Centrelink still pursuing debts more than 40 years old despite agreeing to six-year limit
Australia's Centrelink is pursuing $4.93bn in outstanding debts, some over 40 years old, even though the government has agreed in principle to a six-year statute of limitations. Experts and advocates say many old calculations cannot be trusted and are calling for the debts to be waived.
Services Australia, which runs the Centrelink welfare payment system, is pursuing 1.34 million outstanding debts totalling $4.93bn, with some dating back more than 40 years. This continues despite the government previously agreeing in principle to reinstate a six-year statute of limitations on debt recovery, a key recommendation from the Robodebt royal commission.
Around 645,000 of these debts currently have a repayment arrangement in place. About 600 outstanding debts are more than 30 years old, with a median value of roughly $5,451, while another 76,800 debts are between 15 and 30 years old, with a median of about $2,197. The oldest known debt was raised more than 40 years ago and is now under a repayment arrangement, though the department declined to disclose the amount, citing privacy.
Concerns over accuracy
Christopher Rudge, a welfare expert at the University of Sydney, warned that many of the older debt calculations cannot be trusted, since they were produced by systems incompatible with today's auditing tools. He argued that given the government's in-principle acceptance of a six-year limit, older debts should be considered out of bounds, and that pursuing them may cost more than the debts are worth.
Kate Allingham, chief executive of Economic Justice Australia, noted that a six-year limitation period existed until it was removed in 2017, and that it is now almost impossible for people to defend themselves against decades-old claims, such as by producing paper payslips from the 1990s.
A Department of Social Services spokesperson said reforms introduced since 2022 include a higher small debt waiver threshold and the Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme, set up to address unlawfully calculated debts. The department said more than 1.1 million debts were waived or no longer needed to be pursued in 2025-26.
