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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Ms Lyall and the Secretary, Department of Social Services, concerning the recovery of a social security overpayment. The dispute centred on a debt arising from Family Tax Benefit (FTB) received by Ms Lyall, including Rent Assistance, during the 2004/2005 income year. Ms Lyall had informed Centrelink of her rent payments at a Woodcroft address, and subsequently moved from this address on 12 July 2004, ceasing to be entitled to Rent Assistance from that date. She did not claim Rent Assistance for her new address and acknowledged she was aware of her obligation to notify the agency of changes in her circumstances.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the calculation of the overpaid sum was correct, and whether the debt should be waived or written off. Ms Lyall contended that there was an error in the calculation method and suggested that the agency had made an "administrative error" by failing to record a telephone call she claimed to have made on or about 24 July 2004 to report her change of address and rental situation. She argued that this administrative error should lead to a waiver of the debt.

The Tribunal found that Ms Lyall was unable to satisfy it that there was an error in the method of calculation of the overpayment or that an alternative method was appropriate. Regarding the alleged administrative error, the Tribunal noted that the agency had no record of the call Ms Lyall claimed to have made on 24 July 2004. While Ms Lyall was adamant about the timing of this call, she also acknowledged making many calls over the intervening years and agreed that she might be mistaken about the exact date. The Tribunal considered evidence of a recorded call on 1 December 2004, which Ms Lyall stated was not the call she was referring to. Given the lack of evidence supporting Ms Lyall's claim of an administrative error in recording her notification, and her acknowledgement of the overpayment and her obligation to notify changes, the Tribunal determined that the debt should not be written off or waived. The decisions under review were affirmed.