Reversal of waivers 107-05120040

A debt waiver has been recorded incorrectly on a customer's record or the decision has been reviewed and a decision has been made to reverse this action to:

• adjust the overpayment amount, and/or
• recommence recovery action

If this decision relates to a:

• family assistance qualification debt, see Family Assistance debts
• family assistance reconciliation debt, go to Step 7
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) debts, see Raising Child Care Subsidy (CCS) debts in Process Direct
• all other debts, go to Step 2.

Note: any reversal of a waiver is subject to delegation limitations.

Check the Debt List (OPDL) screen for all debts previously waived

In reviewing the decision to waive a debt, the delegate should consider a range of factors, including:

• if the original decision was correct at the time, and
• the duration between the decision to waive the debt and the circumstances at the date of review

A decision to waive a debt will not be incorrect solely because the customer’s circumstances changed after that decision.

Note: from 20 March 2026, LTF and LTW waiver reasons cannot be reapplied to debts with outstanding balances less than the small debt waiver threshold, Take extreme care to ensure the reversal of LTF or LTW waiver is the correct action.

To apply a reversal of waiver, the reason the previous debt was generated (and subsequently waived) and the reason for the new debt, do not need to be the same.

When recalculating a debt for a period, and:

• the debt period includes a debt that was previously waived (including an automatic small debt waiver less than the small debt waiver threshold, and
• the waiver needs to be reversed, to include either the full or partially waived amount in the new debt calculation. This should only occur where the debt periods overlap and/or are consecutive, because the basis of the original decision was incorrect or no longer exists:
• reverse the waiver in full
• update the debt decision to Finalised 'no debt' (FND), and
• raise a new debt for the correct amount

Only reverse a small debt waiver if the total calculated debt amount for the new debt is above the small debt waiver threshold.

Where only a portion of the previously waived debt is to be included in the new debt decision:

• reverse the full amount of the previously waived debt and FND the debt shell
• in the new debt calculation, include the portion of the previously waived amount that should be raised
• create a manual new debt shell to reapply the waiver to the remaining amount, that should remain waived

From the OPDL screen, 'S'elect the relevant Debt Id with the status F-Waived:

• go to the Waiver (OPWA) screen
• in the Reason Reversed field, key the appropriate waiver code:
• WIE - Waived In Error, or
• DAR - Debt amount adjustment required
• press [Enter] to accept the reverse waiver coding
• press [Enter] to go to the Assessment Finalisation (OPAF) screen. Add comments to support the decision
• key Y to finalise the reverse waiver action

From the OPDL screen, 'S'elect the reversed waiver Debt Id:

• go to the Debt Amount (OPDA) screen
• in these fields:
• Reason changed, key the reason 'MUL' Multiple Debt Activities
• Calculated Amount, key zero to finalise the debt ‘no debt’ (FND) > [Enter]
• press [Enter] to go to the Assessment Finalisation (OPAF) screen. Add comments to support the decision
• key Y to finalise the debt ‘no debt’ (FND) action

Issuing a Q417 is not required as the waived component is included in another debt. Cancel the activity to send the Q417.

From the AL screen:

• next to the DMN/ADV activity, key C > [Enter]
• in the Cancel all provisional changes? field, key C > [Enter] to finalise cancellation of the activity

Document the reversed waiver and finalised no debt (FND) action in a DOC.

Is the full amount of the waiver reversal to be included in the new debt calculation?

• Yes, see Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)
• No, create a new debt record manually on the DMIS to reapply a waiver to the partial waiver amount (not included in the new debt calculation) in a separate debt activity

The amount previously waived as a small debt will not be retained if the less than small debt waiver threshold FTB reconciliation debt:

• has previously been waived, and
• increases to more than the small debt waiver threshold due to re-reconciliation

This means that when the new debt is raised, the previously waived amount will be reversed and included in the total calculated debt amount. If the total calculated debt amount is:

• still below the small debt waiver threshold, it will be waived
• equal to, or above, the small debt waiver threshold, it will be recovered

Re-reconciliation is automatically re-applied.