Recovery of OverpaymentsRecovery of Overpayments

Recovery of Overpayments

1. Where:

(a) an amount of arrears of benefit is paid or payable to a person by the Competent Institution of one Party whether by virtue of this Agreement or under the legislation of that Party; and

(b) for all or part of the relevant period, the other Party has paid to that person a benefit under its legislation; and

(c) the amount of the benefit paid by that other Party would have been reduced had the benefit paid or payable by the Competent Institution of the first Party been paid during that period;

then

(d) the amount that would not have been paid by the other Party had the benefit described in subparagraph (a) been paid on a periodical basis throughout that past period, shall be a debt due by that person to the other Party and may be recovered by that Party.

2. Australia may recover all or part of that debt referred to in paragraph 1 under the provisions of the Acts forming the social security laws of Australia.

3. Where the Competent Institution of one Party has not yet paid the benefit described in subparagraph 1(a) to that person:

(a) that Competent Institution shall, at the request of the Competent Institution of the other Party, pay the amount of the benefit necessary to meet the debt described in paragraph 1 to the Competent Institution of that Party and shall pay any excess to that person; and

(b) any shortfall may be recovered by the Competent Institution of the other Party.

4. A reference in paragraph 1 to a benefit means, for Australia, a pension, benefit or allowance payable under the social security laws of Australia and, for Croatia, a pension, benefit or allowance payable under the Pension Insurance legislation.

ARTICLE 19