Six public officials will be investigated over their roles in the robo-debt scandal, in a major backflip from the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s original decision not to pursue those involved in the unlawful welfare repayment scheme.
In October, the commission’s oversight body found NACC chief Paul Brereton engaged in “officer misconduct” after he mistakenly failed to remove himself entirely from deliberations about whether to take up the six referrals from the robo-debt royal commission, after he disclosed a conflict of interest.
National Anti-Corruption Commission boss Paul Brereton won’t take part in the new probe.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Former High Court judge Geoffrey Nettle was recruited to redo the review of the commission’s original decision, and decided on Tuesday that the NACC should start investigating the six people, whose names were not made public by the royal commission.
“The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether or not any of the six referred persons engaged in corrupt conduct,” the anti-corruption commission said in a statement.
The NACC did not provide reasons for the decision, arguing that doing so could compromise its investigation or unfairly affect people’s reputations.
The decision to investigate the six officials will test the NACC on its high-profile and most politically sensitive case since its creation in July 2023.
In 2023, robo-debt royal commissioner Catherine Holmes, SC, found that 526,000 people were asked to repay money they did not owe under the robo-debt scheme that was intended to recoup welfare overpayments during the previous Coalition government.
In a report that was highly critical of senior public servants and government ministers, Holmes referred six people to the anti-corruption commission.
Almost a year later, in 2024, the anti-corruption commission announced it would not pursue the referrals. A week later, commission inspector Gail Furness, SC, said she had received 900 complaints about that decision and would look into it.
Furness’ report, released in October, found Brereton had disclosed a conflict of interest in relation to the robo-debt matter and delegated a final decision to his subordinates, but stayed involved in their discussions.
Kathryn Campbell, the Department of Human Services secretary for much of the robo-debt scandal.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
This masthead previously reported the conflict of interest centred on Brereton’s acquaintance with Kathryn Campbell, who was the secretary of the Department of Human Services during much of the robo-debt scheme.
Campbell later said she was “set up as the scapegoat” for the scandal, a claim then-government services minister Bill Shorten, who led a campaign for the royal commission, rejected.
Brereton will not participate in the NACC’s fresh investigation.
Furness’ review also triggered a broader debate about whether the corruption watchdog was fulfilling its mission less than 18 months after it began its work.
In November, Brereton gave a rare public speech, rebuffing calls to step down and lashing critics’ unrealistic expectations of the agency.
“Some have suggested that I should resign. Others have gone further. One commentator even posted that it was a ‘revolver in the library’ time for me, which was liked by another 1700, and I’m afraid I didn’t find it particularly funny,” he told the National Public Sector Governance Forum on November 15.
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