Overpayment Management and Recovery
Overview
In accordance with the legislative and other requirements relating to the prevention and recovery of overpayments, principals and managers are required to ensure that the staff for whom they are responsible are paid correctly.
If an employee’s pay is not correct, an overpayment or an underpayment will result. An overpayment is defined by the Financial Management Act 1994 (the Act) “…as any money paid to him or her by the State to which he or she was not entitled…”.
Unpaid leave entered after an employee’s fortnightly pay has been finalised on eduPay results in an over use of entitlement and is therefore not considered to be an overpayment of salary. As such, it is not subject to the provisions of the Financial Management Act 1994. Unpaid leave includes leave without pay, stopwork action, unpaid parental absence and personal leave (injury/illness or carer’s) where all credits have been exhausted.
The amount to which the person is not entitled is automatically recovered in the pay period when the unpaid leave is recorded on eduPay provided there is sufficient net pay to recover. Where the full amount cannot be recovered in that pay, the amount remaining is treated as an overpayment, and the normal provisions under the Act apply.
Under the Act, overpaid monies must be repaid unless express approval not to repay is sought and received from the delegate in the Department (generally the Chief Finance Officer).
The Overpayments Management and Recovery Guide which is available below provides procedural and other information concerning overpayment management and recovery, including the following:
- Overpayment prevention and detection
- Overpayment recovery processes, including repayment provisions and appeals (relief from debt).
Although much of the information in the Guide relates to the processes that apply to school based employees, the information relating to repayment provisions and appealing an overpayment is also applicable to other employees. Corporate HR Services is responsible for overpayment management and recovery processes for VPS employees.
Also available below is procedural documentation, forms and pro forma letters which will assist in the management and recovery of overpayments.
Other Resources
Procedures, Forms and Letters
- Overpayments Management and Recovery Guide (PDF - 163Kb)
- Cancellation of Direct Credit Request Form (Excel - 131Kb)
- Overpayments appeals-Statement of Financial Circumstances (Word - 281Kb)
- Personal Repayment Advice (Word - 288Kb) (use this form to advise when an overpayment has been repaid by personal payment)
To access standard letters/proformas for schools to modify and use as required, select the following link:
Legislation
Related Topics