Suspension of Youth Allowance (YA) (students and Australian Apprentices) 010-21081343

Have letters been returned 'return to sender - no longer at this address?

• Yes, see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Is the customer contacting about the suspension of their payment ?

• Yes, see Step 3 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 3

Payments may be suspended if a customer is temporarily not qualified for payment or the payment is not payable because of:

• changes in their circumstances or details and the change means they are no longer qualified
• failure to comply with the requirements for payment
• information not provided to ensure that payments are directed correctly (such as a valid address of bank account details), or
• failure to respond to request for action, information or documentation within the specified period

Do not suspend or cancel a payment:

• under suspicion a customer is no longer eligible for payment, or
• if there are unverified details that suggest a customer may not be eligible. For example, a tip off

Is it appropriate to consider suspending payment?

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

Do not make a decision without providing the customer the opportunity to address adverse details.

Make 2 genuine attempts to contact the customer to supply evidence.

If unable to contact the customer issue a request for information in Process Direct.

If the customer has a correspondence nominee, also send copies of letters and notices to the nominee. Do not suspend payments before attempting to contact the nominee.

Has the customer responded to the request for information/action within the reasonable timeframe allowed?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, and:
• the request was 'returned to sender', see Return to sender (RTS) mail for Centrelink. Procedure ends here
• the request is due without a response, go to Step 5

Determine if special circumstances exist for an extension of time to respond.

See Identifying crisis situations, customer vulnerability and risk issues.

Are there special circumstances?

• Yes, resubmit the request for information. DOC reason for extension including special circumstances. Set a new due date. When the new due date is reached, if:
• a response is received, go to Step 6
• no response is received, see Step 1 in Table 2
• No, the customer has failed to reply to letter, see Step 1 in Table 2

Update the customer's record with the details provided. If the customer's circumstances preclude payment, payment will automatically suspend or cancel. If income affects payments, rate of payment or student income bank balance may change.

Record a DOC. Complete all work items and close all documents where applicable.

Procedure ends here.

Confirm the customer’s continuing eligibility for payment if they have:

• changed course or institutions, or
• reduced their study load

See Changing or correcting course of study for Youth Allowance, Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement students.

Only suspend Youth Allowance (YA) payments if:

• there is sufficient evidence the customer no longer qualifies for payment or payment is not payable
• the period of ineligibility is for a short time. For example, there is reason to believe the customer will resolve non-compliance with any legislative/policy
• all required actions such as requesting details and contacting customer are completed

Is the decision to suspend the payment correct?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, record a DOC on why a manual suspension is not required. See Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs). Procedure ends here

Update the customer record with the relevant details to allow the system to make an automatic determination if possible.

If the system does not automatically suspend the payment, manually suspend the payment. On the Benefit Action (BA) screen code:

• Svc Rsn field: YAL
• Action field: SUS'
• Reason field: code the appropriate suspension reason. For a list of suspension codes, see:
• Cancellation, suspension and rejection codes for Newstart System (NSS), or
• use field help (?) to view options
• Effect Date field: select Enter. The system may automatically enter the date of effect of the suspension. If this does not occur, manually enter the date. For more information, see Suspension of payments (CLK)
• Notes field; include any relevant details

For a manual suspension with a reason of OTH (other) issue a Q134 letter in the suspension activity. This is to prevent a Manual Follow Up (MFU) activity generating. See Creating a Q134 letter.

Select This decision has been made under the Student Assistance Act 1973 as the relevant act

• Finalise the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Record details of decision and any action taken on a DOC:
• Use Fast Note. Select Auto text use Students, ABSTUDY and Apprentices > SUS/CAN/RES > Template: SUSP DOV

Complete the Fast Note with:

• Decision made, payment type and relevant Act/Guide reference. See Creating, reviewing, and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)
• Date of effect of decision
• Reasons for decision. Include reasons for customer not qualifying or why the payment is not payable for decisions made under section 80
• Follow up action required before restoration can take place

Does the customer have a partner?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, see Table 3

Suspend the partner's payment if required. See the relevant suspension process for procedures on suspending other payments.

If there is no partner suspension, see Table 3.

If a manual Q134 or Q999 letter is required for a suspension activity, a Manual Follow Up (MFU) activity generates, usually overnight. Workload Manager (WLM) allocates the MFU for action.

If the customer contacts in response to the suspension letter, go to Step 2.

Has a manual suspension letter been issued to the customer at suspension?

• Yes, finalise the MFU. Procedure ends here
• No, send a manual letter. Select the MFU from the Activity List (AL) screen and manually issue a Q134 letter. Include in the letter:
• payment type
• decision
• date of effect of the decision
• an explanation of the reason for the decision
• an explanation of what they must do to have their payment restored and the consequences for not doing this. For example, cancellation of payment
• a reasonable time frame to take required action to avoid cancellation
• their review and appeal rights
• the relevant section of the Legislation or Policy under which the decision was made
• Procedure ends here

If a customer contacts regarding their suspension, check the suspension DOC. Payment may be restored if:

• they have already complied with the action required or are able to comply at contact they do not need to supply documents
• they qualify for payment
• they do not need to attend the service centre and the payment is one which is able to be restored, and
• there is no note on a DOC to prevent restoration

Is the customer eligible for payment?

• Yes, restore payment. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

Make 2 genuine attempts to contact the customer to:

• explain the decision
• give them a chance to provide more information, and
• advise their review and appeal rights