Felicity de Somerville had $11,500 withdrawn from her bank account as part of the Coalition’s robodebt scheme, and says she’ll 'never trust Centrelink again'. Now, the government has announced a royal commission. Read more here:
The automated matching of Australian Taxation Office and Centrelink data to raise debts against welfare recipients for money the Coalition government claimed to have overpaid was ruled unlawful by the Federal Court in 2019.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the royal commission risked becoming a "witch hunt" if it did not also examine Labor's time in office. He said the prime minister "should be concentrating more on how we can help families and less on how we can get square with Scott Morrison".The Coalition has previously argued $750 million in reimbursements have been made and problems have been addressed.Mr Albanese said decisions about witnesses and compensation would be left to the royal commissioner.
The royal commission will be tasked with establishing who was responsible for the scheme, what advice was used in its implementation and the complaints handling processes.It would also look at the cost to taxpayers of the debacle and harm caused to those targeted.The robodebt scheme, which matched Australian Taxation Office and Centrelink data to claw back welfare benefits, was deemed unlawful by the Federal Court.The government believes key questions remain unanswered after a $1.
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