Bill Payment Policy

2014

Table of Contents

1.Purpose of the Policy

2.Application and objectives of the Policy

3.Roles and responsibilities of Directorates

4.Government Policy Principles

5.Policy parameters

5.1Invoicing and bill presentment

5.2Determining payment methods and channels

5.3Credit card limit and exemptions

6.Electronic presentment of bills

7.Further information

Appendix A – Glossary of Terms

Appendix B – Standard suite of payment methods and payment channels available

1.Purpose of the Policy

This document has been prepared for the information of ACT Government directorates and agencies, and aims to:

a)outline the Government’s policy for bill payment

b)define bill payment for the purposes of this policy

c)define the parameters of the policy

d)establish a consistent approach to bill payment across government.

2.Application and objectives of the Policy

The ACT Government Bill Payment Policy (the policy) applies to all directorates and agencies from 1 July 2014, but does not apply to Territory-Owned Corporations. It provides a framework for the payment of ACT Government bills from the community, including business. It excludes transactions between directorates and other government agencies.

The ACT Government is committed to capitalising on the opportunities of the digital age to drive economic growth, provide better services, and strengthen open government and citizen engagement. Fundamental to delivering on these opportunities is the development of the Government’s Digital Canberra Action Plan which seeks to:

  • accelerate business engagement with the digital economy and help businesses access new customers and markets
  • promote Canberra as a modern, dynamic, digital city
  • use technology to be a more open government and to give citizens greater choice in how and when they use services
  • be more innovative in how we engage with the community and with local small business.

In this context, the objectives of the Bill Payment Policy are:

a)Consistency in service offering– progressively standardise the suite of payment services available across government while allowing “fit for purpose” application of those services; and standardise the branding and format (look and feel) for bill presentment while taking into account the limitations of the current systems and the needs of specific business or regulatory processes

b)Electronic notification and presentment – facilitate a staged approach to electronic notification and presentment of bills to the community

c)Electronic payments – implement strategies to further promote electronic payment to government.

The measures also meet the Government's efforts on regulatory and process reform to provide efficient and effective regulatory outcomes and streamlined services. These will remove the red tape from dealings between Government and the community.

3.Rolesand responsibilities of Directorates

All ACT Government Directorates and agencies are required to deliver bill payment services in accordance with the policy, and ensure its intention is adhered to at implementation. Different areas in the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate have specific responsibilities under this policy, outlined below.

The role of Service ACT is to:

  • Maintain the policy document and ensure it is regularly reviewed to maintain its relevance to Government policy objectives
  • Provide directorates with advice and assistance with the application of the policy
  • Maintain cross directorate communication and provide advice to the ACT Public Service Strategic Board as required
  • Maintain an electronic version of the bill payment policy document to ensure it is accessible to all directorates and agencies.

The role of Access Canberra is to:

  • Develop standards for government bills, including a consistent layout and format
  • Provide payment channels on behalf of directorates, and promote these to the community
  • Provide advice to directorates on the standard suite of payment methods available and transaction costs
  • Manage key business systems that facilitate bill payment and reconciliation
  • Monitor and analyse industry changes and community expectations in relation to payment options to government
  • Continue to implement channel migration strategies that facilitate increase access to online payment services
  • Consider the effects on the community of the introduction of new digital payment facilities.

The role of Shared Services ICT is to:

  • Maintain Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure to support business systems that facilitate bill payment and reconciliation
  • Monitor and analyse industry changes in payment options to government including benchmarking of payment service where appropriate.

4.Government Policy Principles

The key principles for the policy are:

a)Cost effective for government – direct transactional costs (bank fees, payment infrastructure etc) must be as cost effective as possible given the transaction value and volume

b)Process efficient – downstream processing costs (impact on other parts of government etc) must be as efficient as possible

c)Customer convenience – simple and cost effective options for the customer

d)Digital first –new services must designed with a digital payment solution foremost allowing customer choice of digital service

e)Adaptable – paymentmethods that are flexible, ensure fit for purpose while able to adapt to emerging payment trends and facilities.

