Barnouti and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant regarding a debt raised by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services for overpayment of age pension. The applicant, who immigrated to Australia from Iraq with his wife in December 2005, was granted age pension from 16 December 2005. Upon being granted the pension, he was informed of his reporting obligations regarding changes in income and assets. In September 2006, the applicant and his wife completed a Centrelink form declaring no income apart from pension payments and minimal assets, and no interest in real estate. The applicant continued to receive the full rate of age pension, with numerous reminders sent about his reporting obligations.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant owed a debt to the Commonwealth due to age pension overpayments, the amount of that liability, and whether the debt should be written off or waived. The applicant's failure to report significant overseas real estate, bank accounts, bank deposits totalling over $1.9 million, rental income, and a share portfolio was central to the determination of these issues. The applicant attributed his non-compliance partly to poor memory and administrative mistakes, and also claimed to have ignored some notifications due to a lack of awareness of reporting requirements.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's reporting obligations under subsection 68(2) of the *Social Security Administration Act 1999* (Cth) and the provisions for debt creation under subsection 1223(1) of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth). It found that the applicant's claims of poor memory were not credible, given his active management of substantial financial transactions, including the sale of overseas property, transfers of funds, management of multiple bank accounts, property purchases, and building a share portfolio during the period in question. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's failure to report his true income and assets was a deliberate and sustained practice. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant owed a debt to the Commonwealth of $137,469.63 for overpayment of age pension between 16 December 2005 and 7 February 2019. The decision under review was affirmed, and the debt was required to be paid in full.