Centrelink debts and overpayments

Information to help you avoid being overpaid or to manage owing money for a Centrelink debt.

Temporary pause on Centrelink debts is ending

We’re restarting debt activities for people who were in a Local Government Area impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns.

Watch our video about Centrelink debts and overpayments.

Our priority is to help you get the right payment at the right amount.

Sometimes overpayments happen. When they do, we’re here to help. We can help you understand why it occurred so it doesn’t happen again.

If you owe money, we want to help you repay it in a way that best suits your situation.

What you should do to avoid being overpaid your Centrelink payment and what we do to help.

Understand what happens when you’re overpaid and what you need to do if you have a debt.

You can repay money for a Centrelink debt in full or set up a payment arrangement. We may recover money in other ways as well.

Our compliance program helps protect Australia’s welfare system. It helps our customers avoid getting a debt or committing fraud.

Page last updated: 14 December 2021