I was initially told I owed close to $13,000.
Then the compliance line operator worked out that it was $2,300 - mind you, this was after I produced my payslips and had to chase them up to review them!
So I told them that there must be a mistake bc I had reported every year my estimated income and I had successfully overestimated every year specifically to avoid debt - I have always been paid the arrears owed to me.
The operator looked at my file and said that they could see that I had been reporting my annual income correctly since 2015 HOWEVER that was only for the FTB. For some reason the single parent payment was never updated and remained at a significantly lower amount to the FTB.
I asked how the hell that could be and why it wasn’t picked up earlier.
All the operator could say was sorry, it should have been picked up years ago and there was nothing she could do.
She told me to call and arrange a payment plan so I did.
The man told me I could pay $50 a fortnight for a year and then review my financial situation and enter a new plan.
About a month into my payment plan I received a letter saying it was too low so now they take 100% of my parenting payment.
I should be finished paying it off just before Xmas.
I work 30 hours a week and still have next to no disposable income bc rent is so high.
Well I was lied to about the payment plan.
No one took responsibility for the mistake they made on my file which produced the debt.
I hope the govt is happy making all these “savings” while illegitimate duel citizen parliamentarians are let off the hook for collecting salaries and benefits they were never entitled to.