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

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirming a decision of the Secretary, Department of Social Services, regarding the recovery of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Sickness Child Benefit (SKB) debts. The applicant, Ms Raymond, sought to have these debts waived or written off.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether a debt or debts existed for the relevant periods and, if so, whether there was a basis to write off or waive recovery of those debts. The applicant did not dispute that she had been overpaid FTB and SKB. The evidence indicated that the FTB debts arose because the applicant's actual adjusted taxable income for the 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 income tax years was significantly higher than the estimates provided, leading to overpayments. The SKB debt arose because her adjusted taxable income for the 2014/2015 year exceeded $100,000, disqualifying her from receiving that payment.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had been paid more FTB than she was entitled to due to her actual income exceeding her estimates, and that she was not entitled to the SKB payment for the 2014/2015 income year as her income exceeded the relevant threshold. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had been sent numerous notices regarding her obligations to update her estimated income and that her income would be verified with the Australian Tax Office. The Tribunal concluded that there were no special circumstances that made it desirable to waive the debts or any part thereof, and therefore affirmed the AAT's decision.