Over many years, the Commonwealth Ombudsman (the Ombudsman), Inspector-General of Taxation/Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) and other oversight agencies have made observations and recommendations on best practices for telling people they have a debt to repay and working with them to arrange repayment of the debt.

These principles are drawn from their observations and experience overseeing government agencies' administrative practices. Some of the case studies in this paper do not necessarily relate to debts. However, they illustrate how some of the principles can be applied in practice.