Update on Robodebt royal commission reforms
Minister for Finance
Minister for Women
Minister for the Public Service
Senator The Hon Katy Gallagher
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Minister for Government Services
The Hon Bill Shorten MP
Attorney-General
Cabinet Secretary
The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP
Joint media release
The Albanese Government has made significant progress on reforms to restore trust and accountability in public administration following the unlawful Robodebt Scheme.
On 13 November 2023 the Government released its response to the Robodebt Royal Commission report.
Less than one year on and the Government has already fully implemented 28 of the Royal Commission’s recommendations and work to implement the Government’s response to other recommendations is well advanced and underway. The Government is on track to have fully implemented the majority of the Royal Commission’s recommendations by the end of the year.
“The Robodebt Scheme run by the former Liberal Government was illegal and the worst failure of public administration in history,” said the Minister for the Public Service, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher.
“The Coalition said the Robodebt scheme would save taxpayers $4.7 billion, but in the end, it cost over half a billion dollars, not counting the money refunded.
“We can never undo the harm this illegal scheme caused to victims, but we must ensure an abuse of government power like this can never happen again.
“Let’s never forget that for more than 4 years Liberal Ministers pushed the illegal Robodebt Scheme and failed to meet their ministerial responsibilities.
“Our reform agenda has put Australians back at the centre of government policy and services. We are rebuilding the public service and restoring trust and integrity in government and its institutions.”
The Government is steadfast in its commitment to improve services for Australians. This includes better safeguards for vulnerable people who are interacting with Services Australia and streamlined processes to put people back at the centre of service and policy design.
Minister for the NDIS and Government Services Bill Shorten said Services Australia is at the final stages of implementing all 26 recommendations made to the Agency in July last year.
“Robodebt was a shocking betrayal and failure of lawful treatment towards vulnerable people who needed support from the Government.
“We can never fully undo the harm, but we can at least promise those who went through it and everyone else – never again.
“One of my first changes was to debt management, stopping the use of External Collections Agencies and instead taking an individual’s circumstances into consideration, including their capacity to repay a debt.
“We’ve consulted with peak advocacy organisations and established a direct channel for advocates to use when supporting their most vulnerable clients.
“We’re working hard to rebuild trust in the Agency after Robodebt and will continue do so in partnership with frontline staff and advocacy organisations.
“This is not a box ticking exercise. We’re committed to making real, lasting change, putting the human back into ‘human services.’
On 10 October, the Government introduced the Oversight Legislation Amendment (Robodebt Royal Commission Response and Other Measures) Bill 2024, which will impose stronger and more rigorous scrutiny on public service agencies.
The new Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) commenced operations on 14 October 2024. All Tribunal members are required to identify and report system issues in administrative decision making, and significant decisions of the Tribunal will be published to ensure greater transparency.
Within Government and the public service, processes have also been improved to ensure that legal risk is properly identified, and advice on legality is provided to Ministers and decision-makers. The Government has published Australia’s Third National Action Plan under the Open Government Partnership and committed to establishing an Integrity Strategy for the Australian Public Service and taking direct action to improve transparency in the use of automated decision-making by agencies. The Government has also reduced reliance on contractors and will continue to invest in restoring capability and integrity in the Australian Public Service.
The Public Service Act has been amended to ensure former agency heads can be held to account for breaches of the Code of Conduct. The Australian Public Service Commission has finalised its inquiries into alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct by current and former agency heads and public servants. The Public Service Commissioner’s statement on the outcome of these inquiries is available on the Australian Public Service Commission website.
“I thank Commissioner de Brouwer for his leadership of this process, along with the taskforce team, which was robust, independent and fair. The APSC will continue to play a pivotal role in fostering trust and integrity in the public service,” said Minister Gallagher.
If these matters cause you any distress you can call Lifeline at any time on 13 11 14.
Dedicated crisis support is available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians by calling 13 YARN (13 92 76).
A further update on implementation will be provided in early 2025.
The implementation update is available on the PM&C website.