Robodebt officials 'lost their way' and broke the rules

Former senior officials have admitted the Government's robodebt scheme was unlawful, leading to thousands of false debts being issued to Australians

The program, which was designed to recover unpaid welfare debts, used automated processes to calculate debts without human intervention, leading to widespread errors

A royal commission into the scheme found that it was "unlawful" and that officials had "lost their way" in their pursuit of recovering debts.

The commission found that the scheme was based on a "fundamental misunderstanding" of the law and that officials had "failed to take reasonable steps" to ensure that debts were correctly calculated.

The commission also found that the Government had failed to adequately oversee the scheme and that there had been a "lack of accountability" for the errors that were made.

The Government has apologized for the scheme and has agreed to compensate those who were wrongly issued with debts

However, the royal commission found that the Government had not done enough to address the damage that had been caused by the scheme and that there was still a "need for further action" to ensure that such a scheme never happens again.

What went wrong with the robodebt scheme?

The robodebt scheme was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the law. The Government believed that it could use automated processes to calculate debts without human intervention, but this was not the case.

The law requires that debts be calculated by a human decision-maker, and the robodebt scheme failed to meet this requirement.

As a result, the scheme led to widespread errors, with thousands of Australians being issued with false debts.

What are the consequences of the robodebt scheme?

The robodebt scheme has had a devastating impact on the lives of many Australians.

Thousands of people were wrongly issued with debts, which caused them significant financial and emotional distress.

Many people were forced to sell their homes or take on additional debt to repay their debts, and some people even took their own lives.

What is the Government doing to address the robodebt scheme?

The Government has apologized for the robodebt scheme and has agreed to compensate those who were wrongly issued with debts.

However, the royal commission found that the Government had not done enough to address the damage that had been caused by the scheme and that there was still a "need for further action" to ensure that such a scheme never happens again.

What can you do if you were affected by the robodebt scheme?

If you were affected by the robodebt scheme, you may be entitled to compensation.

You can find out more about the compensation process by visiting the Government's website.

You can also seek legal advice from a community legal center or a lawyer.