Bulk Update Request Nominee
Centrelink is committed to making it easier for Organisation Nominees to do business with us. To facilitate this we have developed the Bulk Update Request Nominee facility, a simple-to-use application that can be used to securely advise Centrelink of information about the principal customer.
On this page
Overview of the Bulk Update Request Nominee facility
The Bulk Update Request Nominee facility delivers standard processes for secure and efficient notification of data and information by electronic file upload.
The file data upload process allows Organisation Nominees to submit batch updates of customer information for Centrelink processing. You will be able to provide various updates on behalf of multiple customers in one simple transaction. The transaction is secure, can be uploaded at a time that suits you and is almost immediate.
Once you have registered for Centrelink Business Online Services you will also have access to view and print electronic letters and advices from Centrelink reducing paper based mail sent to postal addresses. The following services are available:
- appointment of new Nominee arrangements, only court appointed
- notification of change of address
- notification of change of telephone
- notification of change of rent details
- notification of a customer’s death
- cancellation of existing Nominee arrangements.
[ return to top ]
Nominee roles and obligations
When an Organisation is appointed as a nominee they must always act in the best interests of their principal in all their dealings with Centrelink.
A customer may choose someone to be both a Correspondence and Payment nominee, or alternatively could have a different person for each nominee arrangement. A customer can only have one nominee for each type of nominee arrangement e.g. 1 Correspondence nominee and 1 Payment nominee or 1 combined nominee (Correspondence and Payment nominee).
There are allowances in the legislation that the customer or the nominee will not be held liable for any act or omission where they acted in good faith. However, both the correspondence and payment nominee should be aware of their obligations to their principal, and notify Centrelink of any change in circumstances within the notification provisions.
A Correspondence Nominee will receive a copy of their principal’s Centrelink mail and will also have the authority to enquire, sign forms and statements and make changes to the customer’s record on their behalf. Organisations can have this mail delivered electronically via Centrelink Online Mail. A correspondence nominee must advise Centrelink of any matter that affects their ability to act as a nominee.
Actions of correspondence nominee on behalf of the principal
A correspondence nominee is able to do most things expected of a customer. They are able to accompany their principal to the interview, if the principal wishes.
The correspondence nominee is able to:
- lodge a claim on their principal’s behalf
- provide information on the principal’s change of circumstances
- make enquiries on behalf of the principal
- complete and sign Centrelink forms and statements
- provide relevant documents relating to the principal’s circumstances
- lodge applications for an Advance Payment
- attend appointments with or on behalf of the principal if the principal wishes. At the principal’s request, the nominee may also attend medical examinations with the principal, but the nominee must respect any requirements or limitations set by the treating professional.
Action taken or not taken on the principal’s behalf which results in the principal receiving more money than they are entitled to, will leave the principal with an overpayment which may have to be recovered.
A correspondence nominee can request a change in their principal’s payment destination, provided it is to an account that the principal has access to, and the principal does not have a payment nominee.
Giving of notices to correspondence nominees
Any letter or advice to be issued to a customer is also to be sent to the correspondence nominee with the exception of Concession Cards. These are only sent to the customer, not the correspondence nominee.
Failure to respond to a notice from Centrelink, requiring action or response within a certain time frame, may result in the customer’s payments being suspended.
A Payment Nominee will receive their principal’s payments on their behalf. A payment nominee must act in the best interest of the customer, ensuring these payments are used exclusively for their principal’s benefit. It is mandatory the payment nominee keep records of all monies spent. A payment nominee must advise Centrelink of any matter that affects their ability to act as a nominee or any changes (e.g. changes to bank account details) which may impact on Centrelink’s ability to deliver payments.
Statement from the payment nominee regarding disposal of money
The SS313 form: Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf advises both the principal and the payment nominee of the requirement to maintain records of payments received and monies spent on the customer’s behalf. This advice is also provided in the appointment notice sent to the payment nominee. Centrelink may review the arrangement from time to time and give the payment nominee a notice requiring them to provide a written statement giving particulars of how they spent the principal’s payments. Financial penalties may apply if the information is not provided.
Payments to be sent to a bank account
Any Centrelink payments paid to a payment nominee, on behalf of their principal, must be delivered to a bank account nominated and maintained by the nominee.
[ return to top ]
Responsibilities and requirements
Organisation responsibilities
- The Organisation Nominee representative’s access will be managed by the Organisation. This includes roles required to access and update Organisation details held by Centrelink.
- The Organisation must ensure that appropriate measures are in place to safeguard the Customer Reference Number (CRN) against improper access, use or disclosure and commit to the privacy of their principal’s information.
- The Organisation Nominee representative agrees to only submit data relating to principals for which it is authorised.
Technical requirements
- An Organisation will need to have internet access and an electronic management system.
- Organisations require an AUSkey to register and authenticate logon to the Business Portal of the Centrelink website. Your AUSkey must be linked to your Centrelink Online Services account.
- Organisation nominees can provide customer notification and updates by lodging data files (XML) via the Bulk Update Request Nominee option in the Business Portal.
- A Service Level Agreement will need to be signed by an authorised representative of both the Organisation and Department of Human Services.
- Data Files must be provided in the approved file format.
[ return to top ]
Registering for Centrelink Business Online Services
To utilise the Bulk Update Request Nominee facility, you must first register for Centrelink's Business Online Services. In the orange 'Business Online Services' box on the top right hand side of the page, select 'register'.
This registration process will enable you to register your organisation for selected Centrelink Business Online Services, even if you do not have an existing business relationship with Centrelink. We will ask you for some information about your organisation and the services you require.
