Social Security Payments - Debt Waivers

Question

Senator ASKEW: I'll move on to debt waivers then. This is more about changes to the debt waivers amount for payments. Can you tell us how much debt has been waived for each financial year from 2022-23, broken down by payment type? Mr Flavel: Yes. I will have to take that on notice. Senator ASKEW: You may have to take a few more of these on notice, but that's all right. I'll get them to you. How much was the average cost of recouping debts prior to the change in the debt waiver amount? Mr Flavel: That's a question for Services Australia. They administer payments and debts. In terms of any questions about their resources, that's a question you'd have to direct to them. Senator ASKEW: According to the minister's media release dated 20 March on the change to the debt waiver amount: With the waiver now set to $250, around 1.2 million debts will now be waived or no longer raised in 2025-26. This means that around half of the backlog of potential debts will be wiped today. How many debts are still outstanding? Mr Flavel: We'll come back to you on the specifics but, as I think we covered earlier, it does represent a major change in the debt waiver arrangements, which had been unchanged for several decades. It does take out a lot of those low-value debts, which not only improves things for the recipients who would have otherwise got them, but actually reduces the workload for Services Australia that can then focus on the debts that are not eligible for the waiver. Senator ASKEW: The minister said that 1.2 million debts will now be wiped. That's massive. What's the total amount of debt that will now be written off? Mr Flavel: The accountants here will tell me there's a slight difference in the way that waivers and write-offs are treated under the Social Security Act, so I might come back on that. Senator ASKEW: Can you put that explanation in the question on notice-how they're treated differently? That would be really appreciated. And what's the total amount for the highest outstanding debt? I don't know if you have that on hand or if it's something you would need to- Mr Flavel: Do you mean of debts that are still outstanding? Senator ASKEW: The total amount for the highest outstanding debt. What the- Mr Lye: The highest individual debt. Senator ASKEW: Yes, the extreme end. If you haven't got that, take that on notice as well. Mr Flavel: We definitely don't have that, sorry, Senator.

Answer

Please see attached answer.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• DSS SQ26-000750.pdf (opens in a new tab)