"The robodebt debacle had a devastating impact across Australia. It had a devastating impact in Canberra, and I know that it had a detrimental impact on local families in my electorate of Bean."

Address to the House of Representatives, Statements by Members, Aged Care

Tuesday 27 September 2022

I rise to speak about both a grievance and a hope. I speak of a betrayal of many of the most vulnerable in our community through the robodebt scandal and the erosion of trust in government over the last nine years, but I also speak of hope with the commencement of the robodebt royal commission today and the imminent introduction of anticorruption commission legislation tomorrow, despite some of the fears others in this chamber might have.

The robodebt debacle had a devastating impact across Australia. It had a devastating impact in Canberra, and I know that it had a detrimental impact on local families in my electorate of Bean. Over 400,000 people had unlawful debts raised against them by the previous government, marking a shameful chapter in the administration of our social security system and a massive failure of public administration. My electorate of Bean was no exception, with the scheme creating catastrophic stress and anxiety for many of my constituents. In one instance, a 28-year-old constituent with an intellectual disability was being chased for a debt all the way back to 2015, without any prior notice or review of her earnings by Centrelink. Our most vulnerable—often those most ill-equipped to properly understand or challenge the basis of such debts—were targeted. The previous government persistently denied that its pet scheme was illegal or that it was doing harm, dismissing concerns as a 'roboscare.' They argued that the harassment letters were all about integrity and were just a simple request for information. After months of victims of robodebt being dragged through further stress, anxiety and hardship, the scheme was found to be illegal, with the government finally agreeing to zero the debts. My heart goes out to the families across the country who were devastated and damaged by this unfair process and in some cases lost loved ones.

According to data from the Department of Human Services covering the period from 2016 to 2018, more than 2,030 people died after receiving a Centrelink debt notice. Of those, about one-fifth were aged under 35. Most people who died were still receiving Centrelink payments at the time of their deaths. While the cause of death was undetermined by the department, about a third of the people were classified as vulnerable. In other words, they had complex needs like mental illness or drug use or were victims of domestic violence.

In November 2019, a class action was commenced by the representative applicants, and the Commonwealth agreed to a settlement. The settlement was approved at a sum of $112 million. What a huge waste of public money for something that should never have happened. Thankfully, most debts raised using averaged income information have already been refunded, and anyone who made repayments of debt raised using ATO averaging of income under the program between 2015 and 2019 is eligible for a refund. Regarding the outcome, Justice Murphy of the Federal Court explained:

The proceeding has exposed a shameful chapter in the administration of the Commonwealth social security system and a massive failure of public administration. It should have been obvious to the senior public servants and to the responsible Minister(s) at different points who designed and were charged with overseeing the Robodebt system that many social security recipients do not earn a stable or constant income, and any employment they obtain may be casual, part-time, sessional, or intermittent and may not continue throughout the year.

The success of the class action was a significant milestone. However, we need to ensure such a debacle never happens again. We need to understand how ministers and senior public servants overlooked something so significant as the unreliable income averaging based on ATO data. We do not know if public servants were inappropriately heavied and politicised. Additionally, there was ongoing failure to acknowledge the mounting evidence of serious problems following its implementation. We need to clarify how much the implementation, suspension and wind-back of the robodebt scheme cost taxpayers; investigate the devastating harm caused to law-abiding Australians; and investigate the use of third-party debt collectors under the scheme.

Beyond the harm that robodebt has caused to so many vulnerable Australians, we also need to consider its impact on democratic governance, government integrity and broader trust in our public institutions. Robodebt demonstrated not only a complete failure on public engagement but also a complete disregard for citizens. Citizens felt disempowered and under attack. This can lead to increased fear of corruption. If we do not restore public trust in our institutions, we risk losing people's cooperation with the public system. Our social contract is compromised and undermined. Alarming statistics have already been revealed by Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Drawing on expert assessments, the data analyses the perceptions of public sector corruption. Australia has plummeted seven places since 2012, from 11th out of 180 countries to 18th. Additionally, a Vote Compass survey found that 85 per cent of Australians believe corruption is a problem in this country. This has a destructive impact that extends to wasted taxpayer funds and loss of goods and services, let alone eroding the trust we have in the public sector to act in our best interests.

That's why it's critical that we restore integrity and confidence in our system by supporting the royal commission. In contrast to the previous government, which refused to take responsibility, this is what we promised to Australians prior to the election. I welcome the royal commission commencing this morning in Brisbane, led by the Hon. Catherine Holmes, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, who brings vast experience from her distinguished legal career. The royal commission's focus will be on decisions made by those in positions of seniority. As requested, the Department of Social Services, the Attorney-General's Department, Services Australia and other relevant agencies will provide information. Anyone with relevant information will also be able to engage in the process. Like many Australians, I look forward to the final report, to be delivered by the Governor-General by April 2023. Despite the fears expressed by the previous speaker, I look forward to restoring integrity and confidence in our system of government with the establishment of a national anticorruption commission. This was a key commitment by Labor in the election campaign, and it was a key commitment from our local Labor team in the ACT community too. That's why I welcome the announcement that the Albanese government will introduce legislation tomorrow to establish a powerful, transparent and independent national anticorruption commission. It's a critical step that demonstrates that the government is delivering on its promise to tackle corruption and restore trust and integrity to federal politics.

The Albanese government's national anticorruption commission will investigate serious or systemic corrupt conduct across the entire federal public sector. As outlined by the Attorney-General today, it will be built on design principles that include a broad jurisdiction to investigate serious or systemic corrupt conduct across the Commonwealth public sector by ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, statutory office holders, employees of all government entities, and government contractors. It will be independent. The commission will operate independent of government, with discretion to commence inquiries into serious or systemic corruption on its own initiative or in response to referrals, including from whistleblowers and the public. And there will be oversight. The commission will be overseen by a statutory parliamentary joint committee, empowered to require the commission to provide information about its work.

It will have retrospective powers. The commission will have the power to investigate allegations of serious or systemic corruption that occurred before or after its establishment, and it will have the power to hold public hearings in exceptional circumstances and when it's in the public interest to do so. The commission will be empowered to make findings of fact, including findings of corrupt conduct, and refer findings that could constitute criminal conduct to the Australian Federal Police or the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. It will operate with procedural fairness, with its findings subject to judicial review. Importantly, the legislation will also provide strong protections for whistleblowers and exemptions for journalists to protect the identity of sources.

Following the introduction of the bill, the government will propose the establishment of a joint select committee to examine its provisions. There will be well enough time for the parliament to properly ensure that this is a bill that does what it says it's going to do. We look forward to support from across the parliament for the establishment of a national anticorruption commission with real power and authority, and we look forward to the outcomes of the robodebt royal commission. It's essential to bring this parliament back into the light.