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

This matter concerned an appeal by the Applicant, Kherani, against decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding the cancellation of their Austudy payment and the subsequent debt owed to the Commonwealth. The dispute centred on the period for which the Applicant was eligible for Austudy and the correct dates for its cancellation, ultimately determining whether a debt was owed.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were to ascertain the precise period of the Applicant's eligibility for Austudy payments, to determine the correct dates upon which these payments should have been cancelled, and to establish whether any debt owed to the Commonwealth was irrecoverable due to sole administrative error or special circumstances.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant's failure to report changes in their circumstances led to an overpayment from public funds, which should be recovered. It determined that there were no legislative grounds to waive the recovery of this debt. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous AAT decisions and remitted the matter to the Secretary with directions to cancel the Applicant's Austudy from 16 May 2016, reinstate it from 4 July 2016, cancel it again from 2 May 2017, and establish that the Applicant was overpaid for specific periods, resulting in a total debt of $25,854.79 to be recovered.