Jesus, you coots go on with some crap.

//If you own a shop or provide a service, you are entitled to ask your customers: "where did you get this money from?"//

And in the face of such an intrusive line of questioning they are entitled to lie, refuse to tell you, or to respond along these lines: 'I inherited it from my great-aunt Eccentrica Gallumbits, the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six. Mind your own damn business, your rude little punk. Just who the hell do you think are, sticking your nose into other people's financial arrangements? The nerve of some people these days... I'm taking my money elsewhere, where the staff aren't so damn impertinent."

I feel sorry for mother, I think she's the poor one here!

I have some little experience dealing with social welfare cases. On the score of over payment much of the fault does lie with 'Centrelink'. The recent crack down which involves automatic auditing as far back as 2010 is both a plus and a minus. 'Centrelink' now has access to ATO records which when cross matched throw up "over payments". A calculation is done, and a letter of demand is sent to the client. If the person does not object, and many do not, a debt is now owing.
The major error is the ATO records cover 52 weeks of income, and 'Centrelink' payments are based on a fortnightly cycle. To their credit, when an objection has be lodged 'Centrelink' have acted quickly to rectify the error. There is the rub, if you have not lodged a protest, you have the debt.

The over payment that is not being detected is the "cash in hand" payment. A 'Carwash' pays $60 a day, cash in hand. The manager will tell a new starter the money is not much, but its on top of your dole, just let me know when you need time off for appointments at 'Centrelink', or with your employment provider. I would love to tell you about a large well known retailer, headed by a billionaire, does exactly the same thing with home deliveries through their sub contractors.

Butch, you have said before on the forum, you see it as necessary for small business to under pay employees, and use cash payment to avoid the GST. Do you still stand by that?

I second that Bugsy

Hi Aidan & Bugsy,

I apologise, I am usually too lazy to look up URLs, but I'll do it more often in future. Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if Centrelink staff represent the Trifecta, being bureaucratic, incompetent AND dictatorial. I suppose the only option for innocent people is to resist the pressure from the little dictators and question every decision they make, until they buckle.

Shakespeare must have had long experience of this sort of abuse of power, with his observation that, "Give a man so little power that he would cut such capers as would make the very angels weep."

Good luck to that young woman. She might need it, that and plenty of patience.

Cheers,

Joe