A new report looking at Centrelink debts and domestic violence, confirms what SSRV have been seeing in our family violence work. 

The report, ‘Debt, Duress and Dob-Ins’ found that victim survivors of domestic violence, who are usually women, are frequently unfairly held solely responsible for social security debts in situations where the debt was the direct result of their partner’s or ex-partner’s threats, economic abuse, physical violence and coercion.  

Economic Justice Australia (EJA) found many examples where victim survivors’ debts are clearly the direct result of the actions of perpetrators.  

A common scenario is where an abusive partner provides inaccurate information about their income, leading to inaccurate assessment of eligibility and payment rates – often over a protracted period.  

In other cases, victim survivors have been forced to provide false information to Centrelink by violent and controlling partners, with threats of violence in retaliation if they contact Centrelink to rectify assessments or leave the relationship. 

SSRV provides legal services to victim survivors who have experienced economic abuse in relation to payments from Centrelink in a variety of ways, and these also include:

– People who have been coerced by their partners into applying for a Centrelink payment which they are not eligible for, and

– People who have had no knowledge of a Centrelink application having been lodged in their name, and who have never received payments, but are then subject to an over payment/debt.

The ongoing duress experienced by victim survivors trapped in these situations can result in massive debts.

A common thread in the Centrelink debts examined in the report are the result of Centrelink assessing a victim of domestic violence to be a ‘member of a couple’.

The single rate of payment is more than half the couple rate, based on the idea that the cost of living is lower for two people living as a couple than it is for two single people, and that the income and assets of both members of a couple should therefore be taken into account when working out how much they are entitled to receive.

“Our report shows that women experiencing domestic violence continue to be assessed as being a member of couple for the purposes of social security law,” said EJA Executive Officer, Leanne Ho.

“This effectively tethers the women and their children to their abuser, even in circumstances where income is not shared between the couple.

“It also enables Centrelink compliance rules and mechanisms, including the anonymous ‘Fraud Tip-off Line’ to be used by abusers as a tool of harassment, abuse, control and revenge”.

‘Debt, Duress and Dob-Ins’ makes 27 recommendations that could reduce the risk of victim survivors of domestic violence being pursued to repay unfair Centrelink debts, and ensure that the social security system can play its vital role as a safety net for women to escape domestic violence.

Read the report here.

How to get help from SSRV or refer someone to SSRV

SSRV can provide advice for people who have a Centrelink problem and who have been affected by economic abuse. We can also provide information and support to workers who are assisting victim survivors of economic abuse.

For individuals experiencing economic abuse who want legal advice about related social security issues: al Call our Legal Assistance Line on 03 9481 0355, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. If you can’t call us, you can email your request for assistance to info@ssrv.org.au

Workers wanting to speak to a social security lawyer about issues their clients are experiencing can call our Worker Help Line on 03 9481 0655, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. You can also refer your client to us by emailing their information and details to info@ssrv.org.au

Debt, Duress and Dob-ins: Centrelink compliance processes and domestic violence, is the report of a research project in partnership between Economic Justice Australia, the University of Wollongong, the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland.

Free community legal education sessions February 2022

In June 2021 the Federal Court made an Order, following agreement between the parties, in the Robodebt class-action. This is known as the Robodebt class-action settlement. You can find out more about the Robodebt class-action settlement, here.

Per the settlement, only Group Members (people told by Centrelink they might be affected by the class-action) who had debts calculated as a result of Centrelink using ATO income averaging, are entitled to a settlement payment and refunds on any amount they have paid back to Centrelink. Some people who were included as class-action Group Members did not have debts that were calculated as a result of using ATO income averaging. These people may still have other rights of review, to seek a waiver or recalculation of their Centrelink debt, through other legal pathways. 

We know this has been a confusing time for Group Members and there are lots of questions in the community and sector about the impact of the settlement and the rights of people whose debts won’t be wiped by the settlement.  

SSRV will be running two free community legal education session, one for workers and one for members of the community, on the impact of the Robodebt settlement in early February 2022 (online). These events will be open for registration in January. Please follow us on Facebook or check our website in January 2022 for registration information and to sign up for the events. 

The SSRV Annual Report for the 2020-2021 financial year was presented at our Annual General Meeting on 17 November 2021.

