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We have information in different languages about Income compliance program refunds
Call our Multilingual Phone Service to speak with us in your language about your Centrelink payments and services.
You may get a refund if you made repayments toward a debt we raised using averaged ATO income information. Most refunds have already been paid.
Who’s eligible for a refund
You may be eligible for a refund if all of the following apply:
- you got an Income Compliance debt after 1 July 2015
- we raised your debt using averaged ATO income information
- you repaid some or all of that debt.
If you didn’t repay any money towards an eligible debt, we reduced your debt to zero.
Which debt repayments are not eligible for a refund
You won’t get a refund if you paid an Income Compliance debt that didn’t use averaged ATO income information.
You also won’t get a refund if your debt is due to the annual balancing of family assistance payments. This is because balancing Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy is not part of the Income Compliance Program.
We haven’t used averaged ATO income information to raise the majority of Centrelink debts.
You can find information about your debts using either:
- your Centrelink online account through myGov
- the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
What debts you need to repay
You still need to repay Centrelink debts you have that didn’t use averaged ATO income information.
If you have a debt, we’ll let you know when you need to make a repayment. We’ll also let you know how to set up a payment arrangement if you can’t pay by the due date. Most people choose to pay the money back over time.
What the Income Compliance class action settlement is
The Federal Court of Australia has approved the Income Compliance Program class action settlement. You may know this as the robodebt class action.
Not everyone who is part of the class action will be eligible for a settlement payment. We sent a letter to all group members in November 2021 to let them know if they’re eligible for a settlement payment.
We need to work through a number of steps in the settlement process before we can start making payments. The Implementation Plan for Settlement Distribution Scheme gives a timeframe for each step.