The Australian Human Rights Commission has made a second submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee considering the human rights implications of Centrelink’s debt recovery program, described as ‘Robodebt’.
The Commission warns against the potential to breach Article Nine of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Australia is a signatory.
Human Rights Commissioner, Edward Santow said that under Article Nine any “withdrawal, reduction or suspension” of social security benefits has to be “based on grounds that are reasonable, subject to due process, and provided for in national law”.
“Any system that arbitrarily interferes with people’s social security entitlements would likely breach Article Nine,” Mr Santow said.
He raised concerns about the potential human rights implications of automating social services and administrative decision-making on vulnerable or marginalised individuals.
His submission also identified how unlawful discrimination could arise through the use of automated decision-making systems.
“We have seen how automated decision-making can unfairly disadvantage people by reference to their race, gender or other protected attribute,” Mr Santow said.
The submission raised similar issues to those identified in its submission to another Senate inquiry into changing Government service delivery models, including Centrelink’s debt recovery program.
Both the Commission’s submissions on the debt recovery program can be accessed on its website at this PS News link.
