Hunter residents are being slugged tens of thousands of dollars by the federal government as part of its widely criticised Centrelink debt notice saga.
Fairfax Media received an overwhelming response when it put the call out on social media this week looking for people who believe they have been mistakenly issued a debt repayment notice from federal welfare agency Centrelink.
Hunter residents have reported that they’ve received debt notices ranging from a couple of thousand dollars to as much as $48,000.
Many debts are related to alleged over-payments made by Centrelink – some dating back several years.
While many have appealed, they have been told by the Department of Human Services that they have to begin paying off their debt while their circumstances are reviewed.