Commercial robodebt collectors booted from Services Australia Community & Social In a big policy shift, Shorten is insourcing welfare debt management after expelling three debt-collection agencies from government books.
The Robodebt Files: Robert Whelan – robodebt collector February 14, 2023 By Julian Bajkowski Community & Social Michael Whelan defended his business’s role in the illegal scheme, and its conduct, as “fair and reasonable”.
Premium Case studies What the robodebt chief knew: Kathryn Campbell denies making ‘positively misleading’ statements in annual report November 14, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Community & Social Former social security chief Kathryn Campbell has admitted robodebt was a failure of public administration. Responsibility is a bigger ask.
Premium Case studies What the secretary knew: Finn Pratt thought Morrison would heed advice November 11, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Community & Social Delegated authority and advice was trusted by the Social Services secretary, even if nobody in Scott Morrison’s office listened.
Premium Case studies How robodebt added a decade to urgent service delivery reforms November 11, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Community & Social Robodebt’s conceptual kernel might have worked brilliantly – and possibly still could – if senior public servants and their ministers had been more creative and less impatient.
What the DepSec knew: Code of silence, cultural atrophy and agency turf wars propelled robodebt November 10, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Community & Social A social services chief has admitted staying deliberately silent about robodebt’s illegality, breaching her obligations as a public servant.
Premium Case studies Former DHS fraud boss admits robodebt calculator design was known to produce untrue results November 9, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Community & Social There is something special about Canberran suspension of disbelief. If it was a bookie, a fishmonger or a landfill operator their licence would be stripped for tilting the scales…
Premium Case studies Robodebt collector defends hardball practices as ‘fair and reasonable’ November 7, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Economy & Industry The royal commission into robodebt has heard from debt collectors how public servants closely supervised the operations of the illegal scheme.
Services Australia handed $5.6m more work to robodebt collector Panthera following ACCC prosecution November 3, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Community & Social Outsourced debt collection boomed under robodebt, with Panthera a big winner of new contracts until the illegal scheme’s collapse.
Premium Insights and analysis What the EL1 knew: Robodebt royal commission hunts for Morrison brief November 2, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Career Advice Public servants know robodebt was defective from the start. The question is whether they obligingly buried the bad news for a new minister.
Premium Case studies Robodebt royal commissioner warns over bureaucratic stalling, obfuscation November 1, 2022 By Julian Bajkowski Editors' Picks Frustration at an apparent lack of communication from a senior Services Australia executive called to appear before the robodebt royal commission is an inauspicious start for the bureaucracy.
