Raising social security debts due to self-employment or business income 043-03130130

Determine the date of event once the customer provides an initial Profit and Loss Statement (SU580) or tax returns and other relevant details.

The date of event of an increase in business income is the earliest of these dates:

• the increase in business income comes to the customer's attention. For example, tax return completed, or
• an event that led to an increase in business income. For example, the signing of a new supply contract or the commencement of self-employment provided the customer was aware of this event, or
• a general increase in business income came to the customer's attention. For example, an increase in income resulting from an increase in cash flow

Check notification obligations

A customer meets their notification obligations if they did not know about the increase in income. In these cases, it is not a notifiable event.

The date of effect and decision to reduce the customer's rate depends on whether the customer notified correctly.

Any debt depends on the date of effect of the adverse determination reducing the customer's rate of payment.

The date of effect of the adverse determination depends on:

• the date of event as established in Step 1 - see Assessment of income and assets from business structures for Centrelink payments
• whether the customer notified correctly, and
• whether the decision is favourable or unfavourable

For more information of date of effect, see:

• Notification Handler (NOHL)
• Using the correct date of effect when raising debts

Coding of the customer's self-employment income generates a debt shell if the date of effect is:

• before the customer's date paid to, and
• the customer's rate is to be reduced

Has a debt shell been correctly generated?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, see Finalised 'no debt' (FND) activities

Raise the debt immediately.

A combination of new information may cause retrospective reassessment of the customer's payment. For example, the customer's business income and employment income or the customer's business income and their partner's business income.

Assess the customer's actual income for the same periods if they have:

• met their obligation by advising their business income, and
• failed to advise of their employment income or their partner's business income

See General debt raising information.

See Calculating Centrelink entitlements and gathering information when investigating debts.

Consider waiver provisions.

For Farm Household Allowance debts, see Investigating and assessing Farm Household Allowance (FHA) debts.

Procedure ends here.