Robodebt RC reforms needed ‘pronto’

Robodebt saw over 400,000 Australian citizens targeted and relentlessly pursued – mafia style – over largely fictitious debts, courtesy of their own democratically elected Coalition Government.

Australians watched in horror as the Royal Commission hearings revealed the extent of the pain and suffering caused, and the brazen lack of concern on the part of those responsible for directing and continuing the unlawful scheme, well past its established illegality.

Given no one has been held accountable in the two years since, the sobering takeaway is:

If you are a member of the elite and you screw over innocent, vulnerable people, there will be no personal consequences for you. Government ministers, senior public servants and others in positions of power are effectively above the law.

The Albanese Government began on the right foot in setting up the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and a Robodebt Royal Commission. It also accepted, or accepted in principle, all 56 of its recommendations. Of these, 42 have been fully implemented to date.

Lessons learned from Robodebt RC: Zero NACC unknown culprits: Six

The NACC's decision to ignore the crime of Robodebt is a kick in the guts for every victim of this heinous scheme and further evidence of the failure of our public institutions, writes managing editor Michelle Pini.

NECESSARY SAFEGUARDS

However, as ACOSS program director of social security Charmaine Crowe told IA, further action is urgently needed to ensure there is not a repeat performance:

“One of the best ways the Federal Labor Government can signal it is really committed to reforming this space, is to make the necessary recommendations, pronto.”

Ms Crowe explained that chief among these is the statute of limitations (the maximum time limit for legal proceedings, for which there is currently no limit) recommendation:

“The reason this is so important is because it’s one of the only areas requiring legislative change, offering a higher level of protection as it's not so easy for a future government to change it.”

Ms Crowe pointed out:

This is not an unusual safeguard, it is a basic right that should be in the Act and it already exists at a state level in many instances, for example, for recovery of outstanding utility bills.

The Federal Government accepted this in principle and said it was necessary to

take the time to get the legislation right.

Yet two years on, there is still no statute of limitations for Federal debt recovery.

IA posed this question to Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek and received the following emailed reply from a departmental spokesperson:

‘The Australian Government is carefully considering options for further reform, including appropriate statutory limitation periods for the raising and recovery of social security debts, to address the issues identified by the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.’

Mistake or misconduct? NACC Inspector's damning findings

NACC Inspector finds Commissioner Paul Brereton 'engaged in officer misconduct'

As well as this basic legislative reform, Ms Crowe said the Federal Government must automatically refrain from recovering debts under review. She explained that currently, if you phone Centrelink to request a review of your debt, you will be asked if you would like to pause debt recovery — it is not paused as a matter of course, pending investigation of your case. And if you have lodged a written claim, the recovery process will resume after six months, even if your claim is still under review.

Ms Crowe told IA:

“It’s unclear to me why they are not implementing this recommendation in full…It shouldn’t come down to staff making a decision on whether to pause debt recovery — it should automatically be suspended until the appeal has been reviewed.”

INSULT TO INJURY

Hundreds of thousands of lives were destroyed by Robodebt — an illegal system that was directed at the highest level with callous disregard for their welfare.

But the perpetrators of Robodebt have so far escaped any personal repercussions for their actions.

Crowe says this is particularly concerning:

"None of the architects of Robodebt have been held to account. This sends the message that you can actually get away with such a shocking abuse of government power, that had very long-lasting effects on a huge number of people.”

The Robodebt RC included a sealed section in which six individuals were referred for further investigation to determine whether they engaged in corrupt conduct, but the NACC initially decided it would not proceed with the referrals.

In February this year, following considerable public uproar and then an independent investigation into the NACC investigation, to determine whether agency maladministration or officer misconduct was at play, this decision was reversed:

As a result of the decision made by its independent reconsideration delegate, Mr Geoffrey Nettle AC KC, on 10 February 2025, the Commission will investigate the six referrals it received from the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.

The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether or not any of the six referred persons engaged in corrupt conduct.

Independent Australia contacted the NACC as to whether any progress on a date or timeframe for completion of this investigation had been set.

We received the following reply:

The Commission provided an update on its Robodebt referrals investigation last week, which you can view on our website.

Beyond that it is not appropriate for us to disclose further information, as to do so may prejudice operational activities or unfairly damage reputations.

SOME STILL LIVIN’ IT UP

The identities of the "Robodebt Six" have not yet been revealed.

Whether they are subject to further investigation or not, it is abundantly clear that, so far, many of the key Robodebt actors have not only got off scot-free, in addition to their often eye-watering salaries, some were even gifted prestigious accolades.

Former Social Services Secretary Kathryn Campbell, for instance, was on a base salary of $889,853 while heading the department as it forged ahead, unlawfully recovering social security payments. Her favoured refrain while being questioned at the Royal Commission was that she “didn’t turn [her] mind to it”.

Campbell was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019, in recognition of her (wait for it) ‘distinguished service to public administration through senior roles with government departments…’.

As the chief engineer of the Robodebt scheme, Scott Morrison proudly referred to himself as the “welfare cop” and holds the dubious honour of overseeing the entire criminal process as PM.

Morrison, whose cold, heartless disregard for the destruction of the lives of others was on full public display as he smirked his way through the RC proceedings, was this year awarded the highest accolade in the land: a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).

Robodebt came about, says Charmaine Crowe:

Because of the underlying assumption that if you’re receiving social security assistance, you are automatically seen to be doing the wrong thing and the government at the time propagated this narrative.

We have come a long way from when the Coalition implemented Robodebt but I worry that there are still elements of that thinking.

But data has shown, as Ms Crowe points out, that:

"Most of us at some point in our lives will either receive a social security payment or live in a home with someone who does. Like healthcare, social security assistance should be seen as a basic human right."

It is certainly encouraging that the Albanese Government resolved to take action on Robodebt and has so far implemented 42 of the 56 recommendations. However, it doesn’t bode well that not all the recommendations have been implemented or that it has taken two years to change one piece of legislation.

Following the barbarous crime of Robodebt, if some level of faith in our institutions is to be restored, the Federal Labor Government must implement the remaining Royal Commission recommendations, "pronto". And the independent NACC must ensure those responsible for this heinous crime are brought to justice.

Subscribe NOW to receive editorials like this one (usually only available to subscribers) directly to your inbox and access all our work for as little as $1.50 per week.

Follow managing editor Michelle Pini on Bluesky @michellepini.bsky.social and Independent Australia on Bluesky @independentaus.bsky.social, X/Twitter @independentaus and Facebook HERE.