The 2020-21 financial year was one that saw all our lives continue to be disrupted in some ways by COVID-19. This has been especially true for those receiving Centrelink payments, with new and changing types of payments, eligibility criteria and application processes, and changing mutual obligations requirements.

As a statewide community legal centre specialising in social security law, we have also been operating in an ever-changing landscape and have worked hard to provide clients with up-to-the-minute information and advice.

During 2020/2021 SSRV provided: 

• 1359 advice services 
• 261 referral services 
• 183 information services 
• 76 legal task (limited assistance) services 
• 73 representation services 

The enquiries we received were often complex and related to matters such as:

• debts/overpayments for a wide variety of payment types
• eligibility for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) 
• family violence and its impact on payment eligibility and overpayments 
• member of a couple and eligibility issues 
• eligibility for payments for people on temporary visas 
• COVID-19 supplements and other COVID-19 related social security measures, including the waiver of the assets test and the waiver of the Newly Arrived Residents Wait Period 
• Robodebt related enquiries.

  Worker Help Line

In the 2020/2021 year, our Worker Help Line (WHL) provided services to workers from 186 organisations across Victoria. Of these callers, 23 per cent were from workers in regional/rural Victoria. Thirty per cent of calls came from financial counsellors, 26 per cent from social/case workers, 15 per cent came from disability workers/advocates, 11 per cent came from legal workers, and the remainder from various other professions 

More than a third of calls to the Worker Help Line were about clients receiving the DSP. The next most common payment type for clients of WHL callers was Job Seeker Payment. 

Feedback from WHL callers is consistently very positive, with 100 per cent saying that the service was accessible and useful, and 95 per cent saying they felt more confident to deal with the issue after the call. 

Special projects

SSRV continued to provide legal advice and casework services in a targeted and tailored way throughout 2020/2021, with special project funding allowing us to respond to areas of identified demand and need, including: 

• COVID-19 pandemic related social security legal issues 
• Disability Support Pension (DSP) eligibility 
• The intersection between family violence and social security legal issues 
• Bushfire affected communities and individuals 
• Cases where integrated service delivery was essential, with a particular focus on working closely on matters with financial counsellors.  

Family violence

SSRV staff see the intersection between family violence and social security most commonly for people who have left a relationship and are trying to re-start their lives. Financial need leads many victim survivors to rely upon social security as either their sole or primary source of income. But many people find out that they have substantial debts owing to Centrelink because their former partner either misled Centrelink, improperly estimated income or didn’t lodge a tax return.  

In 2020/2021, SSRV provided 271 services where there was an indicator of family violence. Overpayments account for over 40 per cent of the problem types, with refusals/eligibility problems accounting for just over 25 per cent and problems about review of benefits making up 15 per cent. 

By strategically selecting a variety of social security matters for ongoing representation or legal tasks, SSRV has been able to directly impact and test the effectiveness of different legal responses available to resolve an issue.  SSRV is also often able to provide advice about how to seek a review of these debts for special circumstances waiver.  

Integrated Services Project

The Integrated Services Project (ISP) is funded by the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety, with funding administered by the Federation of Community Legal Centres. Through this grant SSRV has been able to continue our partnership with Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic) to bring together social security law experts and financial counsellors to work together to improve client outcomes. 

During the year a community lawyer and financial counsellor worked together to provide direct client services, secondary consultation to other workers, education, resource development, engagement and policy activities. They championed and practiced integrated service delivery within SSRV and with financial counsellors across Victoria. 

In 2020-2021 ISP staff provided 100 client services to 61 different clients.  

DSP Help Project

In March 2020, SSRV began the second year of the Disability Support Pension Help Project. The DSP Help Project aims to help people living with illness, injury or disability access income support. Specifically, the project aims to create an online resource that helps applicants better understand and apply for the DSP.  

In the second year of the project SSRV broadened its focus from applicants and support workers to include medical practitioners and other health professionals. DSP applications and appeals are largely decided on the quality of the supporting medical evidence. An aim of the project is to make it easier for the people giving that evidence to help their patients access the DSP.  

DSP Help is about more than an online resource. The project is also providing a wraparound legal service where vulnerable DSP applicants can access advice and casework, and community legal education (CLE) to community and other support workers. In June 2021, in conjunction with Economic Justice Australia, the DSP Help Community Lawyer delivered a national CLE session to over 100 community lawyers and other support workers. The session covered DSP eligibility and the challenges applicants face when applying, and also the resources available to make this process easier. This session can be viewed here.

