Robodebt royal commission report to make referrals for criminal and civil prosecution
A landmark report into the robodebt scheme will make referrals for both civil and criminal prosecution, the royal commission has revealed.
A landmark report into the robodebt scheme will make referrals for both civil and criminal prosecution, the royal commission has revealed.
It comes after the report was handed to Governor General David Hurley ahead of its public release at 11am this morning.
The royal commission on Friday also confirmed the report – spanning over 990 pages – will make a total of 57 recommendations.
However, a section of the report will be sealed after royal commissioner Catherine Holmes issued a swathe of procedural gag orders to ensure those implicated would have access to due process.
Chair Catherine Holmes SC, a former Queensland chief justice who oversaw the 2011-12 floods inquiry, will make public findings into a scheme that wrongfully recovered $750m from 380,000 people using an automated income averaging system.
Former prime ministers Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull appeared before the inquiry as well as former ministers Alan Tudge, Christian Porter and Stuart Robert and high-ranking bureaucrats from the Department of Human Services and the Department of Social Services.
It is understood former government ministers who appeared before the inquiry were asked to respond to draft negative findings against them.
The royal commission heard testimony that government officials were warned the robodebt scheme, which ran from 2015 to 2019 and sent false debt notices to 443,000 welfare recipients, was potentially unlawful.
Robodebt likely to be referred to the NACC
Ms Holmes is anticipated to refer revelations from the inquiry to the National Anti-Corruption Commission amid reports she delayed the release of the final report so she could make referrals to the federal oversight body, which became operational on July 1.
University of Sydney emeritus professor of law Terry Carney, as a part-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, made five decisions that found the scheme unlawful in 2017 before he was dismissed in September that same year.
Professor Carney, who gave testimony to the royal commission, said it was highly likely the commission would make referrals to the Australian Public Service Commission as well as NACC.
“There were pretty catastrophic failures with a lot of systems that are supposed to ensure this sort of thing doesn’t happen,” he said.
“All a commission can do is shine light and bring to public notice things that often without the very substantial powers [of the royal commission] would have remained unknown.”
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said successive Coalition politicians had gaslighted critics by dismissing their fears while blaming and shaming victims.
“First and foremost my thoughts are with the victims of robodebt and the tremendous harm that the Coalition government illegally inflicted against them,” he said. On Friday, “the nation shall receive the findings of the robo-debt royal commission which was dismissed as unnecessary by the then Coalition when Labor promised it before the last election.”
$1.8 billion settlement
Anthony Albanese announced the royal commission in August 2022 after Labor in opposition spent years calling for an inquiry into the botched social services scheme.
The Federal Court in June 2021 agreed to a $1.8bn settlement with members of a class action on the day that the matter had been scheduled to go to trial.
Gordon Legal partner James Naughton, who acted in the class action, said the release of the royal commission’s report would bring closure to the scheme’s victims.
“We acted for hundreds of thousands of group members and tomorrow’s handing down of the report is a really important step to bring closure to those people,” he said.
“It’s an important part of the process to have their stories heard and their complaints heard.
“We think that it’s a really important event for the people affected.”
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