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

This matter concerned an appeal by the Applicant against a decision of the Secretary, Department of Social Services, which affirmed that the Applicant owed a debt to the Commonwealth for Carer Payment. The Applicant had received Carer Payment during a period for which the Tribunal found she had no entitlement.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the Applicant had a Carer Payment debt, the relevant period of that debt, and whether provisions for write-off or waiver of the debt were available. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the overpayments were received in good faith, if the debt arose solely from administrative error, and if special circumstances warranted waiving recovery.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant had received Carer Payment without entitlement between 30 August 2016 and 12 March 2019. It was satisfied that the overpayments were not received in good faith, nor were they solely due to administrative error. Furthermore, the Tribunal determined that no special circumstances were established that would make it desirable to waive the recovery of the debt, and the discretion to write off the debt was not enlivened.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision that the Applicant owed a Carer Payment debt to the Commonwealth. The debt was to be recalculated based on the determined debt period of 30 August 2016 to 12 March 2019, and the recalculated debt was deemed recoverable.