SSRV acknowledges the funding received from the Victorian Legal Services Board Grant Program for the DSP Help Project.

Bushfire response

In 2020/2021 SSRV was also grateful to receive funding from the Victorian and Commonwealth governments for our work in responding to bushfires, COVID-19 and other disasters and planning for future events.

During the year, SSRV’s bushfire response work had a focus on two key activities: direct legal service delivery to individuals affected by the bushfires, and education and empowerment of those communities through community legal education and resources. 

SSRV worked with services on the ground to best understand the legal needs of affected communities, and then deliver service to meet those needs. 

A range of legal issues experienced by people in disaster affected communities were identified, ranging from housing and insurance, to property boundary disputes, to family violence matters, to accessing social security and other supports in a time of crisis. 

The most directly relevant social security issue is accessing Disaster Recovery Allowance and Payment, about which SSRV developed fact sheets and made these available online. These fact sheets are also relevant for other disasters and can be rapidly deployed. So far, this has allowed us to deliver information for people affected by storms and floods in 2021. 

COVID-19 Response 

Since the start of the pandemic, the economic, health and social impacts have been significant. The prolonged periods of lockdown and various restrictions have resulted in many individuals being unable to work and therefore forced to rely on social security more heavily than before or first the first time in their lives.  

SSRV began to see matters where COVID-19 was a factor in problems being faced by SSRV clients. This included, for example, loss of employment due to lockdown restrictions, people being stranded overseas due to travel restrictions, lack of understanding about the changes to social security payment eligibility criteria such as the waiver of the assets test or waiver of the Newly Arrived Residents Wait Period.  

Along with direct client services, activities undertaken by the Community Lawyer and other staff employed with the COVID-19 grant funds included: 

Social Security Advocacy Clinic

In December 2020 SSRV launched the pilot of the Social Security Advocacy Clinic in partnership with Monash Law School. A second clinical period commenced in March 2021.  The Clinic provides an opportunity to increase our overall capacity to delivery legal services to the community and for SSRV staff to work with and teach enthusiastic and talented students.  

The Clinic has had an energising and positive impact on SSRV and has established a successful remote clinical model that can continue to be developed and utilised in years to come. 

The reach and impact of the work of SSRV during this remarkable year far exceeds what we have highlighted in this snapshot. You can read more about our important service, as well as read stories from the people we have helped, in our 2020-21 Annual Report.

26 November marks World Economic Abuse Awareness Day, and it’s a really important day for SSRV and our clients. At SSRV we see the significant and long term impacts economic abuse has on victim survivors through our family violence related work.

Economic abuse ‘is a form of domestic and family violence where one person controls or attempts to control their partner’s (or former partner’s) ability to acquire, use or maintain money or economic resources, threatening their potential for self sufficiency and economic security.

SSRV provides legal services to people who have experienced economic abuse in relation to payments from Centrelink in a variety of ways, including:

– People who have been coerced by their partners into applying for a Centrelink payment which they are not eligible for

– People who have had no knowledge of a Centrelink application having been lodged in their name, and who have never received payments, but are then subject to an over payment/debt

– Victim survivors who are living with the long lasting impacts of having never been able to report their partner/ex partner income correctly to Centrelink, correctly, through control, information withholding and coercion and who are then left with the fall out of having received an over payment

– Financial systems abuse where social security laws and processes are used as a way for perpetrators to continue to target, harass and control victim survivors through the provision of false information to Centrelink or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in order to prevent the victim survivor from accessing the financial support they need to support themselves and, often, their children.

These situations, and others, can create a situation where victim survivors have no access to money while they are experiencing economic abuse and cause ongoing financial hardship and legal issues for years, even after the abuse may have ended. You can find out more information about economic abuse, and ways to get help, from the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety – CWES.

Economic Justice Australia (EJA) has also recently published a report on Centrelink compliance and domestic violence; Debt, Duress and Dob-ins: Centrelink compliance processes and domestic violence, which is now available on the EJA website.

How to get help from SSRV or refer someone to SSRV

SSRV can provide advice for people who have a Centrelink problem and who have been affected by economic abuse. We can also provide information and support to workers who are assisting victim survivors of economic abuse.

