C28/1999 2000 ISSUE OF PENSIONER CONCESSION CARDS (PCCs)

Purpose of Instruction

This Departmental Instruction provides information on

The format and issuing of the 2000 Pensioner Concession Cards (PCCs);

Procedures for applying for replacement travel vouchers; and

Arrangements for the ongoing daily issuing of PCCs;

Background

The PCC is issued by the Commonwealth Government to all income support recipients to prove eligibility for a range of Commonwealth, State/Territory and Local Government benefits and concessions.  DVA is responsible for issuing the PCC to DVA clients (including Centrelink Age Pensioners being paid by DVA).

The PCC is issued annually either through a bulk issue or through individual issue to clients who become eligible – to all recipients for the calendar year.

The 2000 PCC is issued as a plastic card glued faced down onto a carrier.  Rail travel vouchers are attached to the carrier for States that offer rail transport concessions.

Commencing this year NSW and ACT PCC holders will no longer receive 4 rail travel vouchers with their PCC however, there is no change in current entitlement of four single journeys per year for each person entitled to a PCC.  For Tasmania the vouchers are for use with motor vehicle and transport related concessions.

The following table provides a summary timetable of key dates in this year's PCC process.

What's different this year

The issue of the 2000 PCCs to pensioners will be different to previous year's exercises in a number of ways:

• 2 cards will be positioned at bottom edge of A4 carrier for couples only (1999 issue was A3 and this format proved too time consuming during the printing/personalising process at the mailing house).
• Bulk production and issue is scheduled to be completed by the end of October.  This keeps the issue well away from the busy December mailing period, and allows generous time to recover any unforseen events.
• The validity date of card has been extended to commence October 1999 and expire December 2000 (this means that only a year 2000 card need be issued for any new grant pensioners during October – December 1999).  Refer to page 12 for important details.
• Norfolk Island residents to be issued with a PCC in the bulk run.
• No vouchers to be issued with NSW and ACT PCCs in bulk and post 1/1/2000 daily issues due to change in Countrylink's computer reservations system.
• Change to VIC voucher layout for couples and singles format as there is a requirement to include an additional voucher.  This voucher will be personalised with the same information as the existing Victorian travel voucher.
• No requirement to provide Lost Eligibility Report at the completion of the bulk data extract (SSO's have agreed by majority that this report was unused and unnecessary).
• Changes to the rules for including Partner's on PCCs (see below for details).
• Surnames beginning MAC or MC will be printed in upper case on the card, all other surnames will print in title case on the card as normal.
• The names of up to six dependant children will be included on the PCC if applicable.  This has been changed from the previous seven to accommodate cross-listing of partner's on the cards.  If there are more than six children in the assessment, a separate card is issued.
• Concession Information Sheet to be included for some States (see below for details).
• Change to Cross-reference cases (see below for details).
• Arial font on carriers and vouchers for easier reading.
• Partner gets own date of grant on PCC.  Last year we only supplied one date of grant to the mailing house, however in the case of couples the date of grant is not necessarily the same for both members of the couple.  The program has been changed to provide actual date of grant for both veteran and spouse/defacto rather than using only veteran's date of grant.

Concession Information Sheet

A State specific “Concessions Information” sheet will be provided for couples for some States where this information is unable to fit onto the A4 couples carrier because of the number of vouchers these States require.  The States that require the “Concessions Information” sheet are Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland.  Samples will be supplied to SSO's in affected State's.  Note that this effects the bulk issue of cards to couples only – all concessions information is still included on the carrier for singles format (as used for daily PCC issues).

Cross Reference Cases

The current selection program rules have been amended to revert back to the 1997 program format that issued 1998 PCCs.  That is, where there is a cross reference for a person, the 2000 PCC bulk issue will be issued in the payment (ie cross referenced) number.  This change was made after consultation with State System Support Officers where the majority favoured a return to the 1997 format.

Partner's on PCCs

The PCC program has been amended this year to include the following in order to follow current DFACs policy regarding the issue of Centrelink PCC's and to simplify the current rules for partner's:

Where both members of a couple are in receipt of an income support payment, they will be cross-listed as dependants on one another's cards.

If spouse/defacto of a veteran is not eligible or payable, but is present in the assessment then spouse/defacto is added as a dependant to the veteran's card (blind veteran's included).

Veterans who are not in payment and who, therefore will not receive a PCC, will appear as a dependant on the PCC of their blinded service pension partner.

This change affects the number of children that can be listed on the PCC.  With the introduction of cross-listing of partners on cards, the number of children that will be listed on a PCC is six (previously seven).  If there are more than six dependant children in the assessment, a separate card will be issued.

What remains the same

• Single pensioners PCCs will be the same format as previous year's i.e. one carrier; one card with vouchers attached.  As previously noted on page 4, the VIC carrier has been revised to include an additional voucher.
• On-going daily issues of PCCs will be produced in the same format as previous years i.e. one carrier, one card regardless of single/couple status.
• The pensioner's name will be constructed as follows: forename, 2 — nd initial, 3 — rd initial (where applicable) and surname (all in title case) with the exception of MAC/MC surnames, these will be printed in upper case on the card.
• The pensioner's name will be printed in title case with the street address, suburb and state printed in upper case on the card.
• The pensioner's name and address (street, suburb and state) will be printed in upper case on the carrier.
• Victoria will issue replacement vouchers on behalf of their State Transport Authority throughout the year.
• South Australia will issue replacement vouchers on behalf of their State Transport Authority throughout the year.
• Blind clients will have a hole punched in the top right hand corner of the card and the word “BLIND” printed at the top of the card.
• PCC Summary Report will be produced on CD-ROM.
• A 2000 state specific fridge magnet calendar will be inserted in each envelope.

Card Production

Processing of the bulk issue of approximately 395,000 2000 PCCs will commence on Thursday 16 September 1999, following the extract of client data on the weekend of 11-12 September 1999.

The 2000 PCC will be personalised, enveloped and despatched by the mailing house – Security Mailing Services in Sydney.  Lodgement with Australia Post will commence on 1 October and is scheduled to be completed by Thursday, 21 October 1999.

Card Numbers

The approximate numbers for each State/Territory for the bulk issue in September 1999 are as follows:

State/Territory

No. of PCCs

New South Wales

132,238

Victoria

90,160

Queensland

80,987

South Australia

37,841

Western Australia

35,626

Tasmania

14,925

Northern Territory

655

Australian Capital Territory

3,017

TOTAL

395,449

2000 PCC Stock

For the 2000 bulk PCC issue, there will be 2 different carriers – one for couples (to be used in the bulk issue only) and one for single pensioners.  The pre-printed format of the rear of the card for both singles and couples cards will be:

• A pale blue plastic card glued (tipped) onto a carrier;
• Have the validity dates “VALID FROM OCT 1999 TO DEC 2000” pre-printed on the card;
• Heading, logos and currency date will be deep purple; and
• Personalised information will be laser printed in black onto the card by the mailing house, Security Mailing Services.

The 2000 PCC stock for single pensioners and daily re-issues/new grants is a pale blue plastic card with heading and logos in deep purple.

Generally, the travel vouchers will be pale blue with black lettering and the expiry date is 31/12/2000 for all 2000 PCCs.

The Victorian Pensioner Free Travel Voucher has been divided into 2 parts (vouchers).  The change does not affect pensioner's entitlements however the new Voucher Exchange Coupon has been printed in blue italics text to make it easier for pensioners to recognise that it is a different voucher.

The State Office contact phone number(s), street location and postal addresses will be included on the carrier.

Carrier Layout

The 2000 carrier layout for single pensioners remains the same as the layout for the 1999 carrier, with the vouchers printed at the bottom of the carrier.  In addition, the Victorian carrier has been revised to include an additional voucher.

The 2000 carrier layout for couples will incorporate 2 cards positioned at the bottom edge of an A4 carrier and the appropriate number of vouchers positioned where they best fit on the carrier and depending on which State the PCC is issued.

