The independent Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will inquire into the commission’s decision not to pursue a corruption investigation concerning six public officials involved with the robodebt scheme.
The background: In announcing its decision last week, the NACC said the officials’ conduct had been fully explored through a royal commission into the welfare debt collection scheme and multiple investigations into the same matter weren’t necessary.
Robodebt siphoned more than $750 million from vulnerable Australians and was linked to several suicides.
The key quote: “I also note that there has also been much public commentary. I anticipate that I will make my findings public in due course.” — Gail Furness, Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
What else to know: Almost 900 individual complaints were made to Furness about the decision. Many alleged corrupt conduct or maladministration by the commission, she said.
The robodebt scheme used annual tax office data to calculate average earnings and automatically issued debt notices to welfare recipients between 2015 and 2019.
Source Agencies
