Two issues papers below look at the circumstances where large Centrelink overpayments can arise when Centrelink backdates a decision that a person is a member of a couple.
The first issues paper “Problems with member of a couple decisions made by Centrelink investigations teams” (click) deals with this issue generally.
The second issues paper “Failure to consider cultural and religious background in investigations into relationship status of Arabic speaking single mothers”(click) looks specifically at the failure of investigative teams to have sufficient regard to cultural factors.
The National Welfare Rights Network welcomes discussion about the topics canvassed in these issue papers with a view to developing better investigative and decision making practices, and ensuring that people are not unfairly held accountable or prosecuted for incorrectly raised overpayments based on relationship status.