Services Australia has apologised to a Hunter nursing home resident and her family who was wrongly sent a $9500 retrospective bill.
Eighty-six-year-old Doreen Willmott has been residing in a Tea Gardens nursing home since 2017.
The sale of her house was deposited as a Refundable Accommodation Deposit and she has about $20,000 in the bank.
Her daily nursing home fee is about $66 per day, which is covered by her pension.
Things were going well until her son, Stephen Willmott, received a Services Australia bill in May advising that a review of his mother's assets had shown that she needed to pay extra for the care that she received.
A bill for $9500, which was backdated to 2017, was attached to the notification.
In an effort to seek an explanation, Mr Willmott spoke with 26 Centrelink staff located between Port Macquarie and Raymond Terrace.
No one whom he spoke to was able to provide an adequate explanation.
His mother's nursing home also believed the bill was wrong.
In response to an inquiry from the Newcastle Herald last week, Services Australia apologised to the Willmott family for their "poor experience".
"We sincerely apologise to Ms Willmott and her family for their poor experience, which was not up to our expected standards," a spokesman said.
"While we can't comment on individual cases for privacy reasons, we can confirm we're working with the family to ensure they are supported and any outstanding issues are resolved."
In a follow-up conversation with Mr Willmott a senior Services Australia manager confirmed the review of his mother's care costs were incorrect.
She advised that Ms Willmott should only have received a bill for about $700.
"I'm not feeling particularly confident that there will be much of an explanation with the revised figures," Mr Willmott said.
Services Australia categorically denied that artificial intelligence (AI) had been used to generate the false debt.
"Services Australia does not use AI to generate debts or debt letters. Our Automation and Artificial Intelligence Transparency Statement outlines our approach to safe and responsible AI," the spokesman said.
Mr Willmott said he was not convinced.
"They told me that AI wasn't involved, but the figures they used just seemed to be random," he said.
"Anyone with a maths brain can see that those numbers don't make sense."
Mr Willmott said the case highlighted the need for effective advocacy for all aged care residents.
"The only time you get action is when you question the system, but you've got to have the time and you've got to have someone advocating for you," he said.
"People who are old and have no or minimal support, just end up paying in these situations"
The Services Australia spokesman said care recipients were welcome to challenge their means assessments through the department's review and appeals processes.
"If a care recipient does not agree with their means assessment outlined in their letter from Services Australia, they can request a review. Through our review and appeals process we can clarify information, and customers can provide more information, to help ensure we get the right outcome."
