Hundreds of thousands of “robo-debt” cases stand to be reviewed by the Morrison government after Government Services Minister Stuart Robert announced Centrelink would no longer rely solely on averaged income data to raise debts.
Mr Robert announced “refinements” to the controversial debt-recovery program on Tuesday, saying other “proof points” such as bank statements or pay slips would now be used when reconciling welfare recipients’ fortnightly income declared to Centrelink and annual income reported to the Tax Office.
Welfare groups have been calling for the process of “income averaging” to be abolished, arguing it is unfair and inaccurate.
With the government facing a potential class action challenging the legality of its income compliance program, Mr Robert said Centrelink would also “reach out” to the “small cohort” of Australians who had received debt notices based solely on income averaging to “seek further points of proof”.
External Link: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-make-no-apologies-government-in-robo-debt-backflip-20191119-p53bzk.html
