Resident shares Robodebt nightmare

By Courtney O’Brien

THE REPORT from the Royal Commission on the failed Robodebt scheme that impacted many of those most vulnerable in the community has been released.  

According to the report, the scheme was rolled out as a pilot program in 2015 and fully rolled out in 2016. 

Through a comparison of Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Department of Human Services (DHS) data, some 866,857 instances of debts were identified and raised for possible overpayment for financial years between 2010 -2013 initially, and later for financial years up to 2018.

In 2015, Bass Coast Shire resident and member of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, Jessica Harrison, received a debt for $1000, and her daughter who was a student and had been working as a tutor.

Jessica had been a job seeker and was declaring her income on a fortnightly basis online and according to her, it was a straightforward process. 

When she received the debt, she knew immediately that something was wrong. 

“First of all, I thought this is just a complete headache and I’m going to have to get on to my employer. We’re going to have to find the records from the particular time period that it was meant to have been accrued. It was just a lot of sorting through paperwork, phone calls and of course I took legal advice.” 

After receiving the debt, Jessica contacted Centrelink and although she knew that the debt was questionable, made arrangements to pay the debt back.

“I did start the process of paying back the debt because as there was more media coverage it was clear that there were actually sending out debt collectors to people and no one wants that kind of thing happening.”

By late 2016 and early 2017, the human impacts of Robodebt were being reported including struggling families receiving debt notices at Christmas, young people driven to despair by demands for payment and the most horrifying of these were accounts of suicide. 

“We were able to take on the extra work that it took to prove that we didn’t have a debt. But a lot of people aren’t in that situation, if you’re unwell or if you’re feeling fragile emotionally, you’re not able to really take it on. It’s just too much,” Jessica said. 

While Jessica and her daughter were able to prove to Centrelink that they in fact weren’t overpaid and subsequently didn’t owe anything, and the debt was rescinded.

“There are people who are still suffering health issues after the shock of getting a Robodebt. The punitive way that the welfare system is being set up has to change. They’ve set up the welfare system to unfairly punish people who have unfortunately had to get on the system, and they’re living on a very low income,” Jessica said.  

In late 2019, the Government announced that debts would no longer be raised solely on the basis of ATO and DHS data. 

“I think that more heads should roll, in other words, more people should be held accountable. People in those positions of power in this sealed section of the Robodebt report need to be made public and people have to be held legally accountable for what they did,” Jessica said. 

The Australian Unemployed Workers Union provides an advice and advocacy hotline and is available from Monday to Friday 10am – 2pm, on 1800 289 848. Lifeline can be contacted for emotional support on 13 11 14.