Mr Andren asked the Minister representing the Minister for Family and Community Services, upon notice, on 21 September 1999:

(1) Has Centrelink changed the way recipients of the Parenting Payment Single are reviewed so that only parents earning income must lodge a review every 12 weeks; if so, why.

(2) What type of information are recipients of Parenting Payment Single now required to include in the 12 weekly reviews.

(3) Is it necessary for Centrelink to have this information for working parents but not for non-working parents; if so, why.

(4) Does treating non-working recipients of Parenting Payment Single more favourably than working recipients encourage parents not to take financial responsibility for themselves and their families; if so, to what extent; if not, why not.

(5) What measures are in place to review the effect of changing the way entitlement to Parenting Payment Single is reviewed.

Mr Anthony (Community Services) —The Minister for Family and Community Services has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

(1) Yes. The previous Parenting Payment Single (PPS) review strategy "over reviewed" sole parents without earnings and the new strategy will be more cost effective, particularly with respect to the cyclical reviews. Customer Service would be improved by eliminating unnecessary and unproductive reviews.

The improvement in face-to-face interviews has been made possible by redirection of resources from the 12 weekly reviews to interviews with all PPS customers eight weeks after date of grant. These reviews have been recognised as a par ticularly effective way of identifying changes in domestic circumstances. Also, as the initial contact with Centrelink can be an emotionally distressing time for PPS customers, the face-to-face interviews will provide Centrelink staff with an opportunity to offer information about services available to assist customers and to remind them of their notification obligations.

(2) The type of information now required as part of the 12 weekly review is the same as in the past, that is, a complete review of entitlement to Parenting Payment.

(3) Centrelink requires the same information from both working and non-working customers. All PPS customers may, at some stage, be requested to complete the information contained in the 12 weekly review form. Sole parents who are not in paid employment may receive the form as part of an annual random sample of 5,000 customers.

(4) By transferring resources to the more effective face-to-face interviews, staff will be able to reinforce customers' obligations and provide details of how Centrelink can assist these customers to find work. Given these interviews will take place at least eight weeks after they have separated from their partner, it is more likely that customers will be receptive to information about becoming financially independent.

In recognition of the pressures faced by sole parents in paid employment, more flexible lodgement options have been made available as part of the new review process. While customers previously had to personally lodge their 12 weekly review forms on one particular day, they now have the option to lodge personally or by mail within a 14 day time frame.

(5) To ensure the modified review process is effective and efficient, Centrelink has developed a set of performance indicators which it is monitoring on a monthly basis. These indicators include the number of reviews undertaken, cancellations, changes in payments and the value of upward or downward variations in payments.

In September 2000, a Post Implementation Review (PIR) will be conducted to evaluate staff and customer feedback on the modified review strategy.