These principles provide a consistent and agreed platform for bill payment services across government. They should be considered when designing new, or reviewing current approaches to bill payment, including payment method and payment channels to be offered. The application of these principles should beassessedtaking into account:

  • how each principle individually and collectively impacts on government and the customer
  • bill type, volume and value
  • the nature of the customer receiving the bill, and
  • any legislative or legal requirements.

In circumstances where equal application of each principle is not attainable, and at times may be in conflict with each other,directorates should prioritise the principles drawing on other relevant factors they have identified. This rationale should be provided and considered as part of the approval of new or revised approaches to bill payment.

5.Policy parameters

5.1Invoicing and bill presentment

It is the responsibility of all directorates issuing invoices and bills to the community to ensure the value of the payment is accurately presented. All invoices, bills and other payment advice will be presented in a manner that:

  • ensures they are identifiable as being issued by the ACT Government, includingan ACT Government logo
  • clearly identifies for the customer the payment channels available for payment of the bill, and acceptable payment methods
  • clearly identifies for the customer when payment is due to government, noting payment methods where time delays are incurred between customer payment and government receipt of money
  • advises of thepreferred mechanism for the customer to contact the bill issuer in case of queries or issues, including circumstances where a customer is unable to pay a bill.

5.2Determining payment methods and channels

Determining the appropriate payment method and channel for each bill type is integral to containing individual transactions costs. This cost is derived from a combination of the method and channel used by the customer. Directorates need to offerpayment methods and channels that are cost effective for government, and also provide a level of choice with consideration to the nature of the customer group.

Low value, high volume transactions should offera range of payment methods that are widely accessible, and made availablethrough different channels to maximise choice for the customer. In contrast, high value payments, many of these generally low volume, shouldofferpayment methods that have the lowest transaction costs for government.

The government provides the ability for the community to make payments through existing channels of internet, shopfronts and call centres. Simple,low value payment types generally require an easy interaction and transaction costs can be contained by encouraging customers to use lower cost non-government payment channels, through third party providers such as Australia Post or BPay. Theseoptions offer customer choice and free up government payment channels for more complex transactions.

There are a range of payment methods acceptable to government to cater for a diverse range of transactions. A standard suite of payment methods, and the channel they are made available through,is outlined at Appendix B. From this standard suite directorates are able to identify and offer customer payment options with reference to the principles of this policy.

5.3Credit card limit and exemptions

The credit card payment method is restricted to a maximum of $10,000 for a single payment transaction where the Government controls the point of sale. However, in relation to Revenue Office taxation lines the credit card limit is restricted to a maximum of $5,000 for a single payment transaction, with BPay and other electronic payment options to be made available to payees including for amounts higher than this.

Visa and Mastercard are the endorsed credit cards, and othercredit and charge cards will only be accepted if they charge aMerchant Service Fee (MSF) which is within 20 percent of the current lowest fee. Thecredit card limit and endorsement of specific cards is in place to control and contain the potentially excessive MSF cost to government.

Some invoice and bill payment typesmay be exempt from accepting credit cardsdue to the potential cost to government. Examples of the type of payment transactions where credit cards may not be accepted are Payroll Tax, Return Taxes and Lease Variation Charge. Other payment transactions may also be excluded from credit cards at the discretion of the administering directorate, consistent with the principles set out in this policy.

6.Electronic presentment of bills

To align with Government’s direction of capitalising on the digital age, a key objective of the Bill Payment Policy is to establish electronic notification and bill presentment to the community. This has far reaching benefits of efficiency and effectiveness for the community and for government.

This Policy seeks to establish the platform for this reform and as such requires that any new bill payment system designed post1 July 2014 must consider building in capability for electronic delivery of bills whereby the customer has the option to receive their bill via electronic presentment. As business systems are upgraded in the future directorates are tomake similar considerations of electronic presentment for existing bills. Investment in this functionality must consider the principles and parameters outlined at Sections 4 and 5.

7.Further information

For further information on the ACT Government Bill Payment Policy please contact:

David Colussi, Director Service ACT

Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate

Ph: 6207 0215 or email

Appendix A – Glossary of Terms

Bill: For the purposes of this policy a bill is defined as a statement of fees or charges issued by an ACT Government directorate to a customer for services and/or supplies rendered. It excludes fines and infringement notices. It also excludes transactions between directorates and other government agencies.

