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Albanese launches royal commission to investigate Robodebt
A royal commission has been established into the former debt assessment and recovery scheme, commonly known as Robodebt.
Jess Feyder
The 2015 Robodebt program used an algorithm to work out whether Centrelink recipients had been overpaid. It resulted in the government wrongfully claiming almost $2 billion in payments from 433,000 people.
It caused harm to many Australian families, with reporting showing that it contributed to stress, anxiety, financial destitution and even suicide.
The Morrison government denied, obstructed and covered up the origins of the Robodebt scandal and refused to take responsibility until Labor organised a class action that led to a $1.8 billion settlement to repay victims.
Government ministers were criticised by Federal Court Justice Bernard Murphy, who described it as a “massive failure”.
The Labor government deems it necessary “to learn the truth of Robodebt’s origins so that something like this can never again be perpetrated by an Australian government against its citizens”.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said there were questions about why there was no action when complaints were initially raised by members of the public in 2016, who flagged concerns that the debts weren’t right.
Scott Morrison, who was social services minister when the scheme was established, had said that the problem was dealt with by his government when it was scrapped in 2020.
However, Labor has said there are still unanswered questions about who held the responsibility for the failed scheme and how much they knew. The federal government said the full toll of the scheme has not yet been accounted for, including numerous claims of suicides caused by the program.
The Governor-General his excellency general the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) has issued Letters Patent establishing the Royal Commission into Robodebt.
The inquiry will examine, among other things:
- The establishment, design and implementation of the scheme; who was responsible for it; why they considered Robodebt necessary; and any concerns raised regarding the legality and fairness;
- The handling of concerns raised about the scheme, including adverse decisions made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal;
- The outcomes of the scheme, including the harm to vulnerable individuals and the total financial cost to the government; and
- Measures needed to prevent similar failures in public administration.
The government has allocated $30 million for the royal commission. The final report will be delivered to the Governor-General by 18 April 2023.
The royal commissioner is Catherine Holmes AC SC. She is a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland and brings vast experience from a distinguished legal career.
The commissioner led the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry following the 2010–11 floods and acted as counsel assisting the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions in 1998–99.
A legal, financial assistance scheme will be available to people requested to formally engage with the royal commission, for example, to appear as a witness.
“The royal commission into Robodebt is an appropriate and important measure,” NSW firm Marque Lawyers said in a Twitter post.
“It cost billions, was illegal and caused immeasurable harm to the most vulnerable,” they said.
