Div 3Payment arrangements

Division 3—Payment arrangements 57—Voluntary arrangement as to time and manner of payment (1) Subject to this section, a debtor who pays, or who agrees to pay, to the Chief Recovery Officer the prescribed fee may enter into an arrangement with the Chief Recovery Officer— (a) for payment of the debt by instalments over a period determined by the Chief Recovery Officer (being not more than 12 months from the date on which the arrangement is entered into); or (b) for the taking of a charge over land; or (c) for the surrender of property to the Chief Recovery Officer. (2) Subject to subsection (3), if the fee prescribed under subsection (1) is not paid by the debtor before the debtor enters into the arrangement, the fee is to be added to, and forms part of, the debt payable by the debtor. (3) The Chief Recovery Officer may, in such circumstances as the Chief Recovery Officer thinks just, waive payment of the fee prescribed under subsection (1). (4) An arrangement for payment by instalments referred to in subsection (1) must provide for instalments to be paid to the Chief Recovery Officer by direct debits by or through some other person or agency (eg deductions from an ADI account or wages). (5) An arrangement under this section may be varied by agreement between the debtor and the Chief Recovery Officer. (6) If the Chief Recovery Officer is satisfied that a debtor who has entered into an arrangement under this section has the capacity to pay any outstanding amount of the debt without the debtor or the debtor's dependants suffering hardship, the Officer may, by notice in writing given to the debtor, terminate the arrangement. (7) For the purposes of entering into, or varying, an arrangement, any number of debts owed by the debtor that are the subject of a civil debt determination may be aggregated. (8) If an arrangement is entered into or varied under this section, the Chief Recovery Officer must give notice of the arrangement or varied arrangement (as the case requires) to the debtor. (9) If a debtor fails to comply with an arrangement under this section and the failure has endured for 28 days, the arrangement terminates. (10) However, an arrangement that has terminated under subsection (9) may, not more than 14 days after the day on which it terminated, be reinstated by the Chief Recovery Officer. (11) If an arrangement is reinstated by the Chief Recovery Officer— (b) the provisions of this section apply to the reinstated arrangement as if it had not terminated.