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

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Impiombato, against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding an overpayment of Carer's Pension and Disability Support Pension. The dispute centred on the existence of a debt owed to the Commonwealth and whether there were grounds to write off or waive the recovery of that debt. The decision was made by D R Davies SM.

The Tribunal was required to determine three key issues: firstly, whether a debt existed for the period between 25 June 2009 and 6 November 2013; secondly, if a debt was found to exist, whether there were grounds to write it off or waive its recovery; and thirdly, if no such grounds existed, whether a penalty should be imposed. The applicant acknowledged receiving income during the relevant period that was not reported to the Department and did not dispute the existence of the debt, which was calculated to be $30,306.77.

In relation to writing off the debt, the Tribunal found that the applicant had the capacity to repay the debt through deductions from her social security payments, and that such deductions would not cause severe financial hardship. Therefore, there was no basis to write off the debt under section 1236 of the relevant Act. Similarly, the debt could not be waived on the grounds of administrative error by the Commonwealth, as the debt arose from the applicant's failure to report her income. However, the Tribunal considered waiver under section 1237AAD of the Act.

The Tribunal concluded that while the debt did not arise from the applicant knowingly making false statements, the circumstances did not meet the criteria for waiver under section 1237AAD. Despite this, the Tribunal ultimately waived a portion of the debt, specifically $7,576.69, under section 1237AAD, reducing the total debt to $22,730.08. The 10% penalty of $3,030.65 that had been imposed was also set aside.