No Investigation Into 6 Public Servants Means No Justice for Robodebt Victims, Welfare Groups Say

It has been revealed that key documents that would have helped end the robodebt scheme were withheld from an internal investigation. (The Epoch Times)

Welfare advocates say they are disappointed with the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s (NACC) decision not to investigate any of the six senior public servants referred to it over the failed Robodebt scheme.

Services Australia used the scheme as part of its Centrelink payment compliance program from 2015 to 2019, but it was later found to be unlawful, and the government was forced to refund 470,000 people a total of $721 million.

Robodebt used annual tax office data to calculate average fortnightly earnings and automatically issued debt notices to welfare recipients. It was linked to several suicides.

A Royal Commission into the scheme delivered a detailed report in July 2023, including recommendations that some individuals involved be referred for criminal prosecution.

It called the scheme an “extraordinary saga” of “venality, incompetence, and cowardice.”

In announcing its decision not to pursue the referrals, the NACC said it was “conscious of the impact of the Robodebt Scheme on individuals and the public, the seniority of the officials involved, and the need to ensure that any corruption issue is fully investigated.”

“However, the conduct of the six public officials in connection with the Robodebt scheme has already been fully explored by the Robodebt Royal Commission and extensively discussed in its final report,” a spokesperson for the NACC said on June 6.

“After close consideration of the evidence that was available to the Royal Commission, the [National Anti-Corruption] Commission has concluded that it is unlikely it would obtain significant new evidence.”

Public Service Commission Still Investigating

The NACC said the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) was also investigating five of the six officials.

“There is no value in duplicating work that has been or is being done by others, in this case, with the investigatory powers of the Royal Commission and the remedial powers of the APSC,” the commission said.

“An investigation by the [National Anti-Corruption] Commission would not provide any individual remedy or redress for the recipients of government payments or their families who suffered due to the Robodebt scheme.”

The Commission also posted on X that it understands “that our decision not to pursue the referrals ... will be difficult for victims, their families and friends. We encourage anyone experiencing distress to seek support” and included a link.

No details have been released about the identities of the six officials subject to the referrals to the NACC or the APSC. When the Royal Commission presented its report, it said there was an “additional chapter” that had not been made public and remained “sealed.”

It sharply criticised several Coalition ministers who were responsible for the program as well as senior officials involved in its management. They included former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former Attorney-General Christian Porter, and former government services ministers Alan Tudge and Stuart Robert.

Kathryn Campbell, the secretary of the Human Services Department while Robodebt was running, was also given a critical assessment.

After the 2022 election, she became a senior adviser within the Defence Department on the AUKUS submarine project.

In the wake of the Royal Commission’s final report, she was suspended from that role and resigned days later.

No Justice For Victims: Social Services Council

The Australian Council of Social Services said the NACC’s decision meant victims would receive no justice.

“No compensation has been provided to victims of the illegal and harmful scheme; no one responsible for its design, implementation, and continuation has been publicly held accountable,” a spokesperson said. “Our hearts go out to all affected by Robodebt, including their families and loved ones.

“The lack of justice is the key issue that so many need resolved.”

The NACC’s decision not to investigate further highlighted flaws in its work, according to The Australia Institute, a Canberra-based think tank.

“Australians will wonder why there is a disconnect between the royal commissioner, who delayed her report so she could refer potentially corrupt conduct, and the NACC, which decided that it was not in the public interest to investigate that conduct,” its director, Bill Browne, said.

“Some of this country’s most vulnerable people had money taken from them unlawfully, with serious health, legal and financial ramifications—and the people responsible have faced few consequences.”

Robodebt was run under the previous Coalition government, and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the scheme’s failures still needed to be noted.

“There were lessons to learn, and there’s obviously been a lot written in relation to that,” he said.

“We want to make sure that we’ve got appropriate use of taxpayers money and where that money is wasted, or where somebody has falsely claimed, then there’s a debt to the Commonwealth, and people ultimately have worked hard for that money to pay that welfare benefit.

“There are lessons from Robodebt, we can certainly learn from that experience.”