BPay: A centralised bill payment service to enable customers to pay bills by contacting their own financial institution (by phone or internet) to initiate a payment from their cheque, savings or credit account. A payment will only be authorised if sufficient funds or credit is available in the customer account. Bpay payments incur a transaction charge and any payments made from a credit account incur a MSF.

Credit Payment: A payment made by the customer who authorises funds being debited against their credit or charge card account. A credit payment can be made with ‘card present’ at a shopfront counter, or ‘card absent’ by internet, IVR or phone. Each credit card payment attracts a Merchant Service Fee, which is charged to the Government.

Direct Debit: A Payment Method which entails the transfer of funds from a customer account to a government account, based on a pre arranged agreement between the customer and Government. A Direct debit payment may be pre arranged but customer initiated, or it may entail a regular deduction, without prior notification, from a customer account. Direct debit can also involve the pre agreed deduction of funds prior to those funds being transferred into the customer account. A payroll deduction or a direct deduction from a government benefit (eg Centrelink) is an example of this type of Direct Debit.

EFT: Electronic Funds Transfer. The pre arranged bank to bank electronic transfer of funds for making a payment to government. This form of payment is usually made by business to government and is usually for large amounts.

EFTPOS Debit Payment: Electronic Payment at Point Of Sale. This payment involves the debiting of funds from a customer cheque or savings account and is authorised by the customer at a counter by swiping a debit card and input of a PIN number.

Electronic presentment: Electronic presentment has four options. Delivery via email (eg PDF attachment and no account), logging onto an account to view a bill (eg like internet banking where you can view your statement and history), logging onto an account to view an account balance (no statements eg Myway) or logging onto an account and viewing statements and account balance.

IVR: Interactive Voice Response. A telephone system which uses computer generated voice instructions to enable the community to make a payment by pressing the handset keys.

MSF: Merchant Service Fee. The fee charged by the bank for each customer payment made by credit card, and is calculated based on a percentage of the payment value.

Offsystem BSB:Payment service product supplied by banking providers typically used for electronic funds transfer of high value payments. Off-system BSB (OSBSB) uses a specific type of BSB to identify the biller (eg Revenue Office or Shared Services Finance) and a specific type of account number to identify the customer in the particular business system(eg Accounts Receivables (AR) in Oracle EBS). The objective of using an OSBSB is to improve the likelihood of receipting monies against the correct customer. The transaction report from the bank can also be used to develop an interface that automatically receipts the funds received against the customer account.

Payment Service: A government service which results in a community to government payment being made. For example, ‘Vehicle Registration Renewal’ is a Payment Service.

Payment channel: Access points where a payment to government can be made. Payment Channels include mail, government counters, Australia Post, BPay, internet and telephone.

Payment Method: Methods by which customers are able to make a payment for a Payment Service through one of the available Payment Channels. Payment Methods include cash, cheque, credit, EFTPOS Debit and Direct Debit.

PostBillPay: The bill payment system used by Australia Post to enable Government bills to be paid at Australia Post counters, IVR phone and web site.

Appendix B – Standard suite of payment methods and payment channels available

Principal payment channel / Acceptable payment methods / Example of payment channel
Face to face / Cash
Cheque
EFTPOS Debit
Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard) / ACT Government counters eg Access Canberra Shopfronts, Revenue Office, Environment and Planning Directorate, Registrar Generals Office, Office of Fair Trading etc
Face to face / Cash
Cheque
EFTPOS Debit
Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard) / Non ACT Government counters eg Australia Post
Telephone / Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard) / Operator response eg Access Canberra call centre
Telephone / Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard)
Debit (only Australia Post) / Automated response (IVR) eg Australia Post, Access Canberra
Internet / Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard)
Direct debit (some)
EFT (some) / ACT Government operated eg Access Canberra payments gateway
Internet / Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard)
Debit / Non Government operated eg Australia Post BillPay
BPay / Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard)
Debit / Note: channel can be either phone or internet
Mail / Cheque / Note: payment can be collected by third party or by government agency
Direct Debit / Debit / Note: payment can be either customer initiated or automated by prior approval. Payment can be deduction before or after customer receipt of wage/allowance
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) / Debit / Note: channel can be either phone or internet
Off System BSB / Debit / Note: payment is made by EFT

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