A single mother has lashed out at Centrelink on behalf of thousands of Aussies who are suddenly being 'hounded' over decade-old debts.
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who → lash → debts
Centrelink is resuming recovery action on almost 150,000 outstanding historic debts calculated using 'income apportionment' after retrospective legislation made the debts recoverable.
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debts → resume → apportionment
Income apportionment involved averaging a person's employment income across two or more fortnightly Centrelink reporting periods.
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apportionment → involve → periods
The method was used from the late 1990s until 2020 and affected an estimated three-million Australians, with the debts totalling $4.4billion.
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debts → use → 4.4billion
While millions of the affected debts have been repaid, about 147,000 are still flagged as outstanding, with Centrelink now chasing repayments.
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Centrelink → affect → repayments
It's understood that many of the outstanding debts relate to alleged overpayments on social security payments which were handed out more than ten years ago.
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which → understand → payments
Recovery action on affected debts was paused because of the pandemic and subsequent questions about the legality of income apportionment.
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action → affect → apportionment
But legal action around the debts ended in June this year and found the bills were valid.
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bills → end → June
Centrelink is resuming recovery action on almost 150,000 outstanding 'income apportionment' debts
Thousands of Australians began receiving letters from Centrelink shortly after the verdict to inform them of the outstanding charges.
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Thousands → resume → charges
Jodie, a single mother from Adelaide, was one of the many left blindsided by her apparent 12-year debt.
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Jodie → leave → debt
The mother received a letter from Centrelink advising her that she owed two debts totalling $1,550.
The bills were from Newstart payments she received while working casually between 2014 and 2018.
She was first advised of the debts in 2019 and 2020 but the bills were put on hold until this year.
'
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bills → receive → year
These debts have just reappeared after six years.
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debts → reappear → years
All of a sudden, they are hounding me to pay it.
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they → hound → it
Jodie told Nine News.
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Jodie → tell → News
Jodie had also been a victim of the infamous Robodebt scandal and had her $4,500 debt from apparent Newstart overpayments wiped in 2020 when the Federal Court ruled that debt collection scheme was illegal.
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scheme → have → 2020
She'd believed that wiped debt also encompassed her income apportionment debt and largely forgot about it as she hadn't received a notice about money owed to Centrelink in several years.
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she → believe → years
Jodie, a single mother from Adelaide, slammed Centrelink for suddenly 'hounding' her over a debt from 12 years ago
Jodie believes her income apportionment debt is wrong as she'd often inflate her income by roughly $100 a fortnight specifically to ensure Centrelink didn't overpay her.
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Centrelink → slam → her
However, if she were to dispute the debt now she would need to find her payslips from 2014.
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she → dispute → 2014
'How can I prove what my income was in 2014?
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income → prove → 2014
This is a disgrace,' Jodie said.
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Jodie → say → ?
'I don't have any faith in Centrelink because of what they have put me through, and now they are doing it to me again.'
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they → have → me
Victorian mechanical plumber Matthew Chaplin's case became a test of how Centrelink could lawfully recalculate a debt relating to retail income he earned in 2014 and 2015.
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he → become → 2014
The Federal Court found in July 2025 that Centrelink could use an alternative method to determine whether a person had a debt.
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person → find → debt
In December that same year, the Australian Government passed legislation that validated income-apportionment debts and allowed Centrelink to continue collecting outstanding amounts.
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Centrelink → pass → amounts
Mr Chaplin appealed to the High Court, which dismissed his case in June 2026 and found his debt could be lawfully recalculated by counting income in the fortnight it was received.
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it → appeal → fortnight
The debts were accumulated between the 1990s and 2020 but legal battles over their legality only settled in June this year
Centrelink has since been resuming recovery action on the debts and sending affected recipients 'payment due' notices.
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Centrelink → accumulate → notices
Those affected by Centrelink debts from between 2003 and 2020 have been encouraged to apply for a resolution payment of up to $600 by Services Australia.
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Those → affect → Australia
The Aporia
