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1 |
Age qualification
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Davdar is a young refugee from Afghanistan
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Davdar was paid Youth Allowance (YA) because his visa stated he was 16 years of age
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Davdar did not know his exact age as he had led a tribal existence before coming to Australia
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After getting actual birth records, Davdar was only 14. This means Davdar did not qualify for YA
Even though Davdar did not knowingly provide incorrect information or fail to comply with legislation, he did not qualify for YA. The full amount of YA paid to Davdar is a debt. Entitlement to another payment (known as notional entitlement), for example, Special Benefit (SpB) cannot be decided after the fact (retrospectively). This means no equivalent amount of another payment can be used to offset the debt. In this case, recovering the debt would be unfair and unjust.
In this example, special circumstances exist that justify waiving recovery.
Social Security Payments
No debt due to age qualification can be raised before the determination date when:
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there are no actual birth records, and
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an estimated Date of Birth gets updated with what is thought to be a more accurate estimate. For example, through bone density testing
This is because the date of effect of the new decision would be under s118(13) of the Social Security Administration Act. This legislation states, in part, the date of effect is the date of determination.
Family Assistance payments
This is a recoverable debt due to age qualification. This is because the Family Assistance date of effect is the date of event for all non income related changes (s31 FA (Admin) Act). Consider a waiver under the special circumstances provisions for this example.
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2 |
Waiver of debt for a customer aged under 16 (minor)
Special Benefit (SpB) debt, 1 year old
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Noah was granted SpB on 24 March 2020 as their parent was not eligible for an income support payment in their own right
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Noah incurred debts of approximately $3,000 as a result of the cancellation of their payment being backdated
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Noah was 1 year old when the debt was raised, and is currently 2 years and 7 months old
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Noah’s mother was granted Parenting Payment Single (PPS) and Family Tax Benefit (FTB), due to a change in visa status. The claim was backdated to 18 August 2020
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Noah continued to receive SpB until 21 September 2020
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Debts were raised for the SpB payment and Coronavirus Supplement received for the period 18 August 2020 to 21 September 2020 totalling $1,902.74 and $1,100 respectively
This debt can be waived as the circumstances are considered as special due to the customer’s age during the debt period.
Youth Allowance (YA) debt, 15 year old
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A former customer claimed YA (Jobseeker) as they were a refugee, newly arriving in Australia. Their YA payment was granted from 14 February 2020
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The customer received an updated ImmiCard (DFAT issued identity card), which they provided to Services Australia. Upon receipt of the new ImmiCard, it was identified the customer’s date of birth was incorrect
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The customer met the age requirements to be granted YA based on the incorrect date of birth (1 January 2002). As a result of the correction to the customer’s date of birth (1 December 2006), the customer no longer met the age requirements for YA and the payment was cancelled from the date of grant
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A debt was raised for an amount of $3,091.98 for the period 14 February 2020 to 2 July 2020
This debt can be waived as the circumstances are considered as special due to the customer’s age during the debt period.
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3 |
Waiver of compensation affected payments (CAP) made during a Victorian Transport Accident Act 1986 non-payment period
Consider waving a debt if:
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the debt is a result of a compensation preclusion period, and
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the customer is subject to a non-payment period under the Victorian Transport Accident Act 1986
The definition of an 'earner' under the Victorian Transport Accident Act 1986, excludes some Centrelink customers from receiving compensation for the first 18 months, following their injury. If compensation is not paid for the above reason, the date of the accident/injury is still the date that the loss of earnings or loss of earning capacity begins. This means that this is the start date of the preclusion period under section 1165 of the Social Security Act 1991.
There is no 'double dipping' in the above circumstance. It would be inequitable in these circumstances to recover the part of the debt representing CAPs paid during the Victorian Transport Accident Act 1986 non-payment period.
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4 |
Waiver of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) reconciliation debts due to shared care
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Martha told the agency about a shared care arrangement before 30 June 2000 while getting Family Assistance (FA)
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Martha was transferred to FTB at 100% care level due to automatic processing
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Martha was not contacted as part of the shared care data collection exercise in the first half of 2000
The portion of the reconciliation debt due to the shared care arrangement is waived.
Any portion of the debt incurred due to income (for example) does not form part of the waiver.
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5 |
Waiver of Child Care Benefit (CCB) for Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) participants
Parents participating in AMEP classes, are provided with free child care. Lina:
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participated in AMEP
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claimed CCB as reduced fees for approved care provided in the 2000/01 and 2001/02 financial years
Debts resulting from the above can be waived as the circumstances are considered as special.
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6 |
When a special circumstance debt waiver should be considered
Alistair gets Disability Support Pension (DSP) and lives in a home that he owns.
On 15 August 2017, a boarder moves into Alistair's spare bedroom and starts to pay rent.
On 18 August 2017, Alistair is driving home from the doctor after being advised that he has an incurable disease. He was not concentrating and had a car accident, he ends up in the intensive care unit where he is placed in a coma.
On 8 November 2017, Alistair wakes up from his coma and contacts the agency on 14 November 2017 to advise he got income from 15 August 2017. A debt shell is created.
This debt can be waived as Alistair did not knowingly make a false statement or omit information. The circumstances on their own are not particularly unusual, but the effect overall may be unusual and the debt waiver under special circumstance should be considered.
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7 |
When a special circumstance debt waiver should not be considered
Dorothy is getting Age Pension and had a partner move into her home.
Dorothy's washing machine hose breaks and water leaks over her unit. There was so much damage they had to move in with a family member.
Dorothy is aware that the agency needs to be notified, but wants to fix up the issue at the unit first and believes the agency will understand.
After some time, Dorothy contacts the agency to report a change in relationship status. A debt shell was created as a result of the late notification. The staff member referring this debt recommended this case for special circumstance debt waiver consideration.
This debt cannot be waived under special circumstances as the customer knowingly withheld information that impacted the payment. Even though there was a recommendation to waiver, the delegate must decide if it meets the special circumstance debt waiver criteria.
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Manual Q053 advice approved text