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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute between Mr Demovich and the Secretary of the Department of Social Services concerning an aged pension debt. A debt had been raised for an overpayment of pension, which was subsequently recovered by a garnishee notice issued to the applicant's bank. The applicant sought a refund of the recovered debt.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the debt recovered by the Department should be refunded to the applicant. This involved considering whether the overpayment arose from sole administrative error, whether the applicant had previously disclosed their assets to the Department, and whether the application for the aged pension had been made fraudulently.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review. It noted that the garnishee order to the bank was for $20,414.70, and the bank remitted $20,424.70 to the Commonwealth. In light of this discrepancy, the Tribunal ordered that the Commonwealth, acting as a model litigant, should refund $10.00 to the applicant.