Ministers
for the Department of Social Services,
media
release, 25 August
2022:
Establishment
of the Royal Commission into Robodebt
Joint
with:
Anthony
Albanese MP
Prime
Minister of Australia
Amanda
Rishworth MP
Minister
for Social Services
Bill
Shorten MP
Minister
for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Minister
for Government Services
Mark
Dreyfus QC MP
Attorney-General
The
Governor-General His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley
AC DSC (Retd) has issued Letters Patent establishing a Royal
Commission into the former debt assessment and recovery scheme
commonly known as Robodebt.
The
inquiry will examine, among other things:
The
establishment, design and implementation of the scheme; who was
responsible for it; why they considered Robodebt necessary; and, any
concerns raised regarding the legality and fairness;
The
handling of concerns raised about the scheme, including adverse
decisions made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal;
The
outcomes of the scheme, including the harm to vulnerable individuals
and the total financial cost to government; and
Measures
needed to prevent similar failures in public administration.
The
Royal Commission’s focus will be on decisions made by those in
positions of seniority. The full scope of the inquiry is outlined in
the Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference.
Commonwealth
agencies will work to respond expeditiously to requests made by the
Royal Commission.
The
Royal Commissioner is Catherine Holmes AC SC. The Commissioner is a
former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland and brings
vast experience from a distinguished legal career.
The
Commissioner led the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry
following the 2010-11 floods and acted as counsel assisting the
Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland
Institutions in 1998-99.
The
Government has allocated $30 million for the Royal Commission and the
final report will be delivered to the Governor-General by 18 April
2023.
The
headquarters of the Royal Commission will be in Brisbane and
information about hearing dates and how to participate will be
provided in the coming weeks.
A
legal financial assistance scheme will be available to people
requested to formally engage with the Royal Commission, for example,
to appear as a witness.
___________ENDS___________
The
Monthly,
25 August 2022:
The
government has announced the terms of reference for a royal
commission into robodebt, fulfilling an election promise to get to
the bottom of a calamity that we still know so little about. The
inquiry will be led by former Queensland Supreme Court chief justice
Catherine Holmes, with the final report to be handed down in April
2023. It will examine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today,
“the establishment of the scheme, who was responsible for it, and
why it was necessary, how concerns were handled, how the scheme
affected individuals and the financial costs to government, and
measures to prevent this ever happening again”. Government Services
Minister Bill Shorten, who spent years raising concerns about the
automated recovery scheme, labelled it “a shameful chapter in the
history of public administration in this country”, adding that it
had caused “untold harm”. The Opposition has already rubbished
the commission, with leader Peter Dutton calling it a “witch-hunt”
and a “get-square” with Scott Morrison, who was social services
minister when the scheme was established. It’s little wonder the
Coalition doesn’t want this looked into. But it is utterly
shameless of it to continually insist that nothing in the past
matters – that we don’t deserve answers to what went on in the
years it spent using and abusing the office of government.
Following
along with Dutton’s comments today, there was little
differentiation between when he was talking about the robodebt royal
commission and when he was talking about the inquiry into Morrison’s
secret portfolios, which he has also begun labelling a “witch-hunt”.
“[The prime minister] should be concentrating more on how he can
help families and less on how we can get square with Scott Morrison,”
Dutton told reporters this morning, ostensibly talking about
robodebt….
BACKGROUND
Australian
Parliament, Senate, Community Affairs References
Committee,
Centrelink’s
Compliance Program,
Accountability
and justice: Why we need a Royal Commission into Robodebt,
May 2022.