2017-01-11
Senator Rachel Siewert
You have probably heard that just before Christmas, thousands of Australians received Centrelink automated debt notices relating to matters from up to six years ago, a few to the tune of $24,000. The much-reported instance where Jack, a 21 year old, who is autistic, was trailed by a private debt collector for $3,000 until his family intervened is just one of many, many experiences we have heard about.
This automated debt service removes human oversight then leaves recipients with the broken and limited infrastructure of Centrelink to argue or query the debts. It is because of this the implications have been cataclysmic and far-reaching.
For people accessing our social safety net, this was a kick in the guts and made the holiday period far harder than it needed to be.
I dread to think about the children who went without this year because of this thoughtless mess left by the Government.
These debt demands from Centrelink are deeply distressing. My office has heard from many people about their experiences of receiving a notification that they were thousands of dollars in debt, and would need records from many years ago to dispute this.
We have heard of the automated system assuming that a person has two incomes because the ATO records the name of the employer differently, or because a Department or business changed their name.
There have been times where Centrelink has recorded information incorrectly, or not recorded new information provided, and where people have been told incorrect information by Centrelink. There have also been situations where part time or temporary jobs have been calculated across a year. The list goes on.
Whether recipients received a debt notice, or had to wait more than three hours on the phone to speak to someone, it's clear this system does not work. Last year the Government promised to take a new and innovative approach to how the Government delivers the social safety net. But repeatedly they've fallen into old habits of cut and reduce for the sake of budget savings.
Just before Christmas, I wrote to the Minister for Human Services, Alan Tudge, asking for him to explain the debacle and suspend the program. Since then, it has become clear that the program has caused too many issues to remain viable. Subsequently, we have called for the automated debt recovery system to be scrapped altogether.
When Parliament resumes, I will work with Senate colleagues to initiate a Senate inquiry into the debacle.
We need clear answers on how this program went so wrong and what the real implications are.
Clearly, using an automated system when trying to claw money back from people who were accessing support was bound to be flawed, particularly when the infrastructure for people challenging the debts is so broken. Getting through to Centrelink on the phone, or accessing the website, verged on impossible even before this program was rolled out. Last year in Senate Estimates, I revealed the number of calls to Centrelink that hit a busy signal had ballooned out to nearly 29 million for 2015-16, up from 22 million the previous year.
I'm pleased the Ombudsman will be reviewing this debacle but the Parliament needs to hear from the people affected by this flawed approach.
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Image by David Jackmanson, CC-BY-2.0