Mystery over fate of $900,000-a-year public servant savaged by Robodebt royal commission

Mystery surrounds the fate of the Defence Department’s $900,000-a-year woman who was savaged by the Robodebt royal commission.

Mystery surrounds the fate of the Defence Department’s $900,000-a-year woman Kathryn Campbell who was savaged by the Robodebt royal commission for her role in the scandal.

The Defence Department has now refused to respond to questions over whether or not Ms Campbell is on leave since July 6, the day before the final report was handed down.

It’s also not clear whether or not she is on personal leave — her total salary package suggests her weekly pay is up to $17,000 a week — or leave without pay.

Kathryn Campbell at Senate Estimates in 2022. Picture: Gary Ramage/NCA NewsWire

“What’s not appropriate is for me to give a comment about any specific public servant,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said.

“Let me say this, the Robodebt Royal Commission came down last Friday.

“In its sealed section, it referred to a number of people within the public service for whom there had been adverse findings.

“There were processes that were recommended to be pursued. They began on Monday, literally the next working day in terms of referrals of people to the Australian Public Service commissioners, to the AFP to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.”

News.com.au does not suggest that Ms Campbell herself has been referred to the APS, the AFP or the National Anti-Corruption Commission, only that Mr Marles has outlined the process for public servants who were the subject of adverse findings.

The royal commission was scathing of the former government. Picture: Supplied

“Decisions were taken in respect of all of those people about their ongoing status,” Mr Marles said.

“Be they on leave, on leave without pay, suspended, whatever the particulars were, and they varied from one person to another.

“But the other point your listeners should know is that the real villains here are not the public servants, it is before my government.

“The guilty party here is the Liberal Party. They are the ones that put in place the culture and the climate and made the decisions which enabled the appalling gross maladministration that we saw in the handling of Robodebt to impact the lives of half a million Australians.”

The former Secretary for the Human Services, Social Services and Foreign Affairs departments, Ms Campbell earns twice the total remuneration of Mr Marles.

She was appointed as a “special advisor” to the AUKUS submarine project in a role created for her by the Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty.

As a result, she is the third highest paid official within the Department of Defence and her salary is eclipsed only by the Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, who earns $1 million a year and Mr Moriarty, who earns $943,000.

The Centrelink office in Preston, Melbourne. Picture: Aaron Francis/NCA NewsWire

The final report of the royal commission found that Ms Campbell failed to advise the cabinet of the true nature of the scheme or get to the bottom of flaws when discovered.

“Ms Campbell had been responsible for a department that had established, implemented and maintained an unlawful program,” the royal commission report states.

“The weight of the evidence instead leads to the conclusion that Ms Campbell knew of the misleading effect of the new policy proposal but chose to stay silent, knowing that [former Prime Minister Scott] Morrison wanted to pursue the proposal and that the government could not achieve the savings which the NPP promised without income averaging.

“When exposed to information that brought to light the illegality of income averaging, she did nothing of substance.”

During questioning at the royal commission, Ms Campbell denied intentionally misleading the government.

“I have never been in a department that sought to mislead. And I have never been involved in an operation that has sought to mislead the government,” she said.