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NotMyDebt Stories

We are collecting stories on the site because we think it's important to have a way to people to add their voice to this issue by sharing their story. It's puts a human voice to the issues with using technology and automating systems and providing a blanket solution without providing staff and people that can right wrongs and help people when there is an error. 

Please share your story with us if you have a Centrelink debt story that you believe has been issued in error or due to a fault in the system. 

As frustrating as it is, persist with the appeals process, and know others are behind you. 

Stories are 100% anonymous

Debt amount:
$3919
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
13 December 2016

I am currently unemployed and am surviving on my savings alone, as I am a sessional academic for a number of different universities. Like most exploited young professionals on zero hour contracts, I still do not know for sure whether I will have work for the coming semester.

Debt amount:
$3000
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes & I won
Date debt issued:
11 June 2016

I was woken at 3am one night by a sms telling me that I had a debt and to check my human services inbox.

I had already paid this debt 3 months prior and this absolutely floored me. I was practically suicidal.

Debt amount:
$2609
Payment Type:
Sickness Benefit
Appealing Debt?:
Yes but I lost
Date debt issued:
11 September 2016

Centrelink have been relentless with this matter. I suffered 2x cardiac arrests in 2014 .
They are still investigating. I had to set up a repayment plan @ 10% of my supposed debt $161 p/fn. I have got it down to $30 now. I do not owe this as I was not working for 3 months .

Debt amount:
$9356
Payment Type:
Aged Pension
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
17 November 2016

I am a 65 year old single pensioner working 3 days. I've done casual adult education/TAFE teaching for 25 As a casual teacher, I declared my income every fortnight so my Newstart payments varied throughout. My pension payments have been cut to virtually nothing. I've had 2 phone calls to the debt recovery line.

Debt amount:
$814
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Unknown
Date debt issued:
15 December 2016

I choose to stop receiving payments a while ago as dealing with centrelink was exacerbating my mental illness. That place just breeds hopelessness and despair. While on centrelink, the staff made me feel like a lying criminal and like I wasn't a functioning member of society.

Debt amount:
$1300
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
12 June 2016

Significant impact on stress & anxiety. I'm currently not working & was planning on going on austudy while I'm a full time student, but this has given me pause.

Debt amount:
$2474
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Unknown
Date debt issued:
18 December 2016

It has effected me greatly, the first notice i got was a letter of demand from Probe, then two days later i got a threatening phone call telling need to pay within days. Highly stressed i took my mother with me to Centrelink to find out what had gone on.

Debt amount:
$1090
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
No
Date debt issued:
18 December 2016

Financially this has affected my fortnightly budget with a roof over my head food plus extra expenses

Debt amount:
$2150
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
I don't know how to
Date debt issued:
12 February 2016

It all started when I got a text from an extremely rude debt collector saying I had to call urgently. I called and the woman said I had to pay $2000 immediately. She wouldn't tell me what the debt was for but eventually said Newstart.

Debt amount:
$2084
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
12 April 2016

I worked several jobs in this period, 2 were not for the full financial year but they have been averaged out over the whole of 2013-14.

Debt amount:
$285
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
12 December 2016

It's made me frustrated in that no one at Centrelink knows what's going on or wants to help.

Debt amount:
$1363
Payment Type:
Abstudy
Appealing Debt?:
No
Date debt issued:
28 October 2015

It was very stressful because I couldn't understand what I had done wrong.

Debt amount:
$3500
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes & I won
Date debt issued:
11 April 2016

Stressed to no end knowing that I hadn't done anything wrong.
I had been made redundant from my job in January 2014 and was unemployed. 
I went to centre link in February and applied for benefits. Yes it took me a month to get the guts up to walk into one of their office and ask for a hand out.

Debt amount:
$11500
Payment Type:
Parenting Payment
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
17 August 2016

It has been a huge shock two years after the claim to receive such a debt I feel helpless and like my child and I are worthless in the eyes of the parenting payment. Something that should have been a lovely period of both our lives is now overshadowed by a forced loan I am now having to pay back even though I did nothing wrong.

Debt amount:
$568
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
I don't know how to
Date debt issued:
12 February 2016

At first I was going to pay it just to get it over and done with, however when I let my mother know about she got angry and told me to call them.

Debt amount:
$24215
Payment Type:
Parenting Payment
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
12 November 2016

This is extremely distressing and upsetting as the amount of the 'debt' is so high. I discovered the letter about this debt on my last work day before Christmas.

Debt amount:
$1605
Payment Type:
Austudy
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
12 August 2015

I was in absolute shock and had a panic attack when I first received the letter. Then I was angry as I had to repeat the situation over and over again to different people on the phone. All the call centre workers agreed that it didn't sound right and just to lodge the complaint with my payslips. Payslips which of course I no longer had.

Debt amount:
$8008
Payment Type:
Family Tax Benefit
Appealing Debt?:
I don't know how to
Date debt issued:
8 February 2016

Financial Stress and anxiety as had to pay back the school bonus and Child Care Benefit as well as the Family Tax Benefit amounting to over $8000AUD depleting all our savings

Debt amount:
$3990
Payment Type:
Austudy
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
2 December 2016

It has concerned me a lot over the Christmas period, the short time frame given to pay back the debt initially stressed me out. The fact that it concerns payments from 5 years ago has made it very difficult to track down pay slips and documentation. I feel angry that I am the one accountable for proving the inaccuracies.

Debt amount:
$140000
Payment Type:
Disability Support Pension
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
11 October 2016

i am a disability pensioner i was hurt in a work place accident so trying to pay $140,000 back is impossible. They cut my centrelink payments all of November and what little savings i had i had to pay into rent which destroyed my christmas and probity will never financially recover.

Debt amount:
$8500
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
9 November 2016

I am one of the people who received a demand to repay $8500 due to my apparent failure to report my income correctly.

Debt amount:
$3500
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
I don't know how to
Date debt issued:
24 November 2016

Extreme distress - unable to pay

Debt amount:
$655
Payment Type:
Austudy
Appealing Debt?:
I don't know how to
Date debt issued:
16 November 2016

I had just lost a job a week before receiving centrelink's letter and promptly applied for Newstart to make sure i would be ok. Having lost work around the Christmas period once before, i knew from experience that it can be one of the most difficult times to find new employment.

Debt amount:
$5500
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes in process
Date debt issued:
1 November 2016

I am currently on Newstart unemployed and caring for an elderly relative and at risk of homelessness as I am couch surfing with relatives. Initially the distress, when the system calculated my debt, was overwhelming I felt alone and sick.

Debt amount:
$594
Payment Type:
Newstart Allowance
Appealing Debt?:
Yes & I won
Date debt issued:
14 December 2016

Firstly to clarify:

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