I was on Youth Allowance due to having to move out of home at a young age in 2013, and pay my own bills while going to High School. I was then told in 2015 that i had to pay back everything i was ever paid by centrelink due to not being enrolled in an educational institution when i was. I was young and taken advantage of by being told i must pay the debt even though i was studying, and they would take away my payments if i did not pay out the debts. I agreed to having my payments reduced to pay off the debt, and then after i finished studying in 2016 i got a job and got off centerelink. They then proceeded to add another debt for not being enrolled even though i was doing out of school studies i had completed 2015 onwards, and my anxiety levels were so high i just avoided them because i didn't know how to appeal it and was not told how to start the process, only told i needed to pay it. I was severely depressed and felt helpless, and i now have had to make the decision to appeal 4 years later as they have garnished my tax return for an invalid debt. I have been in tears as i was relying on my tax return to pay off my outstanding bills, i now cant afford to pay off my bills and im left with nothing. I was taken advantage of at a young age by being told i MUST pay the debt. It is only now that i know i am able to appeal it.
I feel appalled and taken advantage of, thinking back to it, i was coerced into paying these invalid debts because i didnt know any better and they knew that. I spent years living in fear that they would take my youth allowance away when i was within my rights to be receiving the payments. I am now fighting to get it reviewed without much success or any support from the government.