External
Departmental Instruction

DATE OF ISSUE:  18 OCTOBER 1994

PROPERTY VALUATION PRODUCTION RUN

Background

In past years the property valuation production run formed part of the Assets Test exercise.  Valuation forms were produced by the NCC and forwarded to the Australian Valuation Office (AVO).  AVO updated the valuation information and returned the form to the relevant Branch.  The valuation form was then added to the SP3 (income and asset statement) and the case was reviewed.  The review strategy has changed and the SP3 will no longer be issued.

CHANGES TO THE PROCESS

Data on cartridge

Property valuation request forms are no longer printed (by the NCC) and sent to AVO.  Instead a cartridge containing the information, in electronic form, is sent to AVO.  AVO will value the property, update the valuation and return the cartridge to DVA.

The production run to produce the cartridge took place on 6 October 1994.

Printout of property valuation

The NCC will produce a print out of the updated property valuation and send it to the relevant Branch.  The printout has the same information on it as the normal valuation form.  The only difference is, it is printed on plain paper.

Automatic cases

Some cases previously listed for manual action will now be automated.  These include the "Manual Method of Assessment" and "No Valuation Previous Year" (valuation not done in the last 12 months) cases.

Manual Cases

The run produces a schedule of manual cases.  These cases include those without a previous valuation and Client Deceased cases.  Accurate records must be kept of all manual cases sent to AVO for property valuation.

When manual cases are sorted, please advise Director, Income Support (S&C) of the number of First Requests and Reviews sent to AVO.  These cases should be marked on the schedule of manual cases and recorded and identified in the AVO register as part of the Property Valuation Production Run.

Overseas Cases

These cases remain manual.  Departmental Instruction B26/94 sets out the process for obtaining these valuations.

SCREENS

System changes took place in April 1994 to allow us to data collect AVO Job and ID numbers.  This information will assist AVO in future years and results from negotiations with AVO to reduce the contract price paid for the valuations.

The property screen (PP.PR) has fields for AVO Job number, AVO ID number and fields for:

Home & Curtilage

amount to be a deduction from property valuation

Mortgage

amount to be a deduction from property valuation

Other Encumbrance

amount to be a deduction from property valuation

Assessed Asset

a system generated total
(Property valuation plus contents minus home and curtilage, mortgage and other encumbrance.)

                                            Text

this is a free text area to record notes such as shared ownership lease arrangements, extra properties, etc.

The property types are:

RE

Residential (residential rental property, house, flat, etc)

CO

Commercial property (factory, warehouse, shop, etc)

RU

Rural property

BU

Business

Use of the Property Type 'Business' results in a check for any income or asset information on the Business Screen.  If found, examiners will receive the prompt to check the Business screen and BU will default in the next field.

The Farm Screen (PP.FA) has fields for AVO Job number, AVO ID number and fields for:

Plant and Machinery

amount to be added to farm valuation

Livestock

amount to be added to farm valuation

Home & Curtilage

amount to be a deduction from farm valuation

Mortgage

amount to be a deduction from farm valuation

Other Encumbrance

amount to be a deduction from farm valuation

Assessed Asset

a system generated total.  (Farm valuation plus plant & machinery and livestock minus home and curtilage, mortgage and other encumbrance.)

Text

this is a free text area to record notes such as shared ownership, lease arrangements, extra properties, etc.

Plant and Machinery and Livestock information are often stored on the Other Assets Screen (PP.OA) and examiners should transfer details to the Farm Screen when updating that screen.

The Home Screen (PP.HO) has fields for AVO Job and AVO ID numbers in the Sublet property area.

Completion Date

All valuations will be returned by AVO on the same day - 15 April 1995.  You will be advised later, of the date the print outs will arrive in your office.

Contact Officer

The contact officer for this exercise is Helen de Gail on 06 2896426.

TONY ASHFORD

NATIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR

BENEFITS