Robodebt royal commission report delivers justice to mothers whose sons died after receiving debt notices

The road to justice for Jenny Miller and Kath Madgwick, whose sons both took their own lives after receiving Robodebt notices, has been long and arduous.

Kath Madgwick’s son Jarrad took his own life hours after receiving a Robodebt of nearly $2000 just three weeks before his 23rd birthday.

The road to justice for Jenny ­Miller and Kath Madgwick, whose sons both took their own lives after receiving Robodebt notices, has been long and arduous.

Ms Miller’s son, Rhys Cauzzo, was 28 when he took his own life after being issued two automated debt notice worth $28,000, while Ms Madgwick’s son Jarrad committed suicide just weeks before his 23rd birthday after receiving a debt notice of about $2000.

Both women appeared before the royal commission into Robodebt to tell their son’s stories. On Friday, the inquiry found the automated debt recovery scheme had caused at least three suicides, ­including the deaths of Cauzzo and Madgwick, and had been launched with little to no regard to the vulnerable cohort it affected.

Royal commission chair ­Catherine Holmes SC said what happened to Cauzzo and Madgwick laid bare the question of how the government should handle vulnerable people.

“The harmful effects of the scheme were not confined to the raising of inaccurate or non-existent debts,” she said. “The blunt instrument of automation used to identify and communicate the possibility of overpayment was inept at determining vulnerability.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the finding that the disastrous scheme had led to deaths by suicide was extraordinary and he thanked the victims who’d appeared before the inquiry. “We have arrived at the truth because of the courage of some of the most vulnerable Australians,” he said.

“People who have shown bravery in the face of injustice, hardship and sometimes terrible grief.”

After fronting the media on ­Friday, following the release of the royal commission report into Robodebt, Ms Miller and Ms Madgwick shared a bowl of chips at The Sands pub in Maroochydore on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Ms Miller said she and Ms Madgwick hadn’t yet had a chance to read the 1039-page report but said the probe’s findings vindicated the years the two mothers spent fighting for justice.

“It was an absolute vindication for both Kath and I because I’ve worked for six and a half years and Kath’s worked for four years to get justice for our sons,” she said.

Ms Miller said knowing the royal commission would lead to accountability lessened the burden of grief carried by both women as she thanked Mr Albanese and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten for their tireless work. Ms Madgwick said she was hopeful the system was changing for the better and said she’d noticed an improvement when she’d last attended a Centrelink office as an advocate.

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