Unlawful calculation of entitlements: Second Sample
Dear Services Australia,
In its response to the Ombudsman's second report on unlawful income apportionment, the Agency stated as follows:
'The Agency, in consultation with the Department, is now progressing further sampling activity, with a focus on historically determined debts (prior to 2010), underpayments and AAT decisions. This further sampling is expected to be completed early in 2024'
I now seek the document(s) communicating the outcome of that sampling. In the event the work is still proceeding, I seek the most recent progress report on the sampling sent by Services Australia to Department of Social Services.
In terms of public interest, obviously we're dealing with generational miscalculation of entitlements at massive scale. More specifically, I'm excited to see how far back the sampling will go. Especially considering the detailed warning the Commonwealth Ombudsman gave in 2002:
"When requesting details of earnings from an employer Centrelink send the employer a
form letter that asks for details of days and hours worked and a breakdown of dates worked, dates paid, gross pay and any allowances included. However, depending on the nature of records maintained by the employer, this breakdown of information may not always be provided as requested. Often the employer will report the gross and net pay for each pay period, but may not include details of days worked, hours worked each day or when the payment was actually paid to the person. Centrelink then calculates any entitlement (and overpayment) based on the information provided. This necessarily involves assumptions about those matters on which there is no information and those assumptions will rarely be correct in any particular case."
Yours faithfully,
Frank N Fearless
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Dear Frank N Fearless,
Please find attached an acknowledgement letter dated 28 February 2024 in
relation to your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982.
The Agency is working towards ensuring all staff have a choice about
whether they provide their full name, personal logon identifiers and
direct contact details in response to public enquiries. Where such details
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and applicable charges as it may be necessary to consider whether the
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your reply by COB 1 March 2024.
Yours sincerely,
Tara, Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information and Reviews Branch, Legal Services
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Dear Sir/Madam,
Please find attached a decision dated 20 March 2024 and documents in
relation to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Should you have any difficulty opening the attachments, please contact me
by replying to this email.
Yours sincerely,
Tara, Authorised FOI Decision Maker
Freedom of Information and Reviews Branch, Legal Services
[1]Visual brand element showing Services Australia progress symbol to left
with Services Australia wording to the right of the symbol. Underneath is
servicesaustralia.gov.au and icons representing our social media accounts.
To follow us on social media go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/socialmedia
Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
References
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