Robodebt – the automated Centrelink debt issuance program that was found invalid by a federal court last month – is not just an embarrassment for the government. It is the first truly twenty-first century administrative policy debacle.
Australian governments and regulators increasingly want to automate public administrative processes and regulatory compliance, taking advantage of new generations of technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain to provide better services and controls with lower bureaucratic costs. There are good reasons for this. But our would-be reformers will need to study how robodebt went wrong if they want to get automation right.
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Chris Berg is a senior research fellow and co-director of the RMIT Blockchain Innovation. His book, 'The Growth of Australia's Regulatory State: Ideology, accountability and the megaregulators', was published in 2008. Connect with Chris on Twitter.
