Debt Waiver

The application of the power provided under section 34 [] of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to waive debts owed to the Commonwealth is discretionary. The circumstances in which waiver of debts are generally approved are those in which the Commonwealth considers it has a moral, rather than legal obligation to extinguish a debt, the repayment of which would result in an overall loss to the individual or entity concerned which has arisen through a direct act or omission of the Commonwealth, or, in the case of an individual, which would cause or exacerbate ongoing financial hardship.