Amends DI No.

N/A

Replaces DI No.

N/A

Purpose

This Departmental Instruction provides information on the bulk issue of the 2013 Pensioner Concession Card (PCC).

It also provides information on issuing daily PCCs and travel vouchers.

Overview

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

DVA issues the PCC annually in September/October to eligible pensioners.  The mailing house contracted to the Department is responsible for printing, enveloping and lodging the cards with Australia Post.

The PCC is also issued on a daily basis for new grants and reissues.

Dates

The 2013 bulk issue production is schedule to take place between 17 September and 4 October 2012.  The following are the key dates for this exercise:

Task

Date

Production extract

15 September 2012

Commence using 2013 stock for daily issues

17 September 2012

Reports to contact officers

17 September 2012

Printing, enveloping and lodgment of cards.

18 Sept – 4 October 2012

Final lodgment with Australia Post

4 October 2012

Numbers

The approximate total number of carriers to be produced in the annual bulk run based on the last year's run is 190,500 and the total number of cards to be produced is 240,000 (partnered carriers have two cards).  The breakdown of carriers to be produced for each state is:

State

Partnered

Single

Blind

Total

NSW

14,921

46,1 — 41

860

61,922

VIC

9,603

31,222

580

41,405

QLD

12,676

29,5 — 02

569

42,747

SA

4,589

12,816

178

17,583

WA

5,355

1 — 2,011

282

17,648

TAS

1,754

4,8 — 93

69

6,716

NT

133

320

4

457

ACT

663

1,105

31

1,799

Total

49,694

138,010

2,573

190,277

Order of Lodgement

The cards will be printed and lodged with Australia Post in the following order.

NSW — Thu 20/09 – Mon 24/09

VIC — Tue 25/09 – Wed 26/9

QLD — Thu 27/09 – Fri 28/09

SA & NT — Tue 2/10

WA — Wed 3/10

ACT & TAS — Thu 4/10

Regular updates will be provided to location contacts to advise of progress.  A list of the location contacts can be found on the back page of this instruction.

2013 PCC Stock

Minor text and date amendments have been made to the 2013 stock.  Daily single stock supplies have been sent to the location contacts and surplus single stock from the bulk issue will be sent on completion of the production run.

VIC, SA & WA Vouchers

There are no amendments to the SA and WA vouchers issued.

For the VIC vouchers, there are amendments on the phone number and the type of tickets and travel pass.

PCC Information Insert

A PCC Information Insert will be included with VIC, SA and WA partnered carriers.  The insert contains the information that cannot fit on the partnered carriers due to the vouchers.

Fridge Calendar Magnet Insert

A DVA fridge calendar magnet will be inserted with all PCCs.  Daily stock supplies have been sent to the location contacts.  Surplus stock from the bulk issue will be sent to the location contacts on completion of the annual exercise.

Blind Pensioners

The word 'BLIND' will be printed at the top right hand corner of the card, (just left of the of the State logo), except for ACT, where it will be printed on the next line down.  The card will also be hole-punched at the bottom right hand corner.

Group Destination – Public Trustee

Group destination cards will be sent directly to the Public Trustee from the mailing house.

Cross Reference

PCCs for cross reference cases will be issued under the active file number on the card which may not always be the prime eligibility file number.

Listing Dependants on PCC

The rules for listing dependants on the PCC are outlined below.

• Member of a couple in receipt of an income support payment will be cross-listed as a dependant on veteran and partner PCC.  The file number of the eligible partner will not be shown on the veteran's card.
• Spouse/defacto of a veteran (including blind veterans) not eligible or payable but in the assessment, will be listed as a dependant on the veteran PCC.  The file number (with suffix) of an ineligible partner will be printed adjacent to the partner's name on the veteran's card.
• A veteran not in payment (and therefore not eligible for a PCC) will appear as a dependant if the partner is on blind service pension.  The file number of the ineligible veteran will be printed adjacent to the veteran's name on the partner's card.
• The maximum number of children that will be listed on a PCC is six.  If there are more than six dependent children in the assessment, an additional card will be issued listing the veteran and remaining children.

Eligibility for residents of Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island residents who are in receipt of SP / ISS are eligible to receive a PCC.  DVA pensioners who meet the PCC eligibility criteria will be issued with a PCC in this year's bulk exercise.

Reports

Location Contacts will be provided with reports on completion of the bulk extract.  The officers should examine the reports and undertake any necessary action.

Deceased Clients

Clients who have a date of death recorded after the planned data extraction date of 15 September 2012 will be excluded from the card production run.  Where there is a surviving partner, the data will be reconfigured and a card will be issued on the single carrier.

2013 Daily Issues

The procedures for issuing daily PCCs (for new grants and replacements) remain unchanged.

The last batch extract for 2012 daily PCCs will be on Thursday night, 13 September 2012.  New and replacement issues for 2012 will need to have been printed by 6.00 pm on Friday, 14 September 2012.

State offices can commence using the 2013 stock from Monday, 17 September 2012.

2012 Voucher Issues (if applicable)

Any new grants or transfer-ins between 17 September and 31 December 2012 will need to be manually issued with 2012 travel vouchers, if applicable.

2013 Voucher Issues (if applicable)

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.

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 2013 DVA PCC processed with vouchers, then lost and regained eligibility during the course of the year; or
• Centrelink Transfer-In cases, as they have already received their PCC and vouchers from Centrelink.

Voucher Replacement

For most states, DVA does not have the facility to issue replacement vouchers.  The following state rail authorities have given consent to DVA, and the arrangements are listed below.

State

Arrangement

VIC

The Victorian Rail Authority gives DVA authority to issue replacement vouchers on their behalf for an indefinite period.

SA

SA Rail gives DVA authority to issue replacement vouchers on their behalf indefinitely.

WA

TRANSWA gives DVA authority to issue replacement vouchers on their behalf for a period up to the 31 — st January 2013.  After this date people can phone TRANSWA to apply for replacement vouchers.  TRANSWA may charge for replacement vouchers.

Location Contacts

The Location Contacts are as follows:

NSW / ACT — John Eden / Sao Lou

QLD — Sharon Golden / O'Hara Nailon

VIC — Daniel Luba / Bernadette Fernando

SA / NT — Bee Measham / Marion Colliver

WA — Michelle Pauly / Margarete Mumme

TAS — Bryon Kelly / Daimeon Horne

Please advise the project co-coordinator if there are any changes to the contact officers listed above.

Project Coordinator

The project coordinator for the bulk issue of the 2013 PCC is:

Elis Lam

Cards & Advices

Income Support & Grants

Phone:02 9213 7244

Email:elis.lam@dva.gov.au