A Centrelink claimant says the agency told him it cannot remove his bogus debt from his online account, even though it has agreed he owes nothing.
Simon Rivers*, from Sydney, was unemployed for just two months in 2011-12, and is one of many hit with an inaccurate notice saying he was overpaid in benefits.
A woman has received a debt recovery letter from Centrelink telling her she's been overpaid and had to return the money.
But rather than a massive bill, the government agency was chasing Kerry King from Rowville, Victoria, for two cents.
So she paid up - by sending Centrelink a two cent coin.
People are reporting having to make hundreds of calls to Centrelink before the phone line even connects, and spending hours on hold once their call actually goes through, as the nation's welfare debt recovery saga continues.
The story of Ian and Jane, from Adelaide, highlights more of the difficulties faced by people caught up in Centrelink's so-called "robo debt" program. Automated data-matching software links up Centrelink records with information from other government agencies like the Australian Taxation Office, and if discrepancies between data is detected -- which can range from full-on fraud and incorrect income reporting, to record-keeping errors where the different agencies refer to the same business by two different names -- the Centrelink recipient is asked to provide more information. In many cases, this leads to a large debt being levelled against the client for overpayment by Centrelink, which the client is told to pay back within mere weeks.
Medical researcher Janet Hammill, who works voluntarily, struggling to contact anyone at Centrelink after she was incorrectly told she owes $7,600
A disaster relief fund has been formed for Tasmanians struggling with the mounting stress of Centrelink’s controversial debt recovery system.
The state’s community service sector has rallied together to provide immediate support to Tasmanians needing legal advice, advocacy and support about their debt notices.
PAYWALL
Rebecca Cross of Wallabi Point today directed hard hitting questions to the office of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
She wants answers and hopes her experience of the Department of Human Services automated data matching system and its generation of a $1700 Centrelink debt will prompt the Prime Minister to review its system and processes.
We asked all MPs and senators whether they had ever interacted with Centrelink. Many Labor and Greens members gave us interesting answers -- and we got bupkis from the Coalition.
PAYWALL
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge needs a strong dose of reality.
Obviously Mr Tudge, with his $100,000 plus salary and seemingly unlimited taxpayer-funded expense account, has little idea of how debt recovery letters work for most people.
In April last year, Michelle Lawson received an unpleasant surprise from the Department of Human Services: she apparently owed them more than $6000, from single-parent benefits received years earlier.
The Seven Hills mother-of-two declared her part-time income fortnightly and it was checked annually against her tax returns.
