DATE OF ISSUE: 23 OCTOBER 1990
PRINTING AND DESPATCH OF BULK ISSUE 1991 PENSIONER CONCESSION CARDS AND TELEPHONE RENTAL CONCESSION VOUCHERS ADP PROCEDURES
1.0INTRODUCTION
1.1 — The printing of bulk issues of 1991 Pensioner Health Benefits (PHB)/Transport Concession (TC1) cards, Pharmaceutical Benefits Concession (PBC) cards, and Telephone Rental Concession (TRC) vouchers will start on the weekend 10/11 November 1990 and should be completed by Friday 16 November 1990. Current planning calls for material to be despatched to clients by the end of November.
1.2 — Branch Offices have agreed that:
bulk issues of material will be amalgamated for each household and despatched centrally,
and that the centralised mailing part of the project will be managed by the PD&I Section of Income Support Branch, Central Office.
1.3 — There has been a considerable amount of work done through the year to rectify problems that have plagued these issues in previous years. In particular, the "Bulk Card and TRC Voucher Issue" process has been reworked and we are confident that the earlier problems have been eliminated. These improvements should reduce the number of enquiries normally received after bulk issues.
1.4Health NumberThis year the Health Number usually printed on the PHB and PBC will be replaced by our file number only. This means that the file number will appear twice on each card, so that Pharmacists are not confused. Pharmacists are to use the DVA file number for transactions to the Health Insurance Commission. This change has been requested by the Health Insurance Commission.
2.0PRINTING OF CARDS AND SCHEDULES
2.1 — The National Computer Centre (NCC) will start to print concession cards and schedules of listings over the weekend 10-11 November 1990 and the schedules should arrive in Branch Offices on Monday 12 November 1990. However, processing for the new Pharmaceutical Supplement may take place on this weekend also. This may delay printing of the reports and schedules. Printed concession cards will be sent directly to the selected mailing house for despatch to pensioners.
2.2 — The following listings for concession cards will be produced in alphabetical order and, where appropriate, with a composite split (headings on reports will be descriptive):
2.2.1 — PHB/TC1 cards issued;
2.2.2 — PBC/VA1 cards issued;
2.2.3 — beneficiaries who receive PHB cards and who have been included with your State run but are paid by another State (the paying State will be indicated by N, V, Q, S, W or T)
2.2.4 — beneficiaries who do not receive any card, together with a brief explanation of why they did not receive a card (e.g. too many characters in the address).
2.3 — There will be no listings of TRC vouchers issued as the on-line inquiry screen (TC.IQ) will give the necessary details.
2.4 — TRC vouchers will be printed separately by a printing/mailing house. TRC vouchers will be despatched directly to pensioners.
2.5 — Concession cards are now issued to the address maintained in the CDB. For example, a NSW postcode will produce a NSW PHB card regardless of the paying State. For this reason the need to make a manual issue of cards in border town cases should not occur.
Note:As you are aware, some of the information contained in the CBD is incorrect (e.g. incorrect address or beneficiary has died) . We expect that some cards or vouchers will be returned to the Department for this reason. It is important that where this occurs we should endeavour to rectify the error. When the correct information has been collected, would you please arrange for the CDB to be updated as soon as possible.
2.6 — From 12 November 1990, the NCC will print all daily automatic issues on 1991 concession cards. Pensioners becoming eligible for fringe benefits from 12 November 1990 will require 1990 concession cards to be issued manually over the period to 31 December 1990.
Note: 1990 PHB cards do not reflect (in the fine print on the back) the new Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme changes. This is not expected to generate many enquiries.
2.7 — Clients becoming eligible for the Telephone Rental Concession in the period to December do not need a TRC voucher for that period. A 1991 voucher can be used when paying a 1990 account. In this case, the client will have received vouchers for 1992 before the fourth account is due late in 1991.
3.0BLANK CONCESSION CARDS FOR MANUAL ISSUE
3.1 — Branch Offices can obtain a supply of blank concession cards from the NCC early in December 1990 for manual issues. The consecutive numbers of blank cards received from the NCC are to be recorded and subsequent manual issues recorded.
4.0SPECIAL REGISTER AND OVERSEAS CASES
4.1 — Concession cards for Special Registers will be reclaimed by the NCC after printing and sent to relevant Branch Offices for despatch.
4.2 — Concession cards for clients handled by a Trust Office will be reclaimed by the NCC after printing and sent to relevant Branch Offices for despatch to Trust Offices.
4.3 — Pensioners living or travelling overseas are not entitled to pensioner health benefits or pharmaceutical benefits and are not to be issued with either concession card while outside Australia. Pensioners living overseas who return to Australia are entitled to benefits for which they qualify and the appropriate card is to be issued manually. Pensioners travelling overseas for a short holiday are not required to return concession cards.
5.0DATE OF EFFECT ON AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED CARDS
5.1 — The date of effect, 1 January 1991, will be printed only on cards produced automatically at the time of bulk issue, the date will be shown as 01/01/91. Cards issued manually at the time of the bulk issue are also to show the date of effect as 01/01/91. The TRC voucher does not carry an effective date.
6.0FREE RAIL TRAVEL VOUCHERS - NEW SOUTH WALES AND QUEENSLAND PENSIONERS
6.1 — Free rail travel vouchers are now sent by this Department to pensioners living in NEW SOUTH WALES and QUEENSLAND, the vouchers form part of the composite PHB/TC1 card.
6.2 — Where a pensioner is granted or becomes eligible for "Fringe Benefits" subsequent to bulk issue, a complete set of cards, including the rail vouchers, is to be issued.
6.3 — If a NEW SOUTH WALES pensioner seeks a replacement issue of either the PHB or the TC1 component of the concession card, replacement rail vouchers will be issued up to 28 February 1991. From 1 March 1991 replacement cards generated by the ADP on-line system will have the rail voucher component over-printed with the word "CANCELLED". All "CANCELLED" rail vouchers are to be detached from the set and are not to be issued to the pensioner. In these circumstances the client is to be directed to the State Rail Authority for issue of replacement vouchers.
6.4 — If a QUEENSLAND pensioner seeks a replacement issue of either the PHB or TC1 component of the concession card, replacement rail vouchers ARE to be issued.
6.5 — New grants, reviews and/or transfers-in with entitlement to fringe benefits will NOT have the rail voucher component cancelled by the ADP system as pensioners are entitled to the free vouchers in these circumstances. In any case where the pensioner is known to have transferred-in or has been granted fringe benefits more than once in a year, more than two travel vouchers should not be issued.
7.0DESPATCH OF BULK ISSUES OF CONCESSION CARDS AND TRC VOUCHERS (including War Widow's Travel Cards N, V, S)
7.1 — The despatch of bulk issues of 1991 concession cards and TRC vouchers will be managed by Central Office.
7.2 — Contact officers for this part of the exercise are Ces White on (06) 289 6684 or Jonathan Levy on (06) 289 6426.
8.0ADP SYSTEM PROBLEMS AND CONTACT OFFICERS
8.1 — Notification of major ADP system problems should be made as an OIM system request providing specific details of the cases involved.
8.2 — Any other immediate problems should be notified by telephone to Glenys Bulters (06) 289 6019.
JIM DALTON
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
PLANNING & MANAGEMENT