For individuals experiencing economic abuse who want legal advice about related social security issues: al Call our Legal Assistance Line on 03 9481 0355, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. If you can’t call us, you can email your request for assistance to info@ssrv.org.au

Workers wanting to speak to a social security lawyer about issues their clients are experiencing can call our Worker Help Line on 03 9481 0655, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. You can also refer your client to us by emailing their information and details to info@ssrv.org.au

G’day, my name’s Peter Horbury and I’ve been working at what is now SSRV since late 2000, when it was called the Welfare Rights Unit (WRU).

In that time, I’ve seen lots of changes to the organisation, Centrelink, social security law and related areas.

Before I began working at the then WRU I worked in student finances and housing at LaTrobe Uni. It was in my role as a Student financial advisor that I became aware of WRU. In fact, I was on the Board of WRU for a couple of years in the mid-1990s.

In my previous role I had a lot to do with financial counsellors and so I know many of the ‘old guard’ of financial counselling.

When I started work at WRU, Gillian Wilks (current Director of SSRV) was running the Federation of Community Legal Centres in a building in the city which I’m fairly sure is about to become the new safe injecting room.

In 2000, WRU was renting space from what is now Co-Health on Hoddle St in Collingwood. At the time I was the only full-time staff member. We had three part-time staff in addition to me and about five volunteers.

In 2009 we changed our name, and in 2010 we moved to Fitzroy North. In 2011 the structure of the organisation changed, and we got our first Director. In the early ‘teens’ we had student volunteers including a large cohort from the new law school at ACU.

My main role in those days was assisting with the advice line and administrative services. I’m now the Operations & Intake Co-ordinator. This role includes a range of responsibilities associated with  reception, triage, intake, administration and operational matters. I will most often be the person who answers calls to the SSRV Legal Assistance Line.

I was the treasurer of the then National Welfare Rights Network (the peak body of organisations like SSRV) for around a decade.

I love working at SSRV because of the way we help people sort out issues to do with income. When you’ve got income, other stuff becomes easier – you can pay the rent, you can eat, you can care for the kids etc. Without income, these things become very difficult.

Personally, I barrack for Richmond in the AFL and Williamstown in the VFL (so it’s been a few good years, though two missed set shots in 2019 would have given me ‘the double’). I collect Trivial Pursuit games and Oz rock. I’m the treasurer and play bass in the band at a local Baptist Church.

Lockdown restrictions are lifting in Victoria, and as of 4 November 2021 mutual obligation requirements are back. The requirements were temporarily waived during the most recent COVID-19 lockdown but they are now being phased back in and it’s important to understand how this impacts you.

If you’re a Centrelink recipient who normally has mutual obligation requirements, your requirements will recommence for your next reporting period.

This means you will need to engage with your employment services provider again and attend your required appointments/comply with your activities to avoid a penalty. 

To find out more about your mutual obligations you can contact your employment services provider or, if you if you don’t have an employment services provider, call your regular Centrelink payment line.

If you’re already signed up for online employment services you can also check your MyGov JobActive Account dashboard.

If you’re unable to attend an appointment, meet a job search/application target, or comply with an activity requirement, it’s really important that you let your employment service provider know before the requirement is due.

Your mutual obligation requirements should be suitable for you and fit your personal circumstances. If you think your mutual obligations plan is not suitable for you, you should speak to your employment services provider as soon as possible.  

The Federal Government has announced that COVID-19 Disaster Payments will cease once certain vaccination thresholds have been met. Once this happens, you will no longer be able to access the COVID-19 Disaster Payment for income support.

If you are still unable to return to work or don’t have adequate income from work you may be considering applying for another form of income support from Centrelink, such as JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance or Parenting Payment.

The Federal Government has waived the normal waiting period for these payments for people who have been receiving the COVID-19 Disaster Payment within the 13 weeks prior to applying for JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payment.

This will enable people transitioning off the COVID-19 Disaster Payment to gain access to other social security support (if eligible) without having to serve a waiting period.

If you need to apply for further income support payments after the COVID-19 Disaster Payment ends, it is very important you apply within 13 weeks of receiving your final COVID-19 Disaster Payment in order to avoid a wait period.

If you want longer than 13 weeks, you may have to serve the wait period before you can receive any payments.

You can find out more about income support payments such as JobSeeker payment, here.

