Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 233

Receipt of claims

Section 233 allows a Working Family Payment claim to be backdated where the claimant was receiving a jobseeker's payment instead, and provides for the recovery of any overpaid jobseeker's amounts by offsetting them against the Working Family Payment.

• Regulations may treat a Working Family Payment claim as made earlier than the date it was actually received, where the claimant would have qualified but for being in receipt of a jobseeker's payment (jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's benefit (self-employed), jobseeker's allowance, or jobseeker's pay-related benefit).
• This backdating applies where the claimant met all the conditions for Working Family Payment during the earlier period but did not claim it because they were drawing a jobseeker's payment instead.
• If the jobseeker's payment received during that period was more than the claimant would have received had they been claiming Working Family Payment, the Minister may reduce the Working Family Payment by the amount of the excess.
• The excess amount is treated as having already been paid on account of the Working Family Payment, effectively clawing back the overpayment without requiring a separate repayment.