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

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Thurling against a decision of the Secretary, Department of Social Services, regarding an overpayment of Newstart allowance. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Ms Thurling had been overpaid, and if so, whether the debt should be waived or written off.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Ms Thurling had failed to notify the Department of a change in her circumstances, thereby triggering an automatic rate reduction of her allowance under section 100(1) of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth), and whether the debt was attributable solely to administrative error or if there were special circumstances warranting its waiver or write-off. The Tribunal also considered the cost-effectiveness of recovering the debt and whether it should be written off for a period.

The Tribunal found that Ms Thurling had been overpaid because she failed to report income earned while receiving the Newstart allowance, despite being aware of her reporting obligations. The Tribunal noted that the ATO data match provided substantive evidence of her income, and Ms Thurling had not provided sufficient corroborating material to contradict this. The Tribunal determined that there was no administrative error solely responsible for the debt, and ignorance of legal requirements did not constitute special circumstances. However, the Tribunal concluded that the debt should be written off for a period of six months under section 1236 of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth), considering Ms Thurling's health and financial situation.