Updated: 27 October 2026, 1:19 a.m. AEDT Centrelink is pursuing about 147,000 outstanding income-apportioned debts after a prolonged pause, according to Nine’s reporting published on Monday, 26 October . Victoria Legal Aid supports restoring a six-year limit on social security debt recovery. The repayment process did not begin on Monday. Services Australia says it started writing to affected people from June 2026 and has been gradually restarting repayments, explanations of decisions and formal reviews. Income apportionment divided a person’s employment earnings across Centrelink reporting fortnights when the available information did not show exactly when income was earned. Services Australia says legislation has retrospectively validated payment rates and debts calculated using the method before December 2020. Nine reported that Victoria Legal Aid’s Miles Browne warned of confusion and difficulty finding evidence about payments made more than a decade ago. The Department of Soci...