What you will need to register
You will require the following information to successfully register for Business Online Services:
- your organisation’s ABN
- your AUSkey for the organisation which is required for access to nominee services
- your organisation’s name and business address
- your name and contact details as the applicant
- name and contact details of your organisation’s Primary Business Contact/User (if that is not going to be you) who will be the main contact for Centrelink, the main user of the service(s), and advise Centrelink on the access requirements of other users to the service(s)
- name and contact details of the Authorised Person (if that is not going to be you) that your organisation designates to accept the Terms and Conditions to use Centrelink Business Online Services on its behalf.
Centrelink will access the Australian Business Register to validate information provided during your application. Registration should take less than 10 minutes if you have all the required information at hand. Your registration process will be automated if you use your Administrator AUSkey.
You will not be able to save a partially completed registration as it must be completed in one session. The Centrelink Business Hotline is available if you need help during your application on 13 1158.
[ return to top ]
Bulk Update Request Nominee
The Bulk Update Request Nominee (BURN) facility currently offers six notification services. This section provides additional details on each of these services.
Appointment of new nominee arrangements
Only court supported arrangements can be accepted via this service. This is because voluntary arrangements require the consent of both the principal and the proposed nominee for the arrangement to occur where as appointments initiated as a result of legal requirements may be accepted without principal consent.
Whilst the supporting court documentation is not required to be forwarded to Centrelink it is a requirement that this documentation is presented whenever it is requested.
If your Organisation has more than one Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) (for example due to having multiple branches under one Australian Business Number) you must ensure that the Element Node
If an existing non voluntary arrangement is already in place for the customer with another organisation, you may be required to provide court documentation prior to your appointment request being actioned.
Centrelink will contact you if this needs to occur.
Notification of change of address
This service provides the ability to notify of a change to the principal’s home, postal, temporary or term addresses. When advising of a temporary address change you must include an expected end date.
Only Australian address changes can be accepted in this service. If you are notifying of a change of an overseas address or departure from Australia please contact Centrelink to discuss further.
Changes to your organisation details are not to be included in this service. You can manage your organisation details from within the Centrelink Business Online Services (CBOS) home page.
Notification of change of telephone details
A principal’s home, mobile, fax and work number can be provided in this update. There is also a provision to allow for the capture of a contact number. If a contact number is advised, the Element Node
Organisation contact person details should be updated via the Centrelink Business Online Services (CBOS) homepage and should not be included here.
Notification of a change of rent details
There are many different rent types that can apply to a principal’s circumstances. The rent type chosen may impact the eligibility and/or amount of the principal’s rent assistance. If you are not sure what rent type applies to please contact Centrelink for more information.
A Rent Certificate may be required to be completed to verify rent details in order to continue Rent Assistance payments. This will be issued if required.
Notification of a customer’s death
Whilst executor details are not a mandatory field when advising of a death of a principal it is recommended that executor details are provided when known.
When notification of a principal’s death is received this will automatically cancel any existing nominee arrangements therefore you do not need to include a cancellation request when a death notification is also being advised for the same customer.
Cancellation of existing nominee arrangements
Cancellation of existing nominee arrangements will cancel all existing relationship types i.e Correspondence Nominee and Payment Nominee arrangements if both exist with your organisation for that principal. When canceling a Payment Nominee arrangement it is best practice to advise of the principal’s new bank account details if known to prevent any payment delivery delays.
[ return to top ]
Using Bulk Update Request Nominee facility
Users will need to be allocated the new Nominee Bulk Update role. Depending on the organisation’s self service arrangements, this can either be done by the organisation or by contacting Centrelink.
Organisations will also need to have a current AUSKey to use this facility.
Once the new role has been allocated, you can access the Bulk Update facility by:
- selecting the ‘Businesses’ link (from the Centrelink home page) and select the ‘Log On’ button under Online Services
- using your current User ID to logon - if you have not yet linked your AUSkey, choose the green "Link your AUSkey or ATO Digital Certificate" button.
- from the Centrelink Business Online Services (CBOS) home page, select the Bulk Updates Request for Nominees link in the Organisational Online Mail (OOM) minimised Portlet to access the OOM portlet
- once in OOM, you can access the:
- inbox tab to view and search for messages sent from Centrelink
- compose tab to browse for Bulk Update Request XML zip files to be submitted to Centrelink for processing
- sent tab to view details of files that have been successfully sent to Centrelink for processing
- deleted tab to view files that you have manually deleted from your Inbox.
[ return to top ]
Frequently asked questions
Can I access BURN with only a Digital Certificate?
No. If you currently only hold a Digital Certificate you can upgrade to an AUSkey by visiting The Australian Business Register website abr.gov.au/
Once you have your AUSkey, you must link it to your Centrelink Businss Online Services account by choosing the green "Link your AUSkey or ATO Digital Certificate" button when logging in.
Is there a minimum number of updates I have to include in the upload?
No, your upload can contain as few or as many updates as you require as long as you do not exceed the maximum file size of 5MB.
When can I upload files?
One of the benefits of BURN is that files can be uploaded at a time that is convenient for you. Files can be uploaded at any time of the day or night.
Can I upload a CSV file?
No. Only zipped XML files can be submitted.
[ return to top ]
More information
- Visit the businesses section
- Visit the nominee online services page
- Call the Centrelink Business Hotline on 13 1158, or
Mail an enquiry to:
Reply Paid 7800
Canberra BC
ACT 2610
[ return to top ]