A new financial support payment has become available for people over the age of 18 who need to leave, or have recently left, a violent partner. It is called the Escaping Violence Payment (EVP) and is part of a trial program called the Escaping Violence Payment Program.

This is not a Centrelink benefit/payment; it is a payment issued by Uniting Care. For people who are eligible, the EVP provides financial assistance and other confidential support services, as needed. You can find out more about the on the Uniting Care website, but some important details include:

• Any payment received through this program is not taxable or reportable to Centrelink
• Evidence of violence will be required, and this can include a support letter from an appropriate worker, such as a doctor or a family violence social worker or a court order/other official court or police document
• Family violence can take many forms and includes, for example, physical, verbal, sexual, emotional, financial abuse, control or coercion.
• Recipients can receive up to $1,500 in financial assistance as well as other necessary paid goods and services including the costs of removalists, payment of bond or basic items to set up a new home.
• Centrelink’s crisis payment for extreme circumstances is a separate payment.

In Victoria, eligibility will be determined by Uniting Care and people can apply or find out if they are eligible by submitting an enquiry form on the Uniting Care website.

I am one of the Community Lawyers at Social Security Rights Victoria and my work spans two projects. I work on the Worker Helpline and the remainder of my week is spent working with clients who have experienced family violence.

Both projects involve collaborating with other workers, meaning clients are supported from many directions and have the best possible outcomes.

Over the last 12 years, I have worked in other integrated justice roles in community legal centres around Melbourne. Since 2012, I have also worked as an academic, including five years as an evaluator for a large regional integrated justice project.

The SSRV family violence project looks at the intersection between social security and family violence. Victim survivors of family violence are vulnerable and susceptible to economic abuse and coercive behaviours which can present as social security problems, sometimes long after the relationship has ended.

The family violence project at SSRV provides victim survivors with access to legal assistance to address the consequences of this economic abuse. It is a serious injustice that Australia’s financial ‘safety net’ often fail the most vulnerable, including people who are not safe at home.

My qualifications include Bachelor of Commerce with Honours in Literature (yes, a strange combination!), a Bachelor of Laws, a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, and a Master of Laws. I have taught in Practical Legal Training at two universities and led the design of work integrated learning and practice management courses. I have published work and presented at several international law conferences.

I complement my professional life with volunteer work which I am equally passionate about. My best friend is a ‘fetch’ enthusiast with four legs, who is almost always by my side.

The Federal Government has announced that COVID-19 Disaster Payments will cease once certain vaccination thresholds have been met. Here’s an outline of the vaccination milestones to watch out for, what will change, and what recipients of the payment need to do.

When Victoria reaches 70 per cent fully vaccinated  

Once a State or Territory reaches 70 per cent fully vaccinated, individuals who are 16 years or older, the automatic renewal of the COVID-19 Disaster Payment will cease for people who have been receiving the payment.  When this happens, individuals will need to reapply each week to confirm their eligibility for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment. 

When Victoria reaches 80 per cent fully vaccinated 

Once a state or territory reaches 80 per cent full vaccinated (individuals who are 16 years or older), the COVID-19 Disaster Payment will be reduced over a two-week period and then cease.

Individuals will need to reapply each week to confirm their eligibility for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment during these final two weeks. For more information about this reduction and cessation process, click here.

In the first week after a state or territory reaches 80 per cent fully vaccinated, COVID-19 Disaster Payment will be reduced to:

• $450 for individuals who can show they have lost more than eight hours of work and are not getting an eligible Centrelink or Department of Veterans’ Affairs payment; or  
• $100 for individuals who can show they have lost more than eight hours of work and are getting an eligible Centrelink or Department of Veterans’ Affairs payment.  

In the second week after a state or territory reaches 80 per cent fully vaccinated, COVID-19 Disaster Payment will: 

• be reduced to $320 for individuals who have lost more than eight hours of work and are not getting an eligible Centrelink or Department of Veterans’ Affairs payment; or 
• end for individuals who are getting an eligible Centrelink or Department of Veterans’ Affairs payment.

After this two-week period, the COVID-19 Disaster Payment will cease permanently.  

If you are still unable to return to work/earn a sufficient income due to COVID-19 Pandemic related changes to your employment, you will need to apply for JobSeeker.  At this stage, we do not know if there will be another form of Pandemic related income support available for those whose employment and income are impacted by public health orders. To find out more about the JobSeeker payment and how to apply, click here.