Debt ownership 107-02050030

If a negative adjustment results from a reassessment of the customer record, it is the responsibility of the Service Officer undertaking the reassessment to document the record.

An explanation of the assessment should also be provided to the customer at the initial point of contact. See Explaining and actioning negative adjustments on a customer’s record.

Note: be aware of customers experiencing vulnerability. See Identifying customer vulnerability and risk issues.

Staff may also identify cases where:

• an existing debt (determined or undetermined) is on the record
• corrective coding (which generates a debt activity) is not possible
• the debt requires further investigation or action

Use Fast Note to refer the case to the relevant Debt Raising area. See the Resources page for referral details.

A ripple debt occurs when an action or activity on a record impacts on a connected record. For example, a child's record attached to a parent's record. The activity carried out on the child's record may result in a change on the parent's record. This is a ripple effect.

Use Fast Note to refer the case to the relevant Debt Raising area. See the Resources page for referral details.

This applies to all consolidated functions.

Debts from compliance reviews are investigated by the team conducting the review.

The appropriate Processing Services raises debts on the following payments:

• ABSTUDY
• Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC)
• Assurance of Support (AOS)
• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Paid Parental Leave (PPL) (for debts raised against the employer)
• Mobility Allowance (MOB)
• Australian Apprenticeships
• Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS)
• Farm Household Assistance (FHA), and
• Emergency Payments (AGDRP, DRA, DRP, CDP, HRSPP)

Debts created by:

• Centrelink Academic Reassessment Transformation (CART) reviews are finalised as part of the CART processing team review
• Student Payment Reviews are finalised by the Study Load Intervention (SLI) team

Where action is required on a debt raised by a Specialist Team, refer the case using Fast Note. See the Resources page for referral details.

The ODM is the staff member or team who made the original decision on a customer’s record.

If a customer contacts with questions about a determined debt, the ODM must be known before an appeal can be actioned.

The ODM can be a:

• team or staff member from a Business area, when:
  • questions relate to the cause of the overpayment. For example, start dates, rent details. The customer is not appealing the debt, but the decision that caused the debt
  • the debt was not raised by Payment Assurance Operations where (region code start with X, NS7, HU1 or HU2). This includes auto raised debts and FTB Reconciliation debts
• Payment Assurance Operations (region codes starting with X, NS7, HU1 or HU2), when questions relate to the decision to recover the debt or the calculated amount. For example:
  • the method used to calculate the debt, or
  • the application of a waiver when the debt was because of administrative error or unusual circumstances

Centrelink compensation debts are either 'compensation payer debts' or 'customer debts', and raised by Compensation Recovery Teams (CRT). See Compensation Recovery Teams.

Compensation payer debts are recovered by the CRT.

Payment of customer debts is arranged with the Debt Recovery Team. See Recovery of Centrelink compensation debts.