Administrative error waivers 107-05120010
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Examples
Table 1
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Description |
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1 |
Sole administrative error Some examples of administrative error include errors in:
For a waiver, the debt must have arisen solely due to administrative error. This means there must have been no other factors that contributed to the debt arising. Example 1 System continued to pay Rent Assistance even though coded as NVE (not verified) on the Accommodation Summary screen. This is solely due to administrative error. Example 2 A customer advises a fortnightly income of $1,000. The Service Officer codes $100 instead of $1,000. When verified the actual amount is $1,200. The customer declared their income incorrectly. This contributed to the debt, and to the error. Sole administration error would not apply. Example 3 A JobSeeker (JSP) has been declaring earnings fortnightly online. A reassessment (not related to earnings or income) occurs and generates an overpayment. The customer's Working Credits did not calculate correctly resulting in an incorrect rate of payment. The customer declared their income correctly. The debt is solely due to administration error. |
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Good faith Example 1 A customer is granted Disability Support Pension (DSP). Their assets are over the allowable limit. The customer declared the assets on the claim form, This was overlooked. The customer does not get the grant letter straight away due to Christmas delays. The error is discovered 7 weeks after grant. 'Good faith' might exist for payments before the customer got the grant letter. Until then they did not know what details their rate was based on. Once they got the grant letter, payments would usually not be in good faith. This is because the letter details the income and assets used to work out the customer's rate of payment. Note: if the grant letter did not include those details, there may not be a legally recoverable debt. Example 2 A JobSeeker Payment (JSP) customer advises income of $700 from a casual job on their regular Reporting Statement (SU19) form. In error, the amount is not recorded as income. The customer continues to receive the maximum rate of JSP. Good faith would not normally exist if the customer:
This would be considered to be wilfully overlooked. Despite suspicion or a high probability that the rate of payment is incorrect, the customer did not contact the agency to enquire. The customer made no error. They advised their income, but they did not make reasonable enquiries about their entitlement. Example 3 A JobSeeker (JSP) has correctly declared earnings. A system error prevents the customer's working credits from calculating correctly. The customer receives an incorrect rate resulting in an overpayment. Good faith may exist in this instance:
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6 week rule Example A customer is receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP). The customer notified of an increase in their assets within 14 days of the increase occurring. The notification period commences on the day after the increase in their assets occurs:
As the customer notified within the notification period, there is 'no debt' up to and including 14 July. The start date of the first incorrect payment is 15 July, 6 weeks from the first incorrect payment is 26 August. |
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Consider severe financial hardship? For Family Assistance (Administration) Act 1999 debts. Example 1 Debt raised in March 2016 for payments during the 2013-14 financial year. Hardship does not need to be considered for:
Example 2 Debt raised in March 2016 for payments in the 2014-15 financial year. Hardship must be considered for:
Example 3 A lump sum claim for the 2015-16 financial year was paid on 3 February 2017. Debt for this period was raised on 19 May 2017 after detecting a mistake. Hardship must be considered for debt raised:
Example 4 A lump sum claim for the 2015-16 financial year was paid 3 February 2018. A debt for this period was raised on 19 May 2018 after detecting a mistake. Hardship does not need to be considered for debt raised:
Example 5 A lump sum claim for the 2015-16 financial year was paid 3 February 2018. A debt for this period was raised on 19 March 2018 after detecting a mistake. Hardship must be considered:
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5 |
Considering a waiver for separate periods Maree claimed Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for a child on 1 December 2017. This is the date the child entered Maree's care. Maree was paid 100% FTB for the child from this date. On 3 September 2020, a Service Officer identified that Maree only had 50% care from the date the child had entered care. When correcting care arrangements, the system created a debt shell from the original date of payment. Maree had advised the shared care arrangement on the claim form. But this was overlooked. The Service Officer determines that good faith exists. They raise the overpayment on 10 September 2020. There are 4 eligibility periods for this overpayment. Consider a waiver for each period separately:
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Example DOCs
As per Recording reasons for decisions, the decision DOC must include the:
- decision itself
- Act/Guide reference upon which it is based, and
- reason for making the decision
Table 2