Officers are responsible for updating relevant work items and any necessary follow up actions, including requesting image removals.

Procedure ends here.

Retrieved documents may be returned to a customer, or in some cases forwarded to another agency or department, if they were sent to Services Australia incorrectly. In limited cases, the original may be retrieved and sent to staff for processing when the original is required for processing.

Only request a retrieval for significant original documents that need to be returned or forwarded. For example, Commencement of Identity documents, licences or passports.

The Service Officer is to print and post documents to the customer if they:

• request the return of supporting documents or certified copies of documents (such as bank statements, utilities accounts or rates notices), or
• have not kept a copy of any declarations such as the Essential Medical Equipment Payment User Declaration

If a customer requests the return of documents received by post and those documents have been returned, an 'Original sighted and returned on <insert date>' stamp will be placed on one or more of the documents. Generally, the date will be the same date the documents were scanned.

Requests to retrieve documents must be submitted on the Request for document rescan, retrieval or location webform. See the Resources page for a link. Inappropriate requests will result in feedback to the staff member and their line manager.

The webform must include details about the customer's preferred postal address or the agency or department name and address for forwarding the documents.

Requests to retrieve original Services Australia forms the customer has submitted will result in:

• a copy being given to the customer, and
• the original form retained for the relevant retention period

Procedure ends here.

Documents sent by regular or priority post or via the MES positional mailbox

Provide the following details to confirm if the document was received:

• PO Box/address the document was sent to
• types of document sent
• approximate number of pages
• date the mail was posted
• tracking number if available
• customer email address if document was provided via the MES positional mailbox

Documents sent by Registered or Express Post

If a customer contacts to confirm if the document was received, advise them to check the delivery status using the Australia Post tracking system.

If the customer advises Centrelink related documents have been received by the agency, and the image cannot be located on their record, follow the process in Digital image not located on customer record before submitting a location request.

Documents lodged in a service centre

Use the customer's record to confirm they attended the service centre on this date and/or an interaction occurred. Use the printer code to help determine the Source Location. To search for the service centre location:

• go to Office Locator > select Other Searches > Advanced Search
• in the Search Type field, select Office from the menu options
• in the Printer ID field, key the full/ partial printer code > Search
• select the hyperlinked service centre shown. Note: if multiple results show, select the relevant service centre to locate the correct details
• select Advanced Search Result > Office Messages > Printers
• expand this section to view the printer codes being used by specific teams in that service centre

Faxed documents

When a customer contacts to check if a document was received and the image cannot be found on their record, before submitting a location request, see Digital image not located on customer record.

If the fax cannot be located, the customer may need to provide these details again.

The following timeframes apply when following up the status of a previously lodged rescan, retrieval or location request:

• For urgent requests only, staff must allow 3 business days for the request to be actioned before requesting a follow up
• For non-urgent requests, staff must check the classification times and allow an extra 2 business days from the scanning dates 'oldest date'. See the Resources page for a link to classification timeframes and scanning dates

Check the record before requesting an update. Inappropriate follow up requests will result in feedback to the staff member and their line manager.

Email requests to the rescan request triage team. Include the original webform receipt number and a detailed reason for the request. Their mailbox address is in the auto reply email issued when the webform is submitted.

Procedure ends here.

There may be times where it is necessary to split a document. These could include:

• documents containing mixed customer information
• multiple claim or program forms lodged as one
• when the SA466 and MEDSA466 have been scanned together

Note: to do the splitting process, staff must request the appropriate resource and download the relevant applications from the Software Centre. See the Resources page for details.

The splitting process can be completed by Processing Service Officers using the following steps:

• Save document to Downloads folder
• Open and sign in to Adobe Acrobat
• Select File, select Open, select relevant file name that was saved
• From the Tools taskbar, select Organize pages
• Select the pages of the document that need to be split. See Resources page for hints and tips for splitting documents
• Select the Extract button. 2 tick boxes will show
• Select the blue Extract button. This will create 2 documents. Save these documents using different filenames
• Upload each document using Customer First Document Tools to the relevant customer’s record. When uploading the documents, the Date of Receipt must match the original date
• Delete document/s saved on the computer and in the Downloads folder

Note: request deletion of the original document using the Report Inappropriate and Incorrect Digital Images form, if required. This is only needed if information is not relating to the customer that the details are attached to, that is, details are on the incorrect record. Do not delete claims that need splitting into multiple sections for the customer the original document is attached to. See the Resources page for a link.

Procedure ends here.

Rescans and retrievals can take some time to action, may incur a cost, and the customer may be disadvantaged as a result.

A rescan may not be required when:

• information appears to be incomplete but it is not needed to complete the action on the customer's record
• information appears to be incomplete but it can be collected by other means (such as a phone call to the customer, or from documentation previously lodged by the customer)
• it was expected that related documents would be provided at the same time but there is no evidence of them in the image or on the customer record. For example, the customer has not referenced supporting document(s) and there is no evidence of a multi-feed error
• information relating to multiple customers is needed to complete work on the record where the image has been attached (such receipts or invoices that contain details of multiple customers)
• information in the image is not clear but can be read when the size of the document is modified, or when zoomed
• the scanning site has indicated that the original document was a poor quality original and rescanning will not result in a better image. This will generally occur by the use of a coversheet or control form
• the image was received by fax and contains documents for multiple customers. These must be split in Kofax

Classification staff do not need to check if all pages of a document have been provided or if all questions have been answered.

Documents provided by customers are attached to their record 'as is'. Any follow up action should be undertaken by the Service Officer processing the document.

Identify the original source channel and location by reviewing the details in the document information. The printer code will help determine the Source Location.

Rescan identified in National Queue

If the document contains multiple customer details and is being classified in the National Queue, escalate to Classification Support. Classification support should confirm document contains mixed customer information and if required escalate for splitting via the Rescan/Retrieval process . See the Resources page for a link.

Rescan identified in KOFAX

Kofax Validation allows for splitting and attaching images to multiple records. A rescan request is not needed unless there are other valid reasons for the request, for example, poor image quality.

If the document contains inappropriate information, see Removing a digital image from customer records.

If the Source Channel screen shows:

• Scan, go to Step 3
• Upload documents online, a rescan cannot be requested. Procedure ends here

Is the Customer Reference Number (CRN) known?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 6

Submit rescan requests using the Request for document rescan, retrieval or location webform. See the Resources page for a link.

Go to Step 5.

National Queue

After submitting the webform, action is needed to complete classification in the National Queue.

In most cases, the document can still be classified and attached to the customer record, unless the image is inappropriate or contains multiple customer details.

Enter the relevant form code for the image and select rescan in the Document Decision field. The image will then be completed in the National Queue.

If there are multiple documents in the one batch (identified by the multiple document IDs displayed in the Work Package), and a rescan is required on one of the documents, advise in the notes section what document requires the rescan. Classify all other images as normal.

After submitting the webform, note details of the request on the customer's record.

Kofax Validation

After submitting the webform, action is needed to complete classification in Kofax Validation. In most cases, the document can still be classified and attached to the customer record.

If the image is inappropriate or contains multiple customer details, see Classifying Centrelink digital images via the Kofax Validation Queue.

Procedure ends here.

National Queue

Escalate to the Classification Support Queue, with extra notes why escalation is required.

Ensure the rescan request reason is valid. See the Resources page for examples of appropriate rescan request reasons and a link to the Request for document rescan, retrieval or location webform.

If there are multiple documents in the one batch (identified by the multiple document IDs displayed in the Work Package), and a rescan is required on one of the documents, advise in the notes section what document requires the rescan. Classify all other images as normal.

Select Escalate to Classification Support Officer in the Document Decision field.

Kofax Validation

For documents in Kofax, follow the process outlined in Classifying Centrelink digital images via the Kofax Validation Queue.

If possible, the Classification Support Officer will take action to resolve the issue. This may include printing and rescanning documents, especially for faxes if the image cannot be split. If a rescan or retrieval is needed, they will complete the Request for document rescan, retrieval or location webform. See the Resources page for a link.