Child support overpayments and other payee debt 277-04260000

Overpayments occur when:

• a payee receives funds they were not entitled to, including:
• funds in excess of a payer’s child support liability, or
• funds they are no longer entitled to because of a change to their entitlement
• money received in error from a third party is disbursed to the payee by Services Australia
• the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requests the repayment of a tax refund intercept payment (TRIP)

Overpayments arising after 1 July 2018 (15 May 2019 for WA ex-nuptial cases) are recoverable, unless:

• a decision results in the liability ending from or before the start date
• the payer of a liability ceased to be a resident of Australia or a reciprocating jurisdiction. Note: this is a terminating event that will not end the liability from the start date

Overpayments arising before 1 July 2018 (15 May 2019 for WA ex-nuptial cases) are recoverable based on the specific criteria used at the time. Do not change decisions already made on these overpayments.

Customers owed an overpayment can privately enforce payment of in a court with jurisdiction, in the same way they can privately enforce other child support debt.
Note: the agency can also choose to take a person with an overpayment to court.

When a court is satisfied that a transaction is being made, or was made, to defeat the customer’s ability to pay an overpayment, the court can:

• prevent a customer disposing of property, or
• set aside a transaction in which a customer has disposed of property

This is called an order to set aside a transaction (72C).

Other payee debts can result from retrospective variations that impact non-cash payments of child support, including:

• Non-agency payment (NAP), or
• arrears amounts that have been discharged

Overpayments of amounts not paid and transferred via the agency are not recoverable.

If agency error contributed to the overpayment, seek support from a Service Support Officer (SSO). Agency errors include:

• Cuba errors (including duplicate records)
• errors of fact (including keying errors)
• invalid decisions
• errors made by delegates. For example Change of Assessment and Departure Prohibition Order decisions