Almost 200,000 outstanding robodebts will finally be wiped by the Federal Government two years after the Coalition Government agreed to settle a $1.2 billion lawsuit over the absolutely fucked scheme.
Robodebt, or automated debt recovery, is currently the subject of a royal commission investigation. The data-matching system was basically a bunch of unchecked algorithms that attempted to calculate the income of Centrelink applicants by averaging their Australian Tax Office data. Those averages were then compared to the Centrelink applicants’ self-reported incomes and wrongly pursued thousands of Australians for the outstanding difference — debts they didn’t actually owe.
That scheme was suspended in 2019 when a class action was brought against the Commonwealth. The government refunded any debts that were paid — about $720 million — and agreed to a $1.2 billion settlement in November 2020.
Before the suspension, 124,000 people were told their debts were being reviewed but another 73,000 were never even told theirs was under review. Three years later they finally have closure. How extremely fucking stressful.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth announced on Tuesday all 197,000 outstanding robodebt cases would be scrapped.
“The Robodebt fiasco is something that should be of deep concern to all Australians,” Rishworth said.
“It was meant to save money. However, we know it had a significant human cost.
“We’re committed to a better Australia and that means delivering a social security system that is not punitive.”
Critics have been vocal against robodebt since 2016 for unfairly targeting vulnerable people. Heartbreaking findings released in 2019 found more than 2000 Australians died after receiving a robodebt notice from the government.
776 of the 2,030 recorded deaths were people aged 45 and under. 429 were under the age of 35. 663 people were officially classified by the Department of Health Services as “vulnerable”, meaning they had recorded history of issues like mental illness, drug use or domestic violence.
The average debt was $2,377.
Meanwhile, billionaires get free JobKeeper, grants and tax cuts.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised to establish a robodebt royal commission during this year’s election campaign, which began in September and is due to wrap up next month.
