Robodebt backflip

The federal corruption watchdog has reversed its decision not to investigate six public servants for their role in the Robodebt scandal.

Following an independent review by High Court justice Geoffrey Nettle, the National Anti-Corruption Commission said on Tuesday an investigation would now be conducted to determine whether the public officials engaged in corrupt conduct.

The six unnamed individuals had been referred to the NACC in July 2023 by the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme – an automated debt-recovery program designed to detect overpayments made to welfare recipients.

The scheme was ruled unlawful by the Federal Court of Australia in 2019. Four years later, the royal commission found the program to be, not only unlawful, but reckless and unjust, while revealing that senior government officials and ministers ignored warnings about the scheme’s illegality and harm to welfare recipients.

“It is remarkable how little interest there seems to have been in ensuring the scheme’s legality, how rushed its implementation was, how little thought was given to how it would affect welfare recipients and the lengths to which public servants were prepared to go to oblige ministers on a quest for savings. Truly dismaying was the revelation of dishonesty and collusion to prevent the scheme’s lack of legal foundation coming to light,” read the royal commission’s final report.

“This is a chance for justice.”

The Australian Public Service Commission conducted its own inquiry into Robodebt focusing on potential breaches of the APS code of conduct. The final report, released in September, revealed that 12 public servants committed a total of 97 breaches – including former department heads Kathryn Campbell and Renée Leon, who were found responsible for 25 breaches of the code.

In October, NACC commissioner Paul Brereton was found by the watchdog’s oversight body to have engaged in misconduct by not removing himself from deliberations about whether to investigate the public servants after declaring a conflict of interest over an association with someone close to the case.

Brereton and the deputy commissioners involved in the original decision not to investigate the royal commission’s referrals will not participate in the investigation, said the NACC.

While not revealing its reasons for the about-face, the NACC said it is making arrangements “to ensure the impartial and fair investigation of the referrals”.

Welcoming the reversal, Melissa Donnelly – Community and Public Sector Union national secretary – said: “For years, the architects of Robodebt have walked away without consequence, while the people they harmed have been left to pick up the pieces. That is unacceptable. This is an important moment in the ongoing push for accountability, and we continue to hope that it delivers the transparency, justice and accountability so many Australians have been waiting for.”

The announcement of an investigation was “a clear rejection” of the watchdog’s original decision, Greens Senator for NSW and justice spokesperson David Shoebridge said. “This is a chance for justice for the thousands of people across the country whose lives and families were shattered by Robodebt.”