Claiming compensation

Types of compensation

You can apply for compensation if our actions either:

• give rise to legal liability, for example, negligence
• amount to defective administration.

You can also ask for an act of grace payment if there are special circumstances specific to your situation that relate to the actions of the Commonwealth.

If you want to make a complaint without asking for compensation, please see our general enquiries page.

If you wish to make an enquiry or complaint relating to privacy, please use our privacy enquiries contact information. 

Compensation for legal liability

If you believe our actions have given rise to legal liability you may want to get independent legal advice.

Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) claims

About the CDDA Scheme

The CDDA Scheme allows us to pay compensation when a person has suffered a loss caused by our defective administration, where there is no legal requirement to make a payment. The CDDA Scheme can only be used if there is no other way to resolve the issue.

We assess CDDA claims in line with Resource Management Guide No. 409 issued by the Department of Finance.

For your claim to succeed, the decision maker must be satisfied that:

• our administration was defective
• you suffered a loss or detriment as a direct result
• we could reasonably have expected that this type of loss or detriment would occur.

How to apply

To lodge a CDDA claim, please complete this form and post it to us or email it:

Further information

For further information about the CDDA Scheme, see the Department of Finance website.

Act of grace payments

The Minister for Finance decides act of grace payments. We do not make decisions on these applications. For more information and how to apply, please see the Department of Finance website.