Responsibilities of an agent for welfare payments

If you are unable to collect a payment or manage your financial affairs, you can ask that another person (known as an Agent) acts on your behalf. They can collect payments on a temporary or long-term basis.

The agent has responsibilities to the person they are acting for.

A person authorised to collect your payments on a temporary basis is known as a Temporary Agent.

Who can be a Temporary Agent?

Any person over 18 years of age and nominated by the person.

Obligations of a Temporary Agent

The Agent is obliged to pass the full amount without deduction to the person.

Type 1 Agent

A person authorised to collect your payments on a more permanent basis is known as Type 1 Agent.

Who can be a Type 1 Agent?

Any person over 18 years of age and nominated by the person.

Obligations of a Type 1 Agent

The Agent must pass the full amount of payment to the person without any deduction. The Agent must notify the department in writing of any changes in circumstances, including a deterioration of the persons capacity, that may cause this Agent arrangement to be inoperable.

Type 2 Agent

Where a persons medical circumstances warrant, an agent can be appointed to act on behalf of a person in relation to all aspects of their social welfare affairs, including the management of their financial affairs. This Agent is known as a Type 2 Agent.

Who can be a Type 2 Agent?

A person (other than the medical practitioner who certified the person as being unable to manage their financial affairs) and who is over 18 years of age. This could be a family member or any other person who has a good and sufficient interest in the welfare of the person. In cases where a person is resident in an institution such as a residential care or nursing home facility on a long-stay basis, a representative of the institution may be well placed to manage the persons financial affairs if there is no other suitable person available to do so.

Obligations of a Type 2 Agent

The obligations of an Agent are set out in legislation. An Agent must:

• act in good faith and for the benefit of the person
• act in a personal capacity and not delegate responsibility to any other person
• receive and deal with any sum payable by way of benefit on behalf of the person. Residential Care Agents should deal with the balance of any sum payable by way of benefit after deductions of nursing home fees
• make payments only on items or services which are of benefit to the person including all reasonable expenses for assuring the personal welfare of the person concerned
• not spend money on items or services to which the person has an entitlement where those items or services are available and accessible to the person concerned
• ensure that the balance of any benefit is lodged to an interest-bearing account for the benefit of the person
• keep a record of all sums received by way of benefit which have been lodged to an interest-bearing account on behalf of the person
• keep a record of all other transactions made in relation to sums received by way of benefit on behalf of the person; and
• produce the records kept, when requested to do so by the person or by an officer of the Minister

The Minister shall not appoint a person to act on behalf of the customer if that person is or has been:

• adjudicated as bankrupt, unless the bankruptcy has been discharged or the adjudication annulled
• convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty
• convicted of an offence against the person or property of the person concerned
• under 18 years of age

The department may cancel an Agency Arrangement at any time where it has reason to believe that the arrangement is not working satisfactorily or that the payment is not being used for the benefit of the person. If this occurs, the Agent must, where appropriate, return the payments on request.