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

This matter concerned an appeal by the Applicant, Elskaf, against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding a carer payment. The core of the dispute involved whether certain deposits in the Applicant's bank accounts should be treated as his ordinary income, leading to an alleged overpayment and a debt owed to the Commonwealth. The Applicant also sought to have this debt waived or written off. The decision was made by Senior Member Chris Puplick AM of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether specific sums deposited into the Applicant's bank accounts constituted "ordinary income" for the purposes of the relevant social security legislation. It also had to consider whether the Applicant had failed to declare income and assets, resulting in an overpayment of carer payment, and if so, whether this constituted a debt due to the Commonwealth. Finally, the Tribunal had to assess whether any grounds existed to waive or write off the debt, particularly in light of "special circumstances" or administrative error.

The Tribunal found that while most monies in the Applicant's accounts were ordinary income, certain specific deposits, including a reversed loan deposit, insurance payouts, a loan, and a rental bond refund, were not to be treated as ordinary income. Despite these exclusions, the Applicant had failed to declare significant undisclosed income and assets to the Department, leading to an overpayment of carer payment between 15 January 2009 and 3 September 2014. This overpayment, amounting to $105,078.36, was therefore a debt due to the Commonwealth. The Tribunal further determined that the Applicant had knowingly failed or omitted to comply with his obligations to provide information to the Department, as evidenced by numerous notices sent to him. Consequently, the conditions for waiving or writing off the debt under sections 1237A, 1236, or 1237AAD of the Act were not met.

The decision under review, with noted corrections, was affirmed. The Tribunal ordered that the debt owed by the Applicant to the Commonwealth should be recovered.