Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Where a judgment given by a court in Australia or in an external Territory for the payment of a sum of money has not been fully satisfied by the judgment debtor and the judgment debtor is entitled to a benefit under this Act, the judgment creditor may serve on CSC a copy of the judgment, certified under the hand of the Registrar or other proper officer of the court by which the judgment was given, and a statutory declaration by the judgment creditor stating that the judgment has not been fully satisfied by the judgment debtor and specifying the amount due by the judgment debtor under the judgment.
(2) Where a copy of a judgment and a statutory declaration are served on CSC in accordance with subsection (1), CSC shall, as soon as practicable, by notice in writing given to the judgment debtor, inform him or her of the service of those documents and require him or her, within such period as is specified in the notice and in such manner as is so specified, to notify CSC whether the amount specified in the declaration is still due under the judgment and, if no amount or a lesser amount is due under the judgment, to furnish to CSC, in such manner as is specified in the notice, evidence in support of that fact.
(3) If, at the expiration of the period specified in the notice:
(a) the person to whom the notice was given has not complied with the notice; or
(b) the person has complied with the notice, but CSC is satisfied that an amount is due under the judgment;
CSC may authorize the deduction from the benefit, and the payment to the judgment creditor, of such sums as do not exceed, in the aggregate, the amount that CSC is of the opinion is due under the judgment, and those deductions and those payments shall be made accordingly.
(4) A deduction shall not be authorized from:
(a) an instalment of orphan pension or the part of a spouse's pension (if any) that is attributable to an eligible child or eligible children; or
(b) an instalment of any other pension or any part of a pension, as the case may be, if the deduction will reduce the amount of the instalment or that part of the instalment payable to less than one - half of the amount that would, but for this section, be payable.
(5) If, after a copy of a judgment given against any person entitled to a benefit under this Act, being a judgment in respect of which CSC is satisfied that an amount is due, has been served in accordance with subsection (1), a copy of another judgment given (whether before or after the first - mentioned judgment) against the same person in favour of the person in whose favour the first - mentioned judgment was given, or in favour of another person, is served in accordance with that subsection, a payment shall not be made in pursuance of this section to the judgment creditor under the other judgment in respect of the amount due under that judgment until the amount due under the first - mentioned judgment has been paid.
(6) A payment made to a judgment creditor in pursuance of this section out of an amount of benefit payable to a person shall be deemed to be a payment of benefit to the person entitled to benefit.
(7) A judgment creditor who serves a copy of a judgment on CSC under subsection (1) must, within 21 days after the day that the judgment debt is satisfied, notify CSC that the judgment debt is satisfied.
Note: Part IA of the Crimes Act 1914 contains provisions dealing with penalties.
(8) If the amounts paid in pursuance of this section to a judgment creditor in respect of a judgment exceed, in the aggregate, the amount due under the judgment, the excess is repayable by the judgment creditor to the judgment debtor and, in default of payment, may be recovered by the judgment debtor from the judgment creditor in any court of competent jurisdiction.