BackOn 2 August 2023, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Iain Anderson, published a statement regarding his Office’s investigation, ‘Lessons in Lawfulness’ into Services Australia’s and the Department of Social Services’ response to the question of the lawfulness of income apportionment before 7 December 2020.
The Office examined Services Australia’s and the Department of Social Services’ (DSS) ‘income apportionment’ practices which misinterpreted and unlawfully applied the Social Security Act 1991 from at least 2003 until 7 December 2020, when the law changed. This approach resulted in some Centrelink customers’ employment income being assessed in the wrong fortnight and potentially affected a significant number of Centrelink payments made before 7 December 2020.
Services Australia advised the Office it paused its review of approximately 13,000 debts while it obtained legal advice and identified around 87,000 other files which may be affected by unlawful or incorrect income apportionment calculations.
This investigation considered the steps Services Australia and DSS took to seek legal advice and reach positions on how to lawfully approach recalculations. It found that the agencies generally took appropriate steps to approach legal counsel but could have acted more quickly to finalise the resulting advice. The Ombudsman also found that there remains a significant difference in legal opinion that should be resolved and identified that instructions for Services Australia decision-makers need further development.
The Office’s investigation resulted in 4 recommendations and a suggestion, aimed at assisting the agencies to come to clear and lawful positions on how to address these historical calculation issues. Mr Anderson said, “I am pleased Services Australia and DSS accepted or partially accepted all 4 recommendations and the suggestion made.”
To read the entire article, kindly click here. The statement can be found in the download section below.
Source: The Commonwealth Ombudsman, Australia
