Centrelink?s cancelling of 80-year-old?s age pension ?absurd and wrong?, tribunal rules

The last letter Centrelink sent before the payment was cancelled, on 20 October, was sent to David Fry, rather than his son.

Under social security law, Centrelink may suspend or cancel a payment when a person fails to comply with a certain notice.

The financial information sought by Centrelink eventually confirmed that Fry remained eligible for the pension, the tribunal said.

Centrelink also argued Fry should not get backpay for the period he was without the pension - between December 2018 and approximately January 2020 - because the cancellation was not appealed within 13 weeks.

The tribunal ruled against Centrelink, finding there was evidence John had called the agency three times in October.

In another case, a man who was reportedly in hospital the week before Christmas when he received a Centrelink letter telling him his pension may be stopped if he did not provide information from a super fund by 6 January.

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