Centrelink

If you have a permanent physical, intellectual or mental condition that prevents you from working you may be eligible to apply for the Disability Support Pension. 

You will need to meet the medical and non-medical rules and be assessed by a job capacity assessor and a doctor. 

For more information, see Disability Support Pension on the Services Australia website.

If you received a letter from Centrelink about money you owe, don’t ignore it. 

If you owe money to Centrelink, you can ask them to provide you with a Statement of Debt that gives you information about your debt for the last five years.

If you agree to owing the debt, you can enter into a repayment plan with Centrelink.

In some cases, Centrelink may refer the debt to a debt collection agency.

If you don’t agree to owing the debt, you have a right to ask for a review of the decision. Before asking for a review, you should get legal advice.

If you don’t agree to a Centrelink decision, you can:

•  appeal to a Centrelink Authorised Review Officer (ARO) within 13 weeks
  
• appeal to the Social Services Child Support Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal within 13 weeks of being given the notice of the ARO decision. There is no time limit to appeal against a debt.
  
• appeal to the General Division of the AAT if you disagree with the decision within 28 days.

Before appealing a Centrelink decision with the AAT, you should get legal advice.