Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) If, apart from this subsection, the Commonwealth does not have power under the social security law to pay an amount (the relevant amount ) to a person (the recipient ) purportedly as an Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, then the Commonwealth may pay the relevant amount to the recipient.
Recovery
(2) If a payment is made under subsection (1) to the recipient, the relevant amount:
(a) is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the recipient; and
(b) may be recovered by the Secretary, on behalf of the Commonwealth, in a court of competent jurisdiction.