Alberta.ca » AISH Policy Manual

Skip To Navigation

Skip To Content



AISH Program Policy

Published Date: August 27, 2019
Bookmark this page

Overpayments

Assessing an Overpayment

AUTHORITY
Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Act, section 7
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), section 145(2)


INTENT

To recover benefits that a client or third party was not entitled to receive and to recover benefits that have not been used for their intended purpose.

POLICY

An overpayment may be assessed against an AISH client or former client, the sponsor of an immigrant who is an AISH client, or a third party who receives benefits on a client’s behalf. Third Parties may include financial administrators, landlords, trustees, or vendors.

Clients and financial administrators are responsible to advise AISH of changes in circumstances, including income and assets that may affect eligibility. Where they fail to do so or provide inaccurate information, an overpayment may occur.

There is legislative authority to exempt or ‘waive’ an AISH client from the requirement to repay an assessed overpayment (including Personal Benefits and Health Benefits) in appropriate circumstances. Read the Criteria for Exempting the Requirement to Repay an Overpayment policy section to learn more.

Client

An overpayment will be assessed against a client if:

  • A benefit has not been used for its intended purpose; or
  • A client received a benefit they were not entitled to receive.


Financial Administrator, Third Party, and Sponsor

An overpayment may be assessed against a client’s financial administrator, a third party, or a sponsor if:

  • A client received a benefit he/she was not entitled to receive due to non-disclosure of a material fact or provision of false information by the third party;
  • A benefit administered by a financial administrator, or received by a third party, has not been used for its intended purpose; or
  • A sponsor defaults on support obligations under a sponsorship agreement involving an AISH client.  The sponsor may be required to repay benefits provided to a client as a result of the duties arising from the sponsorship agreement.