# Australia offers up to A$600 compensation for miscalculated welfare debts

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/millions-of-aussies-could-claim-up-to-600-over-an-old-debt-how-to-check-if-youre-eligible/
- Published: 2026-10-25T22:00:11+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-25T22:07:20+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16237737/Millions-Aussies-claim-600-old-debt-check-youre-eligible.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Eligible people can claim up to A$600 per affected debt.
- Applications close on 29 January 2027.
- Centrelink is resuming collection of about 147,000 outstanding debts.

## Summary

Australia is offering compensation of up to A$600 for each eligible old welfare debt calculated using income apportionment, a method later found inconsistent with the social security law then in force. At the same time, Centrelink is restarting recovery on outstanding debts after legislation validated them, leaving affected people facing both a compensation scheme and repayment demands.

The method averaged employment income across multiple fortnightly reporting periods and was used to calculate about three million debts from the late 1990s to 2020, totalling A$4.4 billion. Around 147,000 debts remain outstanding; eligible current and former recipients can apply through their linked Centrelink account on myGov by 29 January 2027. A legal aid representative says people who have already repaid debts may not know they can claim.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.