30.6.3 Advice to client

Before approving an interim payment under S19, a Delegate must write to the client in the following terms:

• advising the client that the rate of his or her weekly compensation entitlement is subject to the amount of any superannuation pension or superannuation lump-sum benefit received by the client, however details of any such superannuation entitlements are not yet known, and
• advising the client that he/she has two options:

1.deferral of determination and payment of weekly compensation until the superannuation information is known, or

2.payment of interim compensation at the statutory rate prescribed by the Act. The weekly rate payable to the client should be calculated and stated in the letter

• advising the client that any overpayment of interim weekly compensation will be recovered by withholding weekly compensation payments until the full amount of the overpayment has been recovered
• requiring the client to advise in writing:

• whether they wish to receive interim payments, and
• agreeing to repay any overpayment which occurs.

3.delegates should also advise the person of the process to access superannuation entitlements from CSC and that they should advise the Department of any entitlements once known.

Interim payments of compensation should not be commenced until the client has assented to these conditions and returned the required Authority.

Section 114B of the SRCA also authorises DVA to recover certain overpayments (resulting from the interaction of weekly compensation payments and the receipt of superannuation benefits) directly from the client's superannuation entitlements. This is only possible where the client has not yet received any of the superannuation benefits.

Delegates have only 2 working days, i.e. from the date when CSC advises DVA of the client's superannuation assessment, to request CSC to recover by deduction from superannuation any overpayment of compensation which has occurred.