The Guides to Social Policy Law is a collection of publications designed to assist decision makers administering social policy law. The information contained in this publication is intended only as a guide to relevant legislation/policy. The information is accurate as at the date listed at the bottom of the page, but may be subject to change. To discuss individual circumstances please contact Services Australia.

4.5.3.20 Resolution payment amounts

Amount of resolution payments

A person is entitled to a resolution payment that corresponds to the debt value in the table below in relation to a particular relevant debt.

Debt valueResolution payment
Less than $200The full debt value
$200 or more but less than $2,000$200
$2,000 or more but less than $5,000$400
$5,000 or more$600

If a person has multiple debts which meet the eligibility criteria, the person is entitled to receive a resolution payment for each debt.

The value of a person’s debt (debt value) is the amount that is recorded in the records of Services Australia as at 30 January 2026. The person’s debt value does not include:

  • any amount of the debt that has been waived before 30 January 2026, or
  • any payment by a person to reduce the person’s debt (that is, payments made towards a debt do not affect its value for the purposes of determining a resolution payment amount).

Where a person has received a resolution payment for a relevant debt, and the relevant debt is later waived after 30 January 2026, the person will not:

  • be liable to repay the resolution payment, or
  • have a new debt raised against them.

Example: Nigel incurred a $5,000 NSA debt in 2018 due to incorrectly reported member of a couple status. The NSA debt is affected by income apportionment. $2,000 of this debt was subsequently waived in 2019, before the commencement of the Resolution Scheme on 30 January 2026, due to special circumstances. Prior to the commencement of the Resolution Scheme, Nigel had also repaid a total of $1,750 of their debt.

The debt value for the purposes of the resolution scheme is calculated as follows, where:

  • a = initial debt value before any repayments
  • b = waivers applied to debt prior to 30 January 2026
  • c = Resolution Scheme assessed debt value
  • c (total) = a − b

This results in the following assessed debt value of Nigel’s debt for the purposes of the Resolution Scheme:

  • $5000 - $2000 = $3000
  • Because Nigel’s debt value is $3000, Nigel is entitled to a resolution payment of $400.

Act reference: Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme Determination 2025 section 9 Amount of a resolution payment, section 10 Applications

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