Ms Furness also works as a part-time Inspector of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. Photo: Child abuse royal commission.
The Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will inquire into the corruption watchdog’s reasoning for not launching another probe into the Robodebt scheme.
After receiving almost 900 complaints in the wake of the NACC’s decision last week, Inspector Gail Furness released a statement on Thursday (13 June):
“Many of those complaints allege corrupt conduct or maladministration by the NACC in making that decision. I also note that there has also been much public commentary.
“Accordingly, I have decided to inquire into that decision.”
Ms Furness oversees the corruption watchdog’s operations and conduct as inspector. In her statement she says:
“I anticipate that I will make my findings public, in due course.
“Information about my role, including the powers I have and how I can deal with complaints, is available on my website at www.naccinspector.gov.au.”
Last year, on 6 July, the NACC received referrals concerning six public officials from the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.
After “carefully” considering each referral and reviewing the “extensive” material provided by the royal commission – including the final report and ‘confidential chapter’ – the NACC said “it is unlikely it would obtain significant new evidence”.
“In the absence of a real likelihood of a further investigation producing significant new evidence, it is undesirable for a number of reasons to conduct multiple investigations into the same matter,” according to the NACC’s statement released on 6 June.
“This includes the risk of inconsistent outcomes, and the oppression involved in subjecting individuals to repeated investigations.”
The NACC said it was aware five of the six public officials were also the subject of referrals to the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). This contributed to its reasoning that “there is not value in duplicating work that has been or is being done by others”.
“Beyond considering whether the conduct in question amounted to corrupt conduct within the meaning of the act and, if satisfied, making such a finding, the commission cannot grant a remedy or impose a sanction [as the APSC can],” reads the statement.
“Nor could it make any recommendation that could not have been made by the Robodebt royal commission.
“The commission is conscious of the impact of the Robodebt scheme on individuals and the public, the seniority of the officials involved, and the need to ensure that any corruption issue is fully investigated.
“[However] an investigation by the commission would not provide any individual remedy or redress for the recipients of government payments or their families who suffered due to the Robodebt scheme.”
The Robodebt automated debt recovery scheme was piloted in 2015 and fully rolled out between 2016 and 2019 by the Department of Human Services and its successor, Services Australia, with more than 470,000 false debts issued.
It caused extensive grief and trauma. Some recipients were reported to have taken their own lives over the debts.
It was officially scrapped in 2020, with the promise of paid debts being refunded in full.
It cost the Commonwealth $1.8 billion in settlement after the Federal Court ruled it a “massive failure in public administration”.
Following Labor’s federal election win in 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wiped any debts still under review and established the royal commission.
