My story is a fair bit older dating back to the early 2000's but still partially unresolved. I was one of the last ever recipients of a Centrelink TAFE voucher, a system they used to use to get unemployed youth into training. My TAFE voucher was issued to pay for an electronics/IT course "digital and analog systems" At the time the government offered students the student financial supplement loan scheme as a way to meet living expenses while studying. Basically you would give up half of your youth allowance and be paid double the difference from the low interest loan while studying. Repayment is the same system as HECS.
I enrolled in my course at a TAFE and submitted all paperwork and got started. After a good period of time (Maybe 6 to 8 months)I was called into the TAFE admin office to sort out a problem with my enrolment. My fees had not been paid because centerlink had scrapped the TAFE voucher system the same week I had enrolled in my course. Apparently they refused to honour the voucher I had been issued because they received it from the TAFE after the system was scrapped. So officially my fees unpaid and me not having the money to pay the thousands of dollars to be a full fee paying student I was asked to stop attending classes and informed I would not get results for the modules already completed because I was never legally enrolled in the course due to non payment.
Fast forward a few years, I start getting letters demanding I repay $14000 of money I owed Centrelink due to receiving youth allowance as a student without being enrolled in a course. This was far more money than I had even received from youth allowance in the time I was studying. I was given 28 days to pay. When I rang to sort it out and explained that the debt amount was not even possible they suggested I lodge an appeal so I did. Within a week I started getting harassing phone calls and letters at all times of the day and night from a debt collection agency who would not believe my story or believe that my case was being appealed. Centrelink said that they couldn't do anything because it had already been referred to a debt collector and suggested I pay the debt and I would get a refund if my appeal was successful!
Well I didn't take no for an answer and harassed the poor call center staff until I found someone who would help and they took back the debt from the collection agency and put a hold on it until my appeal was done. After many letters and phone calls my appeal went through and the amount was lowered to around $7000. I lodged another appeal disputing that I had a debt at all as I was studying in the course they were meant to pay for! Eventually someone had some sense and checked with the TAFE and discovered that I had actually been studying and was not enrolled due to Centrelink refusing to honour payment for the course. The debt was reduced to a couple of hundred dollars, I gave in and just paid it. Unfortunately I still have the student financial supplement debt which with fees and CPI is now over $14000, a student debt for a course that I was not allowed to finish and received no benefit from. I technically did receive money from the SFSS loan but as far as I am aware it was paid to me under false pretenses under a contract was encouraged to sign when only 16!
Appalling... but nothing new it's only just getting press coverage.