What the Code of Operation is
The Code of Operation is an agreement between Services Australia, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and many banks, building societies and credit unions. It protects your payment if your bank account is overdrawn. If you get an income support payment from us or from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs then this agreement may apply.
We’ve developed the Code to make sure you can continue to access most of your payment if your bank account is overdrawn. If the bank account you’ve nominated for your income support payment becomes overdrawn, it can create a debt to the bank. It can reduce the amount of your payment that you can withdraw.
The Code of Operation document describes all of these:
- how we apply the Code
- the procedures we will follow
- enquiry and dispute resolution methods
- the schedule of payments this Code applies to.
You can read the Code of Operation 2021-2024:
Who the parties are to the Code
This Code has been developed and endorsed by the following parties:
- Services Australia
- the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
- Australian Banking Association (ABA) for member banks
- Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA)
- Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) for member credit unions, mutual building societies and mutual banks that are signatories to the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice.