Social Security Act 2018, ss 353–358, 362, 363, 444

If Work and Income believes it has overpaid your income support, you will have to come to some repayment arrangement, unless you disagree that there’s been an overpayment and you dispute this with Work and Income, see below, “Challenging an overpayment decision”.

An overpayment may have occurred because, for example:

• Work and Income did not properly abate (reduce) your benefit after you earned other income, or
• you were not in fact entitled to the assistance you received.

  Note: If Work and Income writes to you telling you that you’ve been overpaid, you should contact a benefit-rights organisation. See “Where to go for more support” in this chapter.

If you disagree with a Work and Income decision that you’ve been overpaid, you can apply for a review by a Benefit Review Committee, see “Challenging Work and Income decisions: Reviews and appeals” in this chapter.

An overpayment decision might be incorrect because, for example:

• Work and Income made a mistake in calculating the amount of the overpayment
• you were in fact entitled to the payments, or
• Work and Income ignored information you gave them about your income or a change in your situation.

Social Security Act 2018, ss 353, 354, 362

Work and Income cannot recover an overpayment from you if:

• it was caused by a mistake on its part, and
• you didn’t contribute to the mistake, and
• you received the payment in good faith and changed your position (for example, you bought something) believing that you were entitled to the money and wouldn’t have to pay it back, and
• it would be unfair (“inequitable”) to expect you to pay it back.