Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme will resume on 6 December and this public hearing block will run until 16 December 2022

 

Hearing block 2

Public hearings for the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme will resume in Brisbane from Monday, 5 December 2022 with hearing block 2 running until 16 December 2022.

Hearing block 2 will continue the inquiry into the establishment, design and implementation of the Robodebt scheme together with the impacts of the scheme on individuals.

The focus will be on:

• The impacts of the scheme on individuals;

• The experience of representative bodies and the Government’s response to identified shortcomings in the scheme;

• The role played by the Budget process in establishing the scheme, the measures necessary for it to continue, and the involvement of portfolio ministers and SES officers in this process;

• The extent of planning and testing undertaken during the pilot stage;

• The investigation undertaken by the Commonwealth Ombudsman;

• Data-matching and compliance with privacy laws and data-matching guidelines;

• The means of debt recovery including the use of debt collectors and commissions on amounts recovered.

Watch the hearings

The general public can attend and watch the hearings in person. The hearings will be held at Pullman Hotel King George Square, corner Ann and Roma streets, Brisbane City. Those interested can pre-register their attendance.

The hearings will also be streamed live on the home page of the Commission's website. Further information on watching or attending can be found on the hearings page.

Hearings will typically run from 10am - 4.30pm with a break for lunch at 1pm, subject to change.

Please note these times are AEST, as Brisbane does not observe daylight saving. For example, 10am AEST is 11am AEDT. Find out more about Australian time zones.

Share your story

The Commission is inviting submissions from members of the public. The online form and details about the submission process are available using the button below.

Submissions will be accepted until 3 February 2023.

MAKE A SUBMISSION

Royal Commission into Robodebt and Terms of Reference announced by Albanese Government

 

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.