Debt amount:
$5000
Date debt issued:
Thursday, 1 December 2016
Period debt occurred:
November 2011 to March 2012
Has your case been referred to a collection agency?:
No
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes & I won
Tell us about your debt and how has this affected you? e.g. anxiety levels, financial and accommodation stress:
I spent loads of time online, on the phone to Centrelink, and on the phone to various people in the company I worked for back in 2011, chasing pay records. Luckily the company still exists, keeps good records, and were very helpful. Otherwise I'm not sure what I would have done. I got a payroll report from the company which shows my ACTUAL fortnightly income, not my AVERAGED income, so I was able to get rid of the debt.
How do you feel about the way the Government has handled this process?:
I am an IT project manager. If I implemented a change such as this, and made these sort of infantile errors, which I understand were known to and highlighted by Centrelink staff everywhere, (and are detailed quite well here http://heeris.id.au/2016/centrelink-data-matching-mistakes), I would expect serious repercussions.