It has been a huge shock two years after the claim to receive such a debt I feel helpless and like my child and I are worthless in the eyes of the parenting payment. Something that should have been a lovely period of both our lives is now overshadowed by a forced loan I am now having to pay back even though I did nothing wrong. As a self employed mother I feel very discriminated against. I am overly stressed I started prescribed anti anxiety medication and can't sleep worried about the debt repayment and my place and my child's place in the system.
I don't feel it has been handled at all, I am still confused and can't believe that it has occurred. I just received the debt notice two years (nearly three) after the claim was paid. I couldn't believe that this was even possible for such an error to occur. Nobody has consulted with me or explained to me that this could happen, I simply feel helpless and like I nor my child have no rights as Australian citizens. I submitted all the necessary paperwork and was granted the claim, now I am expected to pay it back two and a half years later as they have decided that I was never eligible in the first place as I was not considered a resident according to their criteria, why was I then allowed the payment, I would not have taken it and would have tried to survive in other means, now I feel cheated by the system. I was never aware that I was not a resident nor was this communicated to me during my application process. I feel like I didn't have anywhere to turn and everything is against me. I have appealed and Centrelink representative agreed with the computer generated decision now I am appealing with tribunal and awaiting for Centrelink to get back to them. I really hope I have somebody on my side.