Purpose of Instruction

The purpose of this Departmental Instruction is to provide information about the Pounds Sterling exchange rate variation exercise.

Introduction

Following the recent variation in UK - Australian exchange rates, DVA will apply a new exchange rate for the assessment of the rate of income support pensions for those in receipt of the following British government pensions:

• social security pensions
• official public service pensions
• armed forces superannuation pensions

New exchange rate A$2.4237

The exchange rate used to convert Pounds Sterling to Australian Dollars for income support assessment purposes has changed from one Pound = A$2.4975 to one Pound Sterling equals A$2.4237 (ie A$1 = £0.4126).

This rate reflects the average of the “on demand airmail buying rate” for the two weeks to 14 January 2005.

Date of effect

1 February 2005

Effective from 1 February 2005 the current exchange rate will change.

On pension payday 17 February 2005 (pay period 17) pensioners will receive a full instalment at the new assessed rate.

Date of processing run

Processing to implement the new exchange rate is scheduled for the evening of Monday 31 January 2005.

Automatic

processing

Amounts recorded as foreign super type British Social Security Pension (08) or British Official Public Service/Forces Pension (09) will be varied by applying the exchange rate to the pounds sterling amount recorded, to determine the new rate of pension in Australian dollars. The income support payment will then be reassessed automatically.

Manual cases

Cases with actions in submission or determined status will not be processed automatically and will be frozen. These cases will be listed on the manual listing for follow up action, and CMS/PIPS cases will be created automatically for action.  Any cases processed through PIPS should be reassessed with effect from 1 February 2005 for payday 17 February 2005.

Advice letters

The advice letters for this exercise will be joint advices where both members of a couple are in receipt of pension from the British government and their pension payment varies.  Age pensioners will receive separate advices.

The letter will advise the new exchange rate and the amount of income.  An advice will only be produced for cases where a variation in payment results.

IBM GSA implications

IBM GSA will produce the cartridge and forward it to Security Mailing Services (SMS) in Sydney.

Overseas, Special Register and Enclosure Advices

Overseas cases for all states apart from TAS clients, Special Register, Enclosure Advice letters (ie cases where a change to treatment entitlement occurs) and reduction to nil cases will be separated by IBM GSA and despatched to State Offices for manual distribution.  This arrangement is the same as for daily advice letters.

Tasmanian Clients with Overseas Postal Address

Tasmanian State Office clients who have an overseas postal address will have the full overseas address printed on their advice letters.

The advice letters for Tasmanian overseas clients will be printed, enveloped and sent from the mailing house.  This is a change from previous years where the letters were sent back to the Tasmanian State Office for posting.

Mail out of bulk advices

Security Mailing will print and prepare the advices for lodgement with Australia Post by 10 February 2005.

British DP Cases

Income Support pensioners who are in receipt of ISS, age pension (AP) and rent assistance (RA); and, who also receive disability (war) pension direct from Britain should have that disability pension converted to $A using this exchange rate. ISS, AP and RA should be recalculated by doing a PIPS assessment.  These cases can be extracted through AIS by each state.  If you have any questions please contact Sarah Paras on the number below.

Note: If DP has already been assessed as income in determining hardship cases it should not also be assessed as income for RA.

EATS and Composite cases

No variation should be made to disability payments made by Australia on behalf of Britain. A different exchange rate currently applies to EATS and composite cases. DI C29/2000 refers. A project is under way to investigate unifying or at least reducing the number of pounds sterling exchange rates used in DVA, and to determine a new way of establishing the EATS and Composite exchange rate since the UK have stopped providing it.

Shane Redfern (ext 16765) is the Income Support contact for this project.

Contact officer

The Income Support Branch contact officer is:

Sarah Paras Telephone:   (02) 6289 6534

New Date of Effect Rules

3 April 01

to

14 May 01

0.3550

2.8169

15 May 01

to

23 July 01

0.3674

2.7218

24 July 01

to

6 August 01

0.3803

2.6295

7 August 01

to

1 October 01

0.3701

2.7020

2 October 01

to

29 October 01

0.3430

2.9155

30 October 01

to

10 December 01

0.3588

2.7871

11 December 01

to

7 January 02

0.3709

2.6961

8 January 02

to

18 March 02

0.3612

2.7685

19 March 02

to

27 May 02

0.3723

2.6860

28 May 02

to

10 June 02

0.3830

2.6110

11 June 02

to

08 July 02

0.3928

2.5258

09 July 02

to

22 July 02

0.3758

2.6610

23 July 02

to

05 August 02

0.3643

2.7450

06 August 02

to

02 September 02

0.3503

2.8547

03 September 02

to

03 March 03

0.3620

2.7624

04 March 03

to

28 April 03

0.3816

2.6205

29 April 03

to

26 May 03

0.3929

2.5452

27 May 03

to

1 September 03

0.4064

2.4606

2 September 03

to

24 November 03

0.4168

2.3992

25 November 03

to

1 March 2004

0.4308

2.3213

2 March 2004

to

24 May 2004

0.4200

2.3810

25 May 2004

to

5 July 2004

0.3961

2.5246

6 July 2004

to

19 July 2004

0.3828

2.6123

20 July 2004

to

11 October 2004

0.3938

2.5394

12 October 2004

to

22 November 04

0.4065

2.4600

23 November 04

to

3 January 05

0.4202

2.3798

4 January 05

to

31 January 05

0.4004

2.4975

1 February 05

to

0.4126

2.4237