Centrelink fraud offences are one of the most common and frequently prosecuted Commonwealth criminal offences. Centrelink fraud offences are serious, and the maximum penalty can range from imprisonment of between 12 months and 10 years depending upon which charge the Commonwealth DPP choose to prosecute an individual with.
Centrelink are likely to charge you with Centrelink fraud if the amount overpaid is not trivial, and Centrelink believe that you intentionally and knowingly engaged in conduct to obtain more money than you were entitled. In other words, what you did was more than just carelessness or negligence. For example, you intentionally failed to declare your income so you would be paid more benefits than you were entitled.
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