Garnishee of compensation payments to recover debts 107-05050030

Go to the General Information (OPGI) screen and check if the customer has a debt raised under the:

• Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA), or
• Financial Management Administration Act (FMA)

See Recovery of Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA) overpayments.

Does the customer have a debt raised under the PGPA or FMA Act?

• Yes, exclude these debts from the garnishee amount. Go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 2

A garnishee is not appropriate if:

• debt recovery is not cost effective
• the debt is under bankruptcy
• the debt has been written off under ‘non-lodger separated’ (NLS) couple provisions
• the customer has requested a pause on recovery as:
  • there is a pending a reassessment, explanation or review of decision, or
  • they live in a declared disaster area

Is garnishee appropriate?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, record reason on a DOC. Procedure ends here

Compensation staff need to review the customer’s record and consider each of the following:

• any vulnerabilities or sensitivities that may impact the customer. For example, family and domestic violence
• the value of the debts that are due and payable
• whether a current repayment arrangement is in place on the Arrangement List (OPAL) screen
• if the customer has a future preclusion period
• if garnishee action will cause financial hardship
• deductions from the customer's lump sum or periodic payment such as legal fees or tax
• evaluate the net value of the compensation payment to ensure sufficient funds are available
• if the customer has failed to enter into a reasonable arrangement to repay the debt, or
• having entered into such an arrangement, has failed to make a payment in accordance with the arrangement

Can garnishee action proceed?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, record reason on a DOC. Procedure ends here

The customer must receive garnishee warnings in the 90 days before implementing the garnishee. Warnings can be verbal or in writing. See the Resources page in Garnishees for more information, including letters that contain warnings.

Was the customer warned of garnishee action within the last 90 days?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, record reason in a DOC. Procedure ends here

Make a reasonable effort to contact the customer before the garnishee action.

Note: if leaving a message, see Safeguarding customer privacy when raising and recovering debts.

There are language and interpreter services available for customers who may need an:

• Immediate telephone interpreter
• Indigenous language interpreter

See Interpreter Services.

Can the customer be contacted by phone?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, and there is:
  • no current repayment arrangement, go to Step 7
  • a current repayment arrangement, do not proceed with the garnishee. Procedure ends here

Discuss repayment options with the customer such as arranging cash repayments. Give the customer the opportunity to finalise their debt rather than garnishee.

CRT staff must consider customer’s circumstances and their true capacity to repay the debt upon receiving a compensation payment.

If the customer:

• will have the capacity to pay the outstanding debt balance, seek full payment in the first instance
• has a current payment arrangement and requests to revise the arrangement, negotiate a new payment agreement with the customer

CRT staff must consider if the repayment amount for an existing arrangement is still reasonable.

A decision that an existing repayment is not reasonable, must be made and documented by APS 5/6 CRT staff before garnishee action can start. Garnishee can only be implemented for customers with an existing repayment arrangement if they refuse to revise the arrangement to align with their true capacity to repay.

For more information see:

• Payment arrangements
• Arranging cash repayments to recover debts
• Procedures for arranging withholdings to recover debts

Note: withholdings do not apply to non-current customers, including customers with a payment status of Current Zero Rate (CZR).

Has the customer requested a payment arrangement by withholdings or cash instalments?

• Yes:
  • use the Debt Recovery script to action a payment arrangement
  • record the details on a DOC
  • procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 7

Confirm if one of the following applies to the customer:

• failed to enter into a reasonable arrangement
• had an arrangement they did not keep, or
• failed to disclose details or evidence about their true capacity to repay and refused to revise an existing arrangement

Has the customer failed to enter or keep an arrangement or disclose details about their true capacity to repay?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, record reasons on a DOC. Procedure ends here

Before applying an involuntary garnishee, ensure:

• there are no vulnerability indicators on the record
• debt(s) have become due
• debt(s) are not written off, unless due to a short term hardship
• it is cost effective to garnishee debts

When a decision is made to apply an involuntary garnishee, approval must be sought from an APS5 or above in CRT.

Has approval been given from an APS5 or above?

• Yes. An APS5 or above must record approval in the Compensation Garnishee Fast Note, go to Table 2
• No:
  • do not proceed with garnishee action
  • record details in the Compensation Garnishee Fast Note
  • procedure ends here