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

This matter concerned an application by Mr Monty for review of a decision by the Secretary, Department of Social Services, to affirm a debt of $9,511.94 for Newstart allowance overpayments. The debt arose from Mr Monty under-reporting his earnings from his employment with Disability Attendant Support Services Inc. (DASSI), which was later acquired by Independence Australia. Mr Monty had been receiving Newstart allowance since August 2012, and Centrelink identified the overpayment through a data match of his declared income against his actual payslips for the period between July 2013 and June 2016.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the debt should be waived or written off. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the provisions of section 1237AAD of the *Social Security Act* (the Act), which allows for waiver if the debt did not result wholly or partly from the debtor knowingly making a false statement or omission, and if there were special circumstances making waiver desirable, and if waiver was more appropriate than writing off the debt. The Tribunal also considered whether the debt was attributable solely to administrative error.

The Tribunal found that while Mr Monty had attempted to report his earnings accurately, and experienced difficulties due to the differing pay and reporting periods, the debt was not attributable solely to administrative error. Mr Monty’s pay period did not align with Centrelink’s reporting period, and he argued that travel expenses were incorrectly included in the debt calculation. However, Centrelink provided evidence demonstrating that travel allowances were excluded from the calculations and provided sample breakdowns of the debt. The Tribunal concluded that, as the debt was not caused solely by departmental error and no special circumstances were established, there were no grounds to waive or write off the debt.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.