A cloud is hanging over key politicians and senior public servants involved in the unlawful robodebt scheme, as the Albanese government considers its response to the 57 recommendations made in the royal commission's report.
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The 990-page report, handed to the Governor-General by robodebt royal commissioner Catherine Holmes on Friday, criticised former Coalition ministers Scott Morrison, Christian Porter, Alan Tudge and Stuart Robert, as well as lashing senior public servants for lacking independence.
It also found ex-Department of Human Services secretary Kathryn Campbell had fallen short in her duty to ensure the cabinet was not misled on the details of the debt collecting scheme in 2015.
The scheme, operated under the Coalition government between 2015 and 2019, unlawfully claimed $746 million from 381,000 Australians.
The harshest consequences from the report are not yet public, with a sealed section recommending referrals of individuals for civil action and criminal prosecution.
In response to findings in the report, the Australian Public Service Commission has appointed an independent reviewer to assess potential breaches of the APS Code of Conduct by individuals.
Agency heads receive sealed section
In advice published on Friday, the Public Service Commission said it had set up the centralised inquiry mechanism in response to findings about the conduct, roles and responsibilities of individual public servants involved in robodebt.
Top public servants will be able to refer staff within their agencies to the independent review.
Agency heads have also been provided with the sealed report, which the Prime Minister has not seen, and will have the power to make decisions about the employment arrangements of individuals identified.
"Agency heads can take action before a formal investigation has started or concluded," the Public Service Commission's advice reads.
They will need to consider the information provided in the report and the seriousness of the allegations made in making these decisions, as well as individual circumstances.
Among recommendations made in the three-volume report, Commissioner Holmes advised that mechanisms to hold senior public servants involved in the scheme to account should be strengthened.
The Public Service Act should be amended to make it clear the APS Commissioner can inquire into the conduct of former agency heads, the robodebt royal commission has found.
Systemic change recommended
"But the behaviour of individuals is only part of the story," the report found.
"In the commission's view, many of the failures of public administration that led to the creation and maintenance of the scheme can be traced to features of the APS structure."
It outlined a systemic lack of independence on the part of secretaries, "woefully inadequate" recordkeeping, the absence of APS values and principles, and confusion between agencies over their responsibilities.
It found a "chasm" had opened between the Department of Social Services, the policy arm of robodebt, and the Department of Human Services (now Services Australia), which delivered the scheme.
Confusion over which government agency was responsible for the scheme was part of the reason it was established and continued, with the report calling for an immediate and full review of the social services portfolio as a result.
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The commissioner also urged the government to put the focus back on customers when developing social services policies.
She encouraged senior executive staff at Services Australia to spend time in service delivery roles and urging more training for staff at the agency.
Standards must also be developed for recordkeeping and training rolled out to implement them, after the commission was faced with a lack of records.
The commissioner, and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten, also paid tribute to those in the public service who had raised concerns about the scheme, such as former Centrelink worker Colleen Taylor.
"The shame is that people of her calibre were not listened to," the report states.
"She was absolutely correct in the points she made, but they were highly inconvenient, and they were never going to be received in the spirit in which they were delivered."
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Adrian Rollins
Karen Barlow
Contact her on karen.barlow@canberratimes.com.au
