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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mrs Raschilla against a decision of the Secretary, Department of Social Services, relating to an overpayment of her Age Pension. The dispute arose from a miscalculation of Mrs Raschilla's combined income with her partner, which led to an overpayment of her pension. The core of the disagreement centred on when Mrs Raschilla was deemed to have received notification of issues with her income and whether there were any grounds to write off or waive the resulting debt. The case was heard by William Stefaniak AM RFD, Senior Member.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the debt was irrecoverable at law, whether Mrs Raschilla's whereabouts were unknown, or whether she was not receiving a social security payment and had no capacity to repay the debt or if it was not cost-effective for the Commonwealth to recover it, as per section 1236 of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth). Additionally, the Tribunal considered whether the debt occurred solely due to departmental error, or if there were exceptional circumstances, as contemplated by section 1237AAD of the Act, that would justify waiving the debt.

The Tribunal found that none of the conditions for writing off the debt under section 1236 were met, as Mrs Raschilla was currently repaying the debt. The Tribunal acknowledged the family's integrity and the potential for departmental officers to have been more proactive. However, it was noted that Mrs Raschilla appeared to assume the department had received all necessary income information from a third-party insurer and did not proactively provide payslips for her employment income between October 2012 and May 2016, despite being willing to do so if asked directly. The Tribunal concluded that the debt arose because the department lacked complete and accurate details of Mrs Raschilla's employment and income.

The Tribunal affirmed the reviewable decision, finding no basis to waive the debt. However, it expressed support for any request Mrs Raschilla might make for a reduction in her fortnightly repayment amount, acknowledging her current financial pressures due to ill health.