Advance Payment of Benefit : Contents
Failure to meet hardship obligations
Generally, clients who fail to meet their hardship obligations should have their application for a Special Needs Grant, Advance Payment of Benefit or Recoverable Assistance Payment declined.
This may be where they did not take reasonable steps or failed to complete a budgeting activity.
Exception
You may approve an application for a Special Needs Grant, Advance Payment of Benefit or Recoverable Assistance Payment for a client who failed their hardship obligations if there are exceptional circumstances. This includes circumstances that prevented a client from completing their obligations.
Acceptable exceptional circumstances include:
- unforeseen hospitalisation
- seriously sick or injured
- bereavement of immediate family
- emergency or adverse event
- victim of violent crime or family violence
If a client does not have any of the above reasons you can consider whether the reason provided:
- is an unforeseen out-of-the ordinary event that could not be planned for
- is beyond the client's control or
- sets the client apart from others in a similar situation
For more information see:
- Hardship obligations
- Reasonable steps obligation
- Budgeting activity obligation
- Processing standards Hardship evidence [no link find out why]
- Adding plan items and resulting activities in CMS [no link find out why] procedures
Legislation
- Exercise of Discretion clause 6 Direction on Advance Payments of Instalments of Benefit
