2.7.4.1 — Disability Compensation Payment may be overpaid due to fraud on the part of the pensioner – i.e. by falsely obtaining pension on the grounds of a disability that is invented or exaggerated.
2.7.4.2 — For example, a person working full-time may be granted DCP at the special rate by falsely claiming that he/she is unable to undertake remunerative work for periods aggregating more than 8 hours per week.
2.7.4.3 — A person could fraudulently obtain payment where they are the unintended recipient of that payment e.g. the partner of the intended recipient or a trustee/agent. For example, a pensioner dies but the Department is not informed, and another person continues to knowingly access the pension payments which should have been cancelled following the death of the pensioner.
2.7.4.4 — Decisions regarding recoveries of fraudulently obtained monies should be made only after consulting the Commission approved Selection Criteria for Referral of Overpayment Cases for Investigation Leading to Possible Prosecution Action.
A summary of the selection criteria titled Summary of reasons to consider when submitting a case for possible prosecution can be found in HP CM (1220624E).
Advice can be sought from the Business Compliance Section.