Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 338

Recovery of debts

Section 338 establishes the liability to repay social welfare payments received without entitlement.

• Anyone who receives money from the Department of Social and Family Affairs that they were not entitled to is legally required to repay it.
• Overpaid benefits must be repaid to the Social Insurance Fund.
• Overpaid assistance, child benefit, working family payment, continued payment for qualified children, or back to work family dividend must be repaid to the Minister.
• The repayment amount cannot exceed the total amount wrongly received and is payable on demand.