80Cancellation or suspension determination

80  Cancellation or suspension determination

 (1) If the Secretary is satisfied that a social security payment is being, or has been, paid to a person:

 (a) who is not, or was not, qualified for the payment; or

 (b) to whom the payment is not, or was not, payable (other than because of the operation of Division 3AA);

the Secretary is to determine that the payment is to be cancelled or suspended.

Note: Division 3AA is about compliance with participation payment obligations for persons who are not declared program participants.

 (a) the payment of a social security payment to a person has been cancelled or suspended by the operation of another provision of the social security law; and

 (b) the determination would take effect at or after the time at which the cancellation or suspension referred to in paragraph (a) would take effect.

 (3) However, subsection (1) authorises the Secretary to make a determination that:

 (a) cancels a social security payment that has been suspended under subsection 81(3); and

 (b) takes effect at or after the time the suspension took effect.

 (3A) Subsection (1) does not authorise the Secretary to make a determination that cancels the payment of a parenting payment, youth allowance, austudy payment, jobseeker payment or special benefit to a declared program participant if:

 (a) paragraph (1)(a) does not apply to the declared program participant; and

 (b) paragraph (1)(b) applies only because of the application of a compliance penalty period.

 (4) A reference in this section to a social security payment being, or having been, paid includes a reference to:

 (a) if the social security payment is a youth allowance—the youth allowance being payable but for the operation of section 547AA; or

 (b) if the social security payment is a jobseeker payment—the jobseeker payment being payable but for the operation of section 615.