Credit notes
In most accounting and invoicing systems, a credit note is used to correct an error on an invoice that has already been issued. This might occur when:
- A service was invoiced incorrectly
- A charge needs to be reduced or reversed
- A service was cancelled or partially delivered
Rather than deleting the original invoice, a credit note creates a negative adjustment that offsets the original amount. This preserves an audit trail and ensures financial records accurately reflect what occurred.
A credit note is the standard mechanism used to correct or reverse a previously issued invoice.
How Services Australia approaches corrections
Under the Support at Home program, Services Australia does not refer to corrections as credit notes. Instead, the same outcome is achieved through amending invoices in the Aged Care Provider Portal (ACPP).
From Services Australia’s perspective:
- Providers do not submit separate credit notes
- Corrections are made by adjusting previously submitted invoice information
- Amended invoices update participant budgets and claimed amounts accordingly
Functionally, this achieves the same result as a credit note in a traditional accounting system, but through a different process.
Credit notes in practice
While Services Australia refers to amended invoices, The Lookout Way will continue to issue credit notes where a previously issued invoice needs to be corrected or reversed.
Currently, invoices and credit notes in Lookout do not have a system-enforced relationship. This means that providers must take additional steps when preparing claims to ensure that corrections are accurately reflected in ACPP.
We are working to enhance this in 2026.
Submitting a claim
Providers should complete the following steps if there is a credit note in the claim:
1. If the invoice and credit note are in the same claim period
Where both the original invoice and its corresponding credit note appear in the same claim:
- Identify the invoice and the credit note from the claim screen
- Exclude both lines from the claim
- Edit both lines to “Never show in claims”
This prevents Services Australia from assessing or paying against amounts that have already been offset.
2. If the invoice was claimed in a previous period
Where the original invoice has already been claimed and accepted in a prior period:
- Identify the credit note in the claim screen
- Exclude the credit note from the current claim
- Mark the line as “Do not claim”
- Manually adjust the relevant line in ACPP to reflect the correction
This aligns the participant’s budget and claim history with the corrected value, consistent with Services Australia’s invoice amendment process.
For more information on excluding lines from the claim, refer to this article.
Timing considerations
Providers should be aware that there may be a delay between claim submission and acceptance, where amendments or manual adjustments are required.
Once accepted, amendments will be included in the Payment Statement, which will be reflected in your Lookout instance after you complete the corresponding claims reconciliation.
At this time, they will appear on your Members’ statements.
Summary
Although the term credit note is not used by Services Australia, the underlying concept still applies. Corrections are managed through invoice amendments, and providers play a key role in ensuring claims accurately reflect these adjustments.
Understanding when to exclude invoice and credit note lines from a claim, and when a manual adjustment in ACPP is required, will help minimise delays and ensure Support at Home claims are processed correctly.
Maintaining clear internal records that link invoices and credit notes will help support reconciliation and any follow-up required.