Tasmanians were the worst impacted by Robodebt scheme, new data reveals
New analysis has shown that more than 11,000 Tasmanians were impacted by the unlawful Robodebt scheme, causing them “nothing but misery”.
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New analysis has shown that more than 11,000 Tasmanians were impacted by the unlawful robodebt scheme, causing them “nothing but misery”.
Tasmania was “the most over-represented of any state and territory” in the data, according to Housing Minister and Franklin Labor MP Julie Collins.
The figures, which were provided by Services Australia to the office of Government Services Minister Bill Shorten, show that of the 434,901 victims of the infamous automated debt collection program, 11,269 were from Tasmania.
There were 2505 people affected in the electorate of Lyons, 2482 in Braddon, 2377 in Bass, 2167 in Clark, and 1738 in Franklin.
Ms Collins said the Albanese government was currently considering the 57 recommendations of the 990-page royal commission report into robodebt.
“Throughout the royal commission process, we have seen courage, leadership, and ethics on display from victims, their advocates, and whistleblowers,” she said.
“I’m proud to be part of a government that is standing up for victims of this harmful scheme that disproportionately impacted Tasmanians.”
The Robodebt scheme used automated income averaging to raise debts. It was introduced by the former Coalition government and ran from 2015 before being abandoned in 2019.
A number of people who had alleged debts raised against them through the scheme have since died by suicide.
Handed down last month, the royal commission’s final report recommended referrals of unnamed individuals for civil and criminal prosecution.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who was a senior member of the government that oversaw and administered the scheme, has acknowledged that “mistakes” were made by “individuals” and described Robodebt as a “costly failure of public administration”. However, he has accused Labor of politicising the issue.
Tasmanian Council of Social Service CEO Adrienne Picone said Robodebt “achieved nothing but misery for the many thousands of Tasmanians” targeted by it.
“The fact that more Tasmanians were targeted is not surprising, given Tasmania’s higher levels of socio-economic disadvantage relative to mainland states,” she said.
“However, even more concerning is to consider the difficulties those impacted may have faced – given the comparative lack of legal and financial support compared to other states and territories, many people may have been unaware of or unable to challenge their debts or decisions made in relation to their payments.
“The same goes for mental health support services, due to various reasons including the prohibitive cost of healthcare and a lack of access to services in many areas across our state.”
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