OPINION: Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge defends Centrelink debt system

January 19 2017 - 6:00pm
WELFARE WOES: The Federal Government has defended its handling of the recovery of overpayments to Centrelink welfare recipients.
WELFARE WOES: The Federal Government has defended its handling of the recovery of overpayments to Centrelink welfare recipients.

Centrelink’s automatically generated debt notices have been causing controversy for the Federal Government. The new automated data matching system has resulted in some welfare recipients being pressured to pay incorrect debts, though the Federal Government has been adamant the complaint and error rates have been low. A Bathurst man told the Western Advocate in January he had received a bill for almost $8000 just before Christmas that was later revised to under $1000. Here, the Federal Government defends the system.

AUSTRALIA is fortunate to have a strong social security safety net to support those who are down on their luck.

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