DEWR, Services Australia unlawfully cancelled 964 JobSeeker payments, Commonwealth Ombudsman finds
Between April 2022 and July 2024, 964 JobSeeker recipients had their payments automatically cancelled under a specific clause in the Target Compliance Framework (TCF) after it was amended in 2022.
The framework is an automated system to get JobSeeker recipient to undertake compulsory tasks such as attending job appointments and actively search for work, with those who repeatedly fail to meet the mutual obligations subjected to financial penalties.
Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson was scathing of DEWR secretary Natalie James and Services Australia, saying they 'failed to take adequate steps to ensure the TCF was implemented in accordance with the 2022 amendment,' resulting in an 'unlawful decision' to cancel income support payments.
The move was done 'without consideration of the job seeker's circumstances' and the 'failure to exercise … discretion … (posed) potentially significant, if not catastrophic, consequences for vulnerable job seekers', he wrote.
It also noted a further 45 job recipients had their payments automatically cancelled despite Ms James' decision to pause cancellations on September 2024 – the fifth IT error catalogued by the department.
'We also found that the agencies failed to take all of the steps required under those amendments to safeguard job seekers,' the report set to be released on Wednesday found.
Critically the report also states a Digital Protection Framework, