2.2.1.10 General Procedures for Verifying Identity

Summary

This topic covers:

• principles of identity,
• POI requirements for children,
• requirement to provide POI documents for claimants/recipients,
• requirement to provide POI documents for partners,
• sighting and recording POI documents by Centrelink staff and agents,
• original POI documents not sighted by Centrelink staff,
• POI for victims of major or widespread disasters (1.1.M.20),
• reclaims or abridged claims,
• transfers, and
• claiming an additional payment.

Principles of identity

The requirement for verification of identity is based on SS(Admin)Act section 8, which states that abuses of the social security system are to be minimised. The POI model used for this requires claimants/recipients to prove their identity when making new claims or when renewing or altering their claims. The model is based on 4 key principles for verifying a person's identity:

• Proof of existence of the identity, which means being able to prove the origin of the identity in Australia, either through:
  • birth in Australia, or
  • for persons born overseas, commencement of the identity in Australia.
• Historical identity: The use of an identity in interaction with Government and the community is used to establish the legitimacy of the identity. It provides a history of the use of the identity and establishes a number of points where the identity can be validated through other data sources.
• Locational identity: This supports the other principles by establishing that the person was contactable at a particular address, allowing further verification to take place.
• Verification of the linkage between the identity and the person: Verification seeks to link the identity with the person and to ensure that the person using the identity has a legitimate right to do so.

The 4 principles underlying the model hinge upon 2 fundamental ideas, the existence of the identity and linkage of the claimant to that identity.

Act reference: SS(Admin)Act section 8 Principles of administration

POI requirements for children

For POI for children refer to the Family Assistance Guide.

For POI for foster children refer to the Guide to Social Security Law.

Policy reference: SS Guide 3.9.1.45 Foster Child HCC

FA Guide 2.1.1.15 Verification of Child's Name & Date of Birth

Requirement to provide POI documents for claimants

To receive a social security pension, benefit or allowance, low income HCC or CSHC, a claimant must provide original POI documents considered by Centrelink sufficient to establish their identity.

Requirement to provide POI documents for partners

To receive a social security pension, benefit or allowance, claimants must also provide the full name, address, DOB, TFN and income and asset details of their non-claimant partner.

POI is not required for a non-claimant partner EXCEPT where the claimant has claimed PPP, or the low income HCC or PBBP.

Explanation: As the partner is entitled to receive benefits from the partner's claim, or in the case of PBBP the person receives payment based on their deceased partner's accrued bonus, their identity must be verified to the same level as the claimant for PPP and HCC.

For all other payments and benefits each person must claim in their own right. When this occurs their identity will be verified.

Partner details are not required for claimants of a foster child HCC.

Sighting & recording POI documents by Centrelink staff & agents

When claimants/recipients present POI documents, staff or agents must check that they are unaltered original documents from Centrelink's approved list (accessible on the form SS231 'Proving your identity to Centrelink'), and that the information and signature on each document offered is consistent with the claim form and any other documents provided.

Original documents should be sighted, recorded on to the system and returned to the claimant/recipient.

Original POI documents not sighted by Centrelink staff

Where the claimant/recipient is unable to attend a Centrelink CSC or Centrelink agent they may arrange for the copies of their POI documents to be certified by an Australian, state or local government official.

Copies of POI documents certified by a Justice of the Peace for claimants/recipients may be accepted if the claimant/recipient resides in rural or remote areas, lodges their documents by mail, or if the claimant/recipient has difficulty in attending the CSC due to a medical condition such as decreased mobility, hospitalisation or institutional care.

For these cases:

• the claimant/recipient must be contacted and advised that the original documents need to be provided to Centrelink within a reasonable time period, normally 4 weeks, and
• the customer service adviser should be satisfied that the documents provided are true copies.

POI for victims of major or widespread disasters

Normal identity verification guidelines do NOT apply to victims of major or widespread disasters. A claimant/recipient's personal details and present circumstances would only be verified if there are strong reasons for doubting the accuracy of the information provided.

Explanation: Victims of major or widespread disasters who are not already departmental recipients may find it difficult to satisfy the department's normal identity verification requirements.

Reclaims or abridged claims

Once a claimant/recipient's identity is verified there will only be a need to authenticate their identity in some circumstances. This is because identity has been established previously through a full identity verification process when a claimant/recipient first presents a claim. Authentication seeks to apply one or more of the lower level principles from the POI model used to link a person to the established identity through other approved POI documents.

When a break in a claimant/recipient's payment is greater than 14 days, but less than 52 weeks (abridged claim), an abridged POI process for verifying a claimant/recipient's identity will be used, consisting of 3 options, any one of which may be used to authenticate identity:

• recording of any POI documents from the approved list to the value of 40 points, OR
• the customer service adviser can document that the claimant/recipient is known to them or to the CSC, (this will primarily apply to claimants/recipients requiring customised assistance, such as those with psychiatric disorders or the homeless), OR
• completion of a signature check when documents provided from the approved list add up to less than 40 points.

If the claimant/recipient cannot meet any of these 3 options then the full identity verification process will commence. All relevant details must then be recorded by the customer service adviser on the POI screen.

Explanation: As part of rules simplification, since September 2001 claimants reclaiming a payment within 52 weeks only need to provide one acceptable form of POI.

Claimants/recipients who did not have satisfactory POI previously or who had been granted an identity review period or exemption must meet the standard POI requirements. For claimants/recipients experiencing difficulty with identity verification, see 2.2.1.40.

If a claimant/recipient has previously satisfied POI under arrangements for people experiencing difficulty with verifying identity and they again meet these criteria they may be granted again. However if some POI documents had been collected by the person in the previous exemption period, these should be coded to improve the person's recorded POI.

Transfers

When a break in a recipient's payment is less than 14 days (transfers):

• minimal authentication is required, as the procedure replicates that currently used to authenticate identity when a recipient is advising of a change in their circumstances.
• the customer service adviser will ask a number of questions related to the recipient's record such as - children's DOB, previous address, previous employers, partner's maiden name etc. If these questions can be answered to the customer service adviser's satisfaction then the previous POI is accepted.

If the recipient cannot meet these requirements then further identity verification will be required.

If a recipient transfers to another payment that requires additional verification, normal verification procedures for these details will apply.

Claiming an additional payment

Arrangements are the same as for transfers.

Act reference: SS(Admin)Act section 8 Principles of administration

_______________________________________________________

Last reviewed: 30 April 2012