Major step to prevent repeating 'cruel' robodebt as government accepts recommendations

The federal government has announced its position on the blistering robodebt royal commission report.

The government says it is taking action to ensure the illegal robodebt scheme can never be repeated. Source: AAP / Julian Smith

KEY POINTS

• The government has announced its formal position on the robodebt royal commission.
• The report outlined 56 recommendations, all of which Labor has accepted or agreed in principle.
• Labor says it is working to ensure the "crude and cruel" scheme can never be repeated.

This article contains references to suicide/self-harm.

The federal government has accepted or agreed in principle to every recommendation from the damning robodebt royal commission, saying it is taking the next step to ensuring the "crude and cruel" scheme will never be repeated.

The royal commission handed down its blistering report in July, finding the scheme made victims feel like "criminals" and that the former Coalition government kept it running even after its "probable illegality and cruelty" was obvious.

The Coalition introduced robodebt, which issued more than 400,000 false debt notices after using an automated assessment system in 2016, before scrapping it in 2020 after years of outcry.

A host of senior Labor ministers attacked the robodebt scheme at a press conference on Monday at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

A host of senior Labor ministers attacked the scheme on Monday, after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus confirmed the government had accepted or agreed in principle to all 56 recommendations made by royal commissioner Catherine Holmes.

Dreyfus said robodebt was "not an innocent mistake" but a "deliberate, calculated" scheme which traumatised people on the "off chance they might owe money".

"The Australian people, and especially the hundreds of thousands of victims of the robodebt scheme, deserve so much better. The robodebt scheme was wrong. The robodebt scheme was unlawful. The robodebt scheme destroyed the lives of many innocent Australians," he said.

"We said we'd act to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again. And today, we take the next step towards delivering on that commitment."

What are the key robodebt recommendations?

In a sealed chapter not made public, Holmes recommended key figures face criminal prosecution over their involvement in robodebt. Their identities have not been published.

Its other recommendations included:

• A six-year limit on debt recovery
• A statutory body to monitor the use of automated debt recovery systems
• Laws which would require Services Australia to finalise legal advice within three months
• Services Australia avoiding language which stigmatises and shames welfare recipients

Bill Shorten has demanded that Peter Dutton apologise for the scheme on behalf of the Coalition. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Investigations underway

There are 16 current investigations related to robodebt being run by the public service commissioner.

Dreyfus would not comment on whether the newly created National Anti-Corruption Commission had received complaints related to the scheme, or whether any criminal investigations were underway.

The report recommended criminal prosecutions for some people involved in robodebt, though their identities were not made public.

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten demanded Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who had previously described the royal commission as "a witch-hunt", publicly accept the former government had "shamefully treated many of their fellow Australians".

Scott Morrison has rejected the report's criticism of his actions. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Shorten said there had been a "deafening" lack of remorse on the Coalition's current frontbench.

"You can't have justice whilst you've got a potential alternative government not owning the problem. You can't have justice for the victims unless there's a guarantee it won't be repeated again. Mr Dutton has given no sign of learning any of the lessons," he said.

Holmes' report found the scheme left victims feeling "vilified and worn down" and, in some circumstances, caused them to take their own lives.

It singled out former Coalition frontbenchers Scott Morrison, Christian Porter, and Alan Tudge for criticism. Morrison has vehemently rejected the report's findings, while Porter and Tudge had left politics by the time it was published.

Kathryn Campbell is the only major figure implicated in the robodebt scheme to stand down so far. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Kathryn Campbell - head of the Human Services Department when the scandal broke - became the first figure to step down in the fallout from the royal commission's report, when she resigned from a $900,000-a-year job at the Defence Department.

Campbell, who initially flatly denied the scheme had led to suicides, remains the only figure singled out for criticism in the report to suffer official consequences.

Shorten said the government was already acting to implement Holmes' recommendations, saying his Department had employed 3,000 additional staff to process payments quickly and accurately.

The government will also trial a new independent advisory board to assess future changes to the welfare system, he revealed.

"What we're doing is putting the human back into Human Services. Literally thousands of ongoing positions will be created," he said.

"[The Coalition] never tested [robodebt] with anyone who wasn't part of the group-think, who think that the poor on welfare are automatically guilty until proven innocent, there are cheats amongst them.

"We're changing the approach in Services Australia, as well as properly resourcing it so we don't set it up to fail."

Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25).

More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.