Centrelink pursuing debts that are more than 40 years old despite agreeing to waive old arrears
Services Australia is actively pursuing over 1.3 million outstanding debts, some dating back more than 40 years, despite government commitments to implement a six-year statute of limitations. Advocates argue that these aged debts are often inaccurate and should be waived to prevent further financial distress for welfare recipients.
Why it matters
This highlights ongoing systemic issues within Australia's welfare administration and the difficulty of ensuring fairness and accuracy in long-term government debt recovery.
There are 1.34m outstanding Centrelink debts, data shows, with around 600 of these over 30 years old. Photograph: Darren England/AAP There are 1.34m outstanding Centrelink debts, data shows, with around 600 of these over 30 years old. Photograph: Darren England/AAP Centrelink Centrelink pursuing debts that are more than 40 years old despite agreeing to waive old arrears Advocates and legal bodies want the debt to be made ‘out of bounds’ given how hard it is to determine its accuracy
Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast
Prefer the Guardian on Google Centrelink is pursuing $4.93bn in unpaid debts, with the oldest dating back more than 40 years, despite the government agreeing to implement a six-year statute of limitations on debt recovery.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in