For couples PCC units, the left card and left column of vouchers will be personalised with the client's details (the right side card and vouchers being used for the person's partner details).

Prior to commencement of bulk issue production, each State will receive a sample couples PCC unit for reference purposes.

Blind Pensioners – Special PCCs

The word 'BLIND' will be printed in 14 point lettering on the top centre of the 2000 PCC for blind pensioners.  The PCC for blind pensioners issued during the bulk exercise will have a hole punched in the top right hand corner of the card.

Special Register PCCs

Special Register and Special Register Blind clients PCCs will be enveloped and forwarded directly to each State Office for checking prior to dispatch to the Special Register addresses.

Fridge Magnet Calendar Inserts

A State specific 2000 magnetic refrigerator calendar will be included with the bulk issue of PCCs.

Vouchers

The number of vouchers attached to the carriers will vary with each State/Territory and will be separated from the carrier with perforations.  The vouchers will include the pensioner's name and entitlement numbers, and in the case of Tasmania will also contain the pensioner's address and Date of Grant.

The vouchers provide fields for personal details to be lasered.  The information required to be lasered onto vouchers are as follows:

For this State

And this Card/Carrier

This information will be inserted onto the Voucher

NSW

NIL (Single & Couples)

NIL

ACT

NIL (Single & Couples)

NIL

NT

NIL (Single & Couples)

NIL

VIC

Single (2 vouchers)

Name

Entitlement Number

VIC

Couple (4 vouchers)

Names

Entitlement Numbers

QLD

Single (4 vouchers)

Name

Entitlement Number

QLD

Couple (8 vouchers)

Names

Entitlement Numbers

SA

Single (4 vouchers)

Name

Entitlement Number

SA

Couples (8 vouchers)

Names

Entitlement Numbers

WA

Single (1 voucher)

Name

Entitlement Number

WA

Couples (2 vouchers)

Names

Entitlement Numbers

TAS

Single (4 vouchers)

Name

Address

Date of Grant

Entitlement Number

No. of Dependants

TAS

Couple (8 vouchers)

Names

Addresses

Date of Grant

Entitlement Numbers

No. of Dependants

Reports

State offices will be provided with the following listings of cases following the bulk extract:

• Rejection Report of clients who did not receive a PCC and the reason, eg clients with an overseas address;
• Special Register clients;
• Blind Cases – listing cases of blind pensioners who receive a PCC; and
• Blind and Special Register Cases – listing cases where the pensioner is blind and a Special Register Case.

Where the Reports will be printed

The above reports will be addressed to the State Office PCC contact officers.  You should expect the reports to be printed in your respective State Office printers identified as: NSWBO, VICBO1, QLDPAY, SABO, WABO, and TASBO on Monday 13 September 1999, following the data extraction processing on the weekend of 11-12 September 1999.

CD-ROM

At the completion of the exercise the mailing house will provide each State office with a summary report on CD-ROM that lists the Department's PCC recipients from the 2000 bulk issue.  The CD-ROM is scheduled to be dispatched to the nominated State contact officers by the end of October.

The CD-ROM files (*.pdf format) can be accessed via Acrobat Reader 3.0 which can be found on the DVA LAN.  From the Start up menu select Departmental/Applications/Internet Tools/Acrobat Reader 3.0.

New and replacement PCC's

The procedures for the ongoing issuing of new and replacement 2000 PCCs remain the same as in other years i.e., new and replacement issues of PCCs are to be extracted by batch processing each night for printing daily on the local printers located in each State Office.

The last automatic daily extract for any issue/reissue of the 1999 PCCs will be on Friday, 10 September 1999 for all.

Formatting and any re-alignment of local printers to accommodate the 2000 PCC will be addressed by the PCC National Office, IMU programmers.  Please advise Kristie Wallace on 02 6289 6019 as soon as possible if you experience any difficulties in printing replacement or new grant PCCs.

Manual Voucher Issues to 31/12/99

From Monday, 13 September 1999, all new grant and card replacement transactions will generate a 2000 PCC record on the client data base with an expiry date of 31/12/2000 for all States.

The 1999 PCC stock must not be used for daily extracts, from and including Monday, 13 September 1999.

State Offices will have to issue manual 1999 vouchers for those clients who are new grant, transfer-in or require replacement vouchers between 13 September and 31 December 1999.  (New grants are issued with 2000 PCC's from and including this period).

NSW/ACT New Grant and Transfer Ins

Up until the end of December 1999 any new grants or transfer ins for NSW and ACT will require vouchers that expire December 1999.

From 1 January 2000 however, no new grants or re-issue vouchers will be required to be personalised on DVA State Office printers – the daily PCC program for these States will be amended to reflect this requirement, effective 1/1/2000.

Replacement PCC's – voided Vouchers

Voucher personalisation should be suppressed for all replacement or re-issued cards for clients.  The card will be personalised and issued on the carrier, however, the vouchers will remain attached to the carrier but will be voided with XXXX's.  This includes clients who:

• Have had a 2000 DVA PCC processed with vouchers, then lost and regained eligibility during the course of the year; or
• Are not eligible for vouchers with a PCC from DVA (eg war widow/ers who had already received a TC1 or who were on the list of war widow/ers who received their PCC from Centrelink).

• Centrelink Transfer In cases, as they would have already received their PCC and vouchers from Centrelink.

Voucher Replacement

For most States, neither Centrelink nor DVA will have the facility to issue replacement vouchers.  The PCC carriers display a warning stating that DVA cannot issue replacement vouchers.  Where State rail authorities have provided them, contacts and procedures for applying for replacement vouchers are listed at attachment A.

All cardholders are entitled to only one issue of vouchers for their residential State each calendar year except where a cardholder transfers to another State.  New grants of income support pension must not be provided with concession vouchers if they have received a PCC with vouchers in the same calendar year.

Arrangements for replacement vouchers in South Australia

As in previous years Great Southern Railways have given the South Australian State Office authority to issue replacement vouchers on their behalf.

The South Australian carrier includes contact numbers for pensioners to contact for replacements.

Arrangements for replacement vouchers in Victoria

As in previous years the Victorian Rail Authority have given the Victorian State Office authority to issue replacement vouchers on their behalf.

The Victorian carrier includes contact numbers for pensioners to contact for replacements.

Enhancement to PIPS Reprint Facility

The PP.RH screen has been updated to selectively reprint vouchers only, the PCC or PCC and vouchers.  Where appropriate, edits have been added to this screen that block the user from reprinting vouchers outside their respective amnesty period or in the case of NSW/ACT where vouchers are no longer an option.

Blind Pensioners

When issuing a blind pensioner a PCC in the daily issue, the PCC stock provided and current issuing procedures should apply.  The reprint program will enable the word 'BLIND' to be printed on the PCC.

Note that Blind pensioners are not identified prior to generating the daily PCC re-issues and new grants – blind pensioners are identified after PCC's are issued and are identified by the word 'BLIND' which prints on their cards – everyday PCC stock should be used for blind pensioners.

New PCC Stock

Stocks of 2000 PCCs will be despatched to the State Offices from the mailing house, during the period 4 August to 27 August 1999.

The fridge magnet calendar should also be included with new cards produced in the State Offices as part of the ongoing processing.  Stocks will be supplied to the State Offices for this purpose during the period 2 September – 6 September 1999.

Report Problems to National Office

Staff are reminded that it is important that they keep a log of problems identified following the bulk issue of PCCs.  Every endeavour will be made to rectify any identified problems.

Publicity

Articles have been included in the September edition of VetAffairs and Age Pension News informing pensioners that the PCC bulk issue is in September and the earlier delivery date.

In addition we have also written to various State Transport Authorities informing them of the extended validity of the card and also providing them with samples of the 2000 PCC.

Contact Officer

The contact officer for this exercise is Kristie Wallace on 02 6289 6019 or fax 02 6289 6553.