Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

This robodebt system, let us not forget, is a child of Labor. In June 2011, a joint press release from Tanya Plibersek and Bill Shorten said:

Beginning on July 1 this year, Centrelink and the ATO will automatically match data on a daily basis as a way of cross-checking former welfare recipients who have a debt with the Commonwealth.

This is Labor's robodebt scheme.

But let me also remind the chamber that once upon a time Labor and the coalition were on a unity ticket, because where there is debt to the Commonwealth that is debt to taxpayers, and we were on a unity ticket in acknowledging the responsibility of people to repay their debts. The government make absolutely no apology for recovering overpayments in our welfare system. It is the government's legal obligation to pursue the recovery of debt, and we are not ashamed of that. We will continue to ensure that fairness is core to that, and we will also ensure that we get the money that is owed to Australian taxpayers. For over 30 years both sides of this chamber have shared that unity ticket.

The coalition acknowledge that we must look at methods that will give Services Australia the best chance of recovering money that rightfully belongs to the Australian public. Yes, that also includes refining the income compliance program, as was announced by the Minister for Government Services last week. I want to address a lot of the misinformation that we've been hearing. Firstly, the announcement of the Minister for Government Services is not a backtrack. The income compliance program has undergone numerous iterations and refinements since its inception by the Labor government in 2011. We continue to respond to community feedback as we strengthen and improve our debt recovery method to ensure it is robust, and on this occasion we are requiring additional information to identify potential overpayments. No longer will averaging income information from the ATO be sufficient to raise a debt notice, as it once was. The department, once a discrepancy is raised, will review the available information and, should a debt be confirmed, then raise the issue with the recipient. This new approach has already started, as all current debts that have been raised to date using income averaging are being reassessed. Services Australia will contact affected customers after a process that may vary in time depending on the complexity of the individual case.

May I also remind people that our departmental staff are trained to help people experiencing hardship and complex challenges. They are trained to support people and deal sensitively with vulnerable people. With regard to reviewing debt notices, the department cannot commence a review without the customer taking some action. The government encourages people who receive a debt notice to engage with the department promptly should they need a review. Once a review is initiated, our trained staff work with customers throughout the process to obtain necessary information and fulfil their obligations.

As I have alluded to, this whole process started in 2010 when the current member for McMahon said:

It is important that the Government explores different means of debt recovery to ensure that those who have received more money than they are entitled to repay their debt.

To their credit, Labor did explore new measures, and that is how we got the robodebt system that Senator Gallagher wants us to discuss here today. The robodebt system was incorporated, as I said, on 29 June 2011. They said:

Beginning on July 1 this year, Centrelink and the ATO will automatically match data on a daily basis as a way of cross-checking former welfare recipients who have a debt with the Commonwealth.

That is robodebt. I remind you that, when he created robodebt in 2011, the member for Maribyrnong said:

The automation of this process will free up resources and result in more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt on behalf of taxpayers.

The Labor government of the time saw the need back then to protect the integrity of the welfare system. The member for Sydney and then Minister for Human Services made this abundantly clear, stating, 'The government has a responsibility to taxpayers to recover that money'—