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

This matter concerned an application by the Applicant to review a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding an alleged overpayment of Austudy and Newstart Allowance. The Applicant disputed the existence and recoverability of a debt totalling $6,898.23, arising from under-declared employment income between July 2011 and November 2013.

The court was required to determine whether the Applicant had been overpaid Austudy and Newstart Allowance, whether these overpayments constituted a debt to the Commonwealth, and if so, whether any part of the debt could be written off or waived. The Applicant contended that she had made reasonable efforts to declare her income accurately, given discrepancies between her employer's payment cycles and Centrelink's fortnightly assessment periods, and that she did not receive payslips promptly.

The court found that the Applicant had failed to correctly declare her employment income as required by subsection 68(2) of the *Administration Act*, leading to incorrect calculations of her Austudy and Newstart Allowance payments. Consequently, the court was satisfied that the Applicant had been overpaid Austudy by $826.88 and Newstart Allowance by $6,071.35, and that these amounts constituted a debt to the Commonwealth. Regarding the waiver or write-off of the debt, the court noted that section 1236 of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) requires evidence of irrecoverability or lack of capacity to repay, neither of which was present. Furthermore, the court held that section 1237A of the Act, which allows for waiver due to administrative error, was not applicable as the Department had acted on the information provided by the Applicant, and there was no evidence of administrative error causing the debt.

Accordingly, the court affirmed the decision under review, finding that neither part nor all of the debt should be written off or waived.