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7.9.5 Hardship

7.9.5.1Withholdings must be imposed at the limitation rate or determined by the DMRS business rules unless such action would cause hardship. Hardship is considered on a case by case basis. A Statement of Financial Circumstances (Form D2708) and a Statement of Circumstances (Form D2589) should be completed by the debtor before any request to reduce the rate of limitation is considered. Generally, there must be some specific event affecting the debtor's financial circumstances which would cause hardship if the maximum rate of limitation was applied.

7.9.5.2In addition to the information supplied on the D2708 and D2589 forms, any information held on file relating to the domestic situation and number of other income earners in the household should be taken into account. The capacity for non-dependent household members to contribute towards household expenses should be considered during negotiations with the debtor.

7.9.5.3An officer of the Department with appropriate delegation may accept repayments below the limitation rate. If a claim for hardship is not accepted, the reasons should be recorded on file and the debtor advised. Portion amounts may be amended by clicking on the Recovery Plan sub folder in the Debt Mgt tab in VIEW. View must be in Update Mode. A new portion amount may be entered by clicking on the Portion Amount folder and entering the amount in the Portion Amount field. The date you wish the new rate to commence from must be entered in the Start Date field.

7.9.5.4Reduced limitations should be imposed for a specific period. This period would depend on the reason for the hardship claim and the debtor should be made aware that it is a temporary measure only. These cases should be reviewed close to the date that the repayment of an existing commitment is due to be finalised. The limitation rate is then increased to the rate determined by the formulated rate.