Couldn't even look at the letter

I've finally go the ball rolling to start the appeal process. It's taken a couple of months due to the high stress situation of being homeless. I've taken strength in seeing how many people have been affected and the postive public response.
When l first received the letter saying l owed $16,000 in Nov-Dec. l couldn't address the issue, l was so shocked. What could l have possibly done wrong ?!? l couldn't even read the letter more than once, because it was that distressing. I was going to be moving state soon. l'd be losing my part time job, my accommodation and be starting from scratch ... so as to address the very stressful and constant breach of family court orders by my ex husband.

Part of my debt is for family tax benefits .. I didn't know why this might have happened as l'd been in contact with centrelink the entire time.
I'm on the phone to centrelink now ... it turns out that they believe l didnt lodge a form 2/3 years ago to inform them l didnt have to pay tax. Because l was studing a full time load and being a single parent of 2 children under seven at the time. I'm pretty sure l told them all the information they requested of me.
The centrelink person on the other end of the phone is trying to 'fix it now' if they can that will be approximately $12,000 of debt 'wiped'.
No luck there .. apparently they have hoops l have to jump through with the tax department because l was entitled to one week worth of child support .. which l never recieved.
I'm so glad they are using taxpayer's money so efficiently and productively, to hunt down people such as myself. It's a shame they don't have bigger targets.

The other part of the debt l'm not 100% sure about. I believe it's for the time l was studying and trying to resolve the ongoing situation with my ex husband and our children. The stress was so terrible l had to apply for an extension for my study and undergo mental health checks due to severe deppression. During this time l was naturally in contact with centrelink. Firstly because l didn't need the extra stress of being wrongly paid.
Then l ended up in hospital.
Over the last six months l've been seeing a heart specialist for tests, for a condition that I was born with. That now requires me to undergo surgery in a few weeks.
I had to go through 3 different centrelink review processes to assess my health and then job capacity. The whole process was a joke .. they didn't know what to do with me. They choose to keep me on Austudy for some of that time. Because l lived in a remote area there was no support for a person centrelink decided should be referred to a disability job agency. At one point it was suggested l should lie about my residential address, from rural to city so that my situation would be easier to address ..for centrelink.

I'd give you an update on the debt but my phone has dropout, so its up to the centerlink to call me back .... l could be waiting a while !
They know l'm homless at the moment and staying in an area with reception that is patchy. They told me that they would email me with the time of their call so l could make sure l was someplace with good reception. They didn't.