Late last year I received a postal letter saying that I needed to confirm my employment income. I disregarded this because I hadn't claimed a dollar from Centrelink in over 3 years. (Even then, I had had to pay back $5000 in Youth Allowance because Centrelink had erroneously approved my post-graduate degree as eligible - and they only realised their mistake 6 months down the track.)
I then received an email notification (in an old and hardly used email inbox) saying that I had a message waiting in my AusGov inbox. Upon checking, it informed me of a debt of approximately $1500 from allegedly incorrectly reporting my income back in 2011/12/13.
I called up to dispute this saying that that was obviously a computer error if it had taken so long to pick this up. The CSO seemed very understanding, and offered a vague explanation of data matching with the ATO, and promised to look into this. I promptly forgot about the matter because it seemed so ridiculous, and was apparently vindicated a week or so later with a letter saying the debt had been withdrawn - with, importantly, the CSO's name (more about this later).
A month or so later, however, I received another email saying the debt was reopened. I was then asked to confirm my income with my payslips from 4-5 years ago. I did manage to gather these by searching my old email inbox. However, once I submitted these, I received a follow up letter (on my birthday no less - the joys of automation!) saying the debt had been reviewed and increased to $1958.
Another phone call to Centrelink provided me with the explanation that it was my responsibility to follow this up and gather all my records to prove I didn't owe the debt. To avoid recovery action, I have since had to start paying my 'debt' back through Dunn and Bradstreet - via a $1000 up front payment and $50/week thereafter - while I dispute the debt.
What initially began as a 'bureaucracy - here we go again' eye-roll eventually turned into something quite different. I grew frustrated (once again, I had in 2013 had to pay back $5000 because of a Centrelink mistake) at having to cover up for someone else's error. While there might be recourse to argue that the former debt was an honest error, and I wasn't eligible for the money, this recent debt I am confident I do not owe.
It is sickening to be put on the spot after so many years to try and prove that you DIDN'T do something. It is sickening that the government of the country that you love can use its bureaucracy as a weapon against you. It is sickening that I am an educated and able-bodied person and that the principle of a wrongful $2000 debt makes me want to leave the country - what must others hit with such a debt and in a less privileged position feel and think? How is this affecting their lives? Comparably my debt is smaller and represents a smaller proportion of my annual income (it is the principle of bureaucracy-as-weapon that turns my stomach), but what effect could this be having on other human beings?
In disputing the debt, I have made numerous requests for records regarding these issues. Some of the details from these FOI requests have been withheld because, as you will remember, names were included on the letters. Under certain sections, the reviewing officer has exercised the right to withhold these letters 'to protect staff details'. Now I cannot use these letters as proof of Centrelink's inconsistency.
Similarly, if an organisation can't catch alleged gamers of its system at the time - or even in that time's near future - what faith can we have in it?
As you saw, Centrelink once wrongly approved my university course for Youth Allowance and only caught up with me 6 months and $5000 down the track. What faith can we have in such checks if they can't get that right?
And now, with many of us whacked with these ghost debts, who's to say Centrelink won't come back one year, two years, ten years down the track and ask for more money?
There are a lot of things right with our country - this is not one of them.