Bank interest income reviews

Why you might get a letter

We check your bank account information is up to date as part of our compliance program. We do this by comparing both:

• the bank information you told us
• how much bank interest the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) tells us you got in past financial years.

If the information is different it could mean we paid you the wrong payment or amount in the past. Because of this we may send you a letter asking you to confirm your bank information. You may get this letter if:

• you have account based financial investments, such as bank accounts and term deposits
• you’ve given us different information to what the ATO told us.

You'll get the letter in your myGov Inbox or by registered mail. If we can’t contact you using the address we have, we may suspend your payment until you contact us. We do this in line with the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999  or other policy relevant to your payment.

We may also send you reminder messages through SMS or email.

If you’re not getting a payment from us anymore, we may ask a third party organisation for your current address. We do this in line with our Privacy Policy. Read more about your right to privacy.

Keep your details updated

Remember, if you get payments from us, you must tell us when there’s a change to your assets. This includes when your bank balance goes up significantly.

Read more about change of circumstances.

Why the information we have may be different

We might have different information about your bank accounts if you didn’t keep us updated about your bank account balances. For example, if you got money from selling a property and didn’t tell us.

We might also have different information about your bank account if you opened a new bank account and didn’t tell us.

You need to tell us when your bank balance changes. We use the balance you tell us to assess your deemed income. We use this to calculate your payment rate.

What you need to do

If we send you a letter about a bank interest review, call us within 28 days of getting your letter. You can call us on 1800 064 586. When you call us, make sure you have your:

• bank statements, including current internet statements
• term deposit statements or renewal documents.

You need to call us even if you’re not currently getting any payments from us.

If you need more time to get your bank statements, call us to let us know. We can discuss an extension with you. You can call between 8 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

We’ll use the information you give us to confirm or update your bank details.

How to give us documents

When you call us we may ask you to give us documents. You can submit your documents online.

If you can’t do this online, you can send them to us at:

What happens next

If we don’t hear from you it may affect your payment

If you don’t call us within 28 days of getting your letter, we may suspend your payment.

We may also contact your bank to get this information.

We check we paid you the right payment and amount

We use the information we get to check we paid you the right payment and amount in the past.

When you call, we’ll discuss your situation and next steps.

The outcome may be:

• no change to your current payment
• we confirm we paid you the correct amount in the past
• a change to your current payment
• we overpaid you in the past and you need to pay money back.

We’ll send you a letter if you owe money. The letter will explain:

• why you owe the money
• the amount you owe
• when you need to pay it back
• how you can pay it back.

Read more about Centrelink debts and overpayments.

If you don’t agree with the outcome, you can ask for a review at any time. You can ask us even if you’ve started paying us back. You can also ask us to pause your repayments until our review is complete.

Read more about reviews and appeals.

How to get help

If you need help with your bank interest review, call 1800 064 586. Please make sure you have your bank account information ready.

If you have a nominee, you can also ask them to deal with us on your behalf.

We can offer you support

We can help if you’re in crisis. This includes if you’re in severe financial hardship, recovering from a disaster or need special help.