C22/2013 Bulk Issue of 2014 NSW Transport Concession Card (TC1) and 2014 Victorian Free Travel Voucher (VTV)

Replaces DI No.

N/A

Purpose

This Departmental Instruction provides information regarding:

• the bulk issue of the 2014 New South Wales Transport Concession Card (TC1);
• the bulk issue of the Victorian War Widow/Widower Free Travel Voucher (VTV); and
• arrangements for daily issues.

NSW Transport Concession Card

The Transport Concession Card (TC1) provides state funded travel concessions and is issued by DVA on behalf of the New South Wales Government.  New South Wales is the only state to issue the TC1.

War widows/widowers residing in other states may be eligible for state transport concessions through their DVA Gold Card, CSHC or other transport passes.

The TC1 is issued to war widows/widowers who reside in New South Wales and are not in receipt of service pension, income support supplement or age pension paid by DVA or Department of Human Services (Centrelink).

From 15 October 2012, some MRCA wholly dependant partners (MRCA widows/widowers) are also eligible to receive the TC1.

The eligibility criteria for MRCA widows/widowers are:

• the widow/widower has been compensated under subsection 234(1) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA); and
• the member's death was related to overseas warlike or non-warlike service.

This specific information is not recorded in DVA systems currently, so the eligible MRCA widows/widowers cannot be identified automatically and be included in the TC1 bulk issue.

The Service Coordinator NSW/ACT has identified eight MRCA widows residing in NSW eligible for the 2014 TC1.

Income Support in Sydney will manually issue the TC1 to the eligible MRCA widows following the bulk issue.

Victorian Free Travel Voucher

The Victorian Free Travel Voucher (VTV) is issued to war widows/widowers who reside in Victoria and are not in receipt of service pension, income support supplement or age pension paid by DVA or Department of Human Services (Centrelink).

Wholly dependant partners (MRCA widow/widowers) are eligible to receive the VTV.

Valid

Both the TC1 and the VTV are valid from 1 January 2014 to and including 31 December 2014.

Numbers

The approximate numbers to be produced from the bulk issue are:

NSW Transport Concession Card — 7,392

Victorian Free Travel Voucher — 5,316

Dates

The following dates apply to the 2014 annual bulk issue:

TaskDate

Production data extraction — 24 November 2013

Printing, enveloping and lodgement — 26 – 29 November 2013

Final lodgement with Australia Post — 29 November 2013

Reports

As VIEW does not display TC1 and VTV information, a report listing the clients receiving a TC1 or VTV from the bulk issue will be provided to the location contacts.

Inserts

A 2014 DVA fridge calendar magnet will be inserted with the TC1 and the VTV.

2014 stock

The 2014 TC1 and VTV stock for daily issue will be sent to the location contacts on completion of the bulk issue.

Daily Issue

Current eligible TC1 and VTV clients will receive their 2014 card or voucher in the bulk run.

War widows/widowers who gain eligibility for the TC1 or the VTV from Monday, 25 November 2013 should be issued with both a 2013 and 2014 TC1 or VTV together with a 2014 DVA fridge calendar magnet.

From 1 January 2014 only the 2014 TC1 or VTV should be issued with a 2014 DVA fridge calendar magnet.

2013 stock

Any remaining 2013 stock should be destroyed securely when this stock is no longer required.

The location contacts will report to the project coordinator the amount of 2013 unused stock.  This information will be used to work out next year's stock order.

Location Contacts

The location contacts for this project are:

NSW – TC1 — John Eden

VIC – VTV — Peter Castleman

Project Coordinator

The project coordinator for the bulk issue is:

Elis Lam

Income Support

Phone: 02 9213 7244

E-mail:  Elis.Lam@dva.gov.au