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

This matter concerned an application by the Applicant against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding a debt arising from an overpayment of a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The Applicant accepted he was not entitled to the DSP payment of $982.38, but disputed the amount of his indebtedness, claiming he had repaid a portion of the debt. The decision was made by B J Illingworth SM.

The primary legal issues before the court were to determine the precise amount of the Applicant's debt, when notice of this debt was given, whether the debt was caused solely by administrative error or if the Applicant also contributed to it, whether the payment was received in good faith by the Applicant, and finally, whether the discretion to waive the debt should be exercised and to what extent. The court considered the provisions of sections 1223, 1236, and 1237A of the *Social Security Act 1991* and section 1237A of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999*.

The court's reasoning focused on the application of section 1237A of the Act, which requires a debt to be attributable solely to administrative error, received in good faith, and not raised within six weeks of the first payment causing the debt. The court noted that for administrative error to be the sole cause, it must be the only factor, not merely one of several. The Applicant was involved in numerous complex issues with the Department during the period the debt was incurred, including the repayment of a lump sum entitlement, the discharge of a pre-existing debt, and the confirmation of the overpayment. Given these multiple factors and the Applicant's own engagement with the Department regarding his entitlements and existing debts, the court found that the debt was not attributable solely to administrative error.

The court concluded that the Applicant had not established that the debt was solely attributable to administrative error, nor that he had received the payment in good faith in the context of the overall complexities of his dealings with the Department. Consequently, the conditions for waiving the debt under section 1237A were not met. The decision was set aside and substituted, with the Applicant's claimed repayment of $210.88 being considered as part of the overall debt calculation.