LR - this is something that isn't a Centrelink thing - it is coming from your employer and only your employer. where FTB is concerned, at the end of the year, they HAVE to take the amount provided to them by the ATO - anything that leads to the ATO deciding on what your taxable income is relates to your employer/accountant/ATO, not centrelink. yes, estimating your income is difficult - but centrelink can only base your payments on the information you provide. in satya's situation, a letter would have been sent out within a few days of payment starting, giving her the chance to change her estimate then even if she hadn't done it before the claim was completed. every change to your estimate results in a letter being sent, so if you keep an eye on the details, you can fix it straight away if something is not right.

as i mentioned earlier, you need to follow up with your employer, find out where that $17000 of value went. if it was related to the work supplied credit card, and you continued to have access to it even though you didn't use it over the period you were on mat leave, you might have grounds to have THEM rectify it, but from c'link's perspective, without a change to your tax return as lodged to the ATO, the amount showing there will stand and you may well have an overpayment. it's not about tussling with c'link in this case, it's about tussling with your employer