Wyndham residents who have received letters from Centrelink seeking payment for “inaccurate” welfare debts are being urged to fight the claims.
Since late 2016, Centrelink has been issuing debt notices to people nationwide based on a new computer data analysis. The federal government itself has acknowledged many letters are based on inaccurate information.
Tarneit resident Justine Morris said she was chased for a debt of $5300. While studying to be a teacher, she received Centrelink payments in 2010 and 2011 to assist with rent, and it has been claimed that she did not declare all her income.
By the time she received the letter, which was initially posted to an old address, it was too late to appeal. Ms Morris managed to get an extension and began to challenge the debt.
“I just sank down when I received the letter,” she said. “I had just bought a house and I thought, how the heck am I going to pay my mortgage and bills, and not live on baked beans? I had a lot of anger in me.”
Ms Morris sought the help of federal Lalor MP Joanne Ryan and, after a long battle, she found she had not owed any money, and the debt was wiped clean.
Werribee’s Natalie Harris hasn’t been as lucky. She works in after-school care and relies on a combination of her income and family tax benefits to support herself and her 11-year-old son. She received a letter notifying her of a $950 debt.
“In comparison to other cases, it’s small …but that’s not the point,” she said.
Centrelink claims she earned a sum of money when she was, in fact, unemployed. The $950 is a lot of money to her.
“I want to disappear. I could cry, but I know if I do I’m not going to stop.
“Some people are genuinely rorting the system; attack them, not open and honest people like me.”
Ms Ryan said her office had experienced a spike in people having trouble with Centrelink, and she urged anyone who had received an incorrect letter to contact her office for assistance in requesting a review.
WEstJustice chief executive Denis Nelthorpe also urged Wyndham residents to seek the organisation’s help in seeking a review.
