The $1.8 billion robo-debt scheme relied on a hit-and-miss approach backed by a single piece of internal legal advice based on a “vibe”, Royal Commissioner Catherine Holmes says.
Her observations came as the operator of the robo-debt scheme, then known as the Department of Human Services (DHS), relied on assurances from its mother organisation, the Department of Social Services (DSS), that a welfare debt could be raised using a recipient’s yearly income averaged over the year.
Loading...
Tom Burton has held senior editorial and publishing roles with The Mandarin, The Sydney Morning Herald and as Canberra bureau chief for The Australian Financial Review. He has won three Walkley awards. Connect with Tom on Twitter. Email Tom at tom.burton@afr.com
