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

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant regarding a Newstart Allowance (NSA) debt of $21,158.63, which included a debt recovery fee. The applicant had been in receipt of NSA from April 1999 until October 2021, when he was granted the Disability Support Pension. The debt arose from an alleged overpayment of NSA between August 2009 and June 2013, due to the applicant's income not being correctly reported. The applicant contended that the debt was a "Robodebt," that he was not guilty of the debt amount, and sought a waiver due to special circumstances, including trauma from the Robodebt scheme, a work attack, a TPD payout, common law compensation, a PTSD diagnosis, and homelessness. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine if the applicant was paid more than his correct NSA amount, if this constituted a debt to the Commonwealth, and if so, whether the debt was recoverable in part or in full.

The Tribunal considered the relevant provisions of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) and the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth) concerning the calculation of NSA rates and the recovery of social security debts. It noted that the applicant had been issued numerous notices detailing his reporting obligations, including the broad definition of income for social security purposes. The Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed been paid more than his correct NSA amount for the specified period, resulting in a debt to the Commonwealth. However, it also considered the applicant's request for the debt to be waived or written off due to his circumstances.

While the Tribunal determined that there was no basis to waive the debt under sections 1237A or 1237AAD of the Act, it did find that the debt could be written off for a period of six months from the date of the decision under section 1236 of the Act. This decision was made in light of the applicant's stated need for time to re-establish himself in employment while on the Disability Support Pension. Consequently, the Tribunal varied the decision under review to the extent that the NSA debt was written off for six months, but the debt was otherwise affirmed and remained recoverable in full.