The government is providing compensation for people who experienced a direct financial loss, or non-financial loss, because of incorrect payment cancellation decisions under the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.
On this page:
Compensation will be paid under the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA scheme).
Easy Read summary of compensation
An Easy Read version is also available, using simple language and images to make the content easier to understand.
Past decisions that may be eligible for compensation
You may be eligible for compensation if you were impacted by:
- Work refusal failure and unemployment failure cancellation decisions made from 8 April 2022 to 31 December 2025 that may not have been made with appropriate discretion by the decision maker.
- a ‘work refusal failure’ is where a person has refused or failed to accept an offer of suitable employment (section 42AG of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999)
- an ‘unemployment failure’ is where a person has voluntarily left suitable employment or is dismissed due to misconduct (section 42AH(1) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999)
- Four-week reconnection requirement cancellation decisions made from 7 December 2020 to 31 December 2025 that were generally being applied earlier than they should have been due to an issue with the IT system.
- When a person’s payment is suspended for not meeting mutual obligation requirements or for a work refusal failure, they will be notified about what they need to do to avoid their payment being suspended. This is a reconnection requirement. If the person does not meet their reconnection requirement within 4 weeks after being notified, their payment is cancelled under section 42AM of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.
The compensation process
- If the department thinks you may be eligible for compensation due to a cancellation decision, you will receive an email inviting you to apply for compensation. We will be sending these invitations in batches over the next few months.
- If you get an invitation and you did not experience a financial loss, or you do not want to apply for compensation, you do not need to do anything.
If you apply for compensation, we will consider the reasons you disagree with our decision to cancel your payment, your personal circumstances at the time of cancellation and the evidence you provide about how the cancellation impacted you.
We will also consider whether you have already received a back payment of your income support payment for the incorrect cancellation decision.
Receiving an invitation to apply for compensation does not guarantee you will be paid compensation.
Applications will be assessed in line with guidance issued by the Department of Finance which is responsible for the CDDA scheme. You will be advised in writing of the department’s decision.
If we decide to pay you compensation, Services Australia will make the payment and will send you a payment advice.
If you have not been receiving a payment from Services Australia recently, Services Australia may need to contact you to check your bank account details.
- We will announce on our website when we have finished sending invitations to apply for compensation. If you have not received an invitation, but believe you experienced a direct financial loss, or non-financial loss, because of an eligible cancellation decision, you can still lodge an application at that stage following the instructions below.
How to apply
To apply for compensation, you will need to lodge an application.
Download and complete the Application for compensation form.
The form has instructions on what information to put in each section. Include any evidence you have available to support your claim.
Email the completed form and supporting evidence to TCF-Review@dewr.gov.au. In the subject line of your email put ‘TCF compensation application’.
If you do not have access to email, you can mail your application to:
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Attention: TCF Remediation Team
GPO Box 9828
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Supporting evidence
The department understands providing evidence may be difficult because in some cases these cancellation decisions happened years ago.
If you are applying for the amount of income support you would have received if your payment had not been cancelled, then a written statement in your application about how the cancellation directly impacted you will usually be enough. This could include why you think the decision to cancel your payment was wrong, your situation at the time, or how you were impacted by the cancellation.
Claims for additional financial losses totalling up to $250 will also usually require minimal evidence. For example, if you are applying for compensation for a $15 late fee on an overdue power bill, and you don’t have evidence of this, a written statement explaining this in your application will usually be enough.
Claims for additional financial loss and non-financial loss over $250 will require you to provide evidence to support the claim.
Examples of documents that could be used as evidence include:
- rent and bond statements, or a letter from a real estate agent
- medical certificates and reports, or receipts for treatment
- receipts or bank statements showing things you needed to pay for because we cancelled your payment
- a police report
- a written statement from you in your application that describes how the cancellation of your payment affected you
- a Statutory Declaration.
The more compensation you apply for, the stronger evidence you will need to provide to support your claim.
If you can’t provide evidence, we will still consider your claim. We will use the information we have to make a decision about the compensation you may be entitled to.
If you are submitting your application via mail, please do not post any original documents to the department, only copies.
If you need help or advice
You may be eligible for free independent legal advice from a Community Legal Centre. You can find one by visiting www.ejaustralia.org.au/legal-help.
The department is responsible for making the decision on compensation. We cannot directly advise you on what information to provide in your application.
Contacting us about compensation
You can email us at TCF-Review@dewr.gov.au for information about:
- the progress of your application
- a request we have sent you for additional information
- requesting a review of our decision.
You can call the department on 1800 805 260 for general advice on the application process and information on where to get help.
This line is open from 9 am to 5 pm AEDT, Monday to Friday. This service is closed on national public holidays.
Timeframes
We aim to assess applications within 90 days, but this will not always be possible. When we have made a decision, you will be notified in writing of the outcome.
The department will begin sending invitations to claim regularly from October 2026.
If you receive an invitation, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible so that we can assess your claim.
We will announce when we have finished sending invitations.
If you did not receive an invitation, but you believe you experienced a direct financial loss, or non-financial loss, from an eligible cancellation decision, you can still lodge an application.
If you disagree with the compensation decision
If you disagree with a decision, you can ask for a review.
The department will advise you in writing of our decision, and this will include information on how to request a review.
If you have concerns about the department’s response to your request for review, you can contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman on 1300 362 072 or by going to www.ombudsman.gov.au/contact-us
Key words and what they mean
Note that these definitions have been created to support this Targeted Compliance Framework compensation process and should not be used as a reference more generally.
| Key words | Meaning |
| Cancel / Cancellation | The decision to stop an income support payment. If a person’s payment is cancelled, they usually need to lodge a new claim for payment before they can be paid again. |
| Compensation | A payment made to a person to make up for a financial loss or non-financial loss. |
| Damage to reputation | When a person experiences a loss of trust, respect or the good opinion people have of them. |
| Decision maker | The person who has authority to make a decision. |
| Defective administration | Defective administration may happen if a mistake has been made by the department. Examples can include where the department did not:
|
| Detriment | The direct financial loss or personal injury that a person can show they experienced. When assessing detriment, we consider whether a person has taken reasonable steps to reduce the loss or prevent the injury. |
| Direct financial loss | Money a person lost or had to spend because of defective administration. |
| Discretion | Under social security law, some decisions depend on the decision maker using their judgement, rather than simply applying fixed rules. When using their judgement, they are applying discretion. |
| Eligible | A person meets the rules for receiving an income support payment. |
| Evidence | Evidence is any information, documentation or written statement that a person can provide that shows the claims they make in an application for compensation are true. Examples of documents that we could use as evidence include:
|
| Income support payment | This includes benefits or pensions paid by Centrelink. The income support payments covered by the Targeted Compliance Framework are:
|
| Mutual obligation requirements | Mutual obligation requirements are compulsory tasks and activities designed to ensure that people receiving participation payments are actively looking for work and are participating in activities that will help them into employment. These apply to all job seekers in receipt of participation payments, and will vary depending on a person’s circumstances. |
| Mutual obligation failure | When a person fails to meet their mutual obligation requirements. Examples include when a person fails to:
|
| Non-financial loss | Personal injury or damage to reputation experienced by a person. |
| Persistent mutual obligation failure | If a person repeatedly fails to do their required tasks and activities, they may have financial penalties applied or their payment may be cancelled. |
| Personal injury | A physical or psychiatric injury or illness, for example, a heart attack, stroke or depression. It does not solely include grief, anxiety, hurt, humiliation, embarrassment, disappointment, stress or frustration that is unrelated to a personal injury which is being compensated under the CDDA Scheme. |
| Reconnection requirement | When a person’s payment is suspended for not meeting a mutual obligation requirement or for a work refusal failure, they will be notified about what they need to do to have their payment restarted. This is a reconnection requirement. If the person does not meet their reconnection requirement within 4 weeks after being notified, their payment may be cancelled. This is set out in section 42AM of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. |
| Request for review | Asking for a decision to be re-considered or looked at again. |
| Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA Scheme) | A government scheme that allows for the payment of compensation when a person has experienced detriment because of the department’s defective administration. |
| Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 | A law that provides rules for how social security payments, including income support payments need to be managed. |
| Suspend / Suspension | When a person’s income support payment is put on hold for a time. If requirements are met, the person can start receiving their payment again, including back pay for the time their payment was put on hold. |
| Targeted Compliance Framework | The system of rules used by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and Services Australia to manage mutual obligation requirements for most job seekers. |
| Unemployment failure | Where a person has voluntarily left suitable employment or is dismissed due to misconduct. Payment cancellation for an unemployment failure is set out in section 42AH of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. |
| Work refusal failure | Where a person refuses or fails to accept an offer of suitable employment without a reasonable excuse. Payment cancellation for a work refusal failure is set out in section 42AG of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. |