60Adjustments of grants etc.

60 Adjustments of grants etc.

(1) Where: (a) an amount of a grant has been paid to a sole applicant or to joint applicants in consequence of a false or misleading statement or representation made by the applicant or by any of the applicants or a failure or omission by the applicant or by any of the applicants to comply with a provision of this Act; (b) an amount of a grant has been paid to a sole applicant or to joint applicants on the basis of an amount of the prescribed earnings of the applicant or applicants and the amount of those prescribed earnings is subsequently determined to be a greater amount; or (c) an advance has been paid to a sole applicant or to joint applicants on account of a grant and it is subsequently determined that no grant is payable or that the amount of the grant payable is less than the amount of the advance; an amount equal to so much of the grant as is overpaid, the amount of the advance, or so much of the advance as exceeds the amount of the grant payable, as the case may be, is recoverable under this section from the applicant or applicants. (2) Where: (a) an amount equal to the whole of a grant or of an advance is recoverable under this section from an applicant or applicants; and (b) a bonus has been paid in connection with the grant or the advance; an amount equal to the bonus is recoverable under this section from the applicant or applicants. (3) An amount recoverable under this section from an applicant or applicants is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the applicant, or by the applicants jointly and severally, as the case may be, and may be recovered by the Commonwealth in a court of competent jurisdiction. (4) The Commonwealth is not, by virtue of subsection (3), entitled to recover from the persons referred to in that subsection amounts that, in the aggregate, exceed the total amount of the debt due to the Commonwealth. (5) Where: (a) on the basis of an amount of the prescribed earnings of a sole applicant or of joint applicants it has been determined that no grant is payable, or that an amount of a grant is payable, to the applicant or applicants; and (b) the amount of those prescribed earnings is subsequently determined to be a lesser amount; the Secretary may pay to the applicant or applicants any amount of grant, or increase in the amount of grant, as the case may be, determined on the basis of the second‑mentioned amount of prescribed earnings. (6) A payment shall not be made under subsection (5) if the amount that would, but for this subsection, be payable is less than $10.