Request the return of a payment made to an incorrect recipient 103-04040110
Expand allThis procedure is currently under review.
This document outlines the action to take when a customer or third party advise that a payment has been sent to an incorrect recipient, including where the payment was made to an invalid account (for example, the account number was incorrectly keyed).
Note: this procedure covers requesting the refund of a direct credit, New Payments Platform (NPP) or Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payment from a financial institution to recover payments delivered to an incorrect recipient. For Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, see Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card with a residual balance.
Correct recipient - incorrect account
The request for refund process can only be used in the circumstances outlined in the legislation.
The following circumstances are not legislated:
- Payments have been delivered to an account the customer has legal access to (either solely or jointly)
- Payments have been delivered to an account the customer authorised but now states they cannot access (i.e., the customer intentionally provided a payment destination owned by a third party who is no longer allowing them access)
In these cases, the agency has met its payment delivery obligation and the payment cannot be Requested for Refund.
Incorrect payment recipient
Where the recipient of the incorrect payment is known and the funds were not misdirected as part of potential fraud, the recipient must be contacted before any request for return. This is so the recipient is not left in hardship by the return of the funds. Extreme care must be taken to protect the identity and privacy of the customer and the incorrect recipient (who may also be a customer).
The Resources page contains links to mySupport, Level 2 Policy Help Desk, and the Income Management helpdesk webform for policy or procedural queries.
Related links
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card with a residual balance
Reissue a payment at a customer's request
Reissue a payment returned from a financial institution
Protection of customer payments
Payments for students under 18 years paid to student, parent or a third party
Requesting refunds and raising debts for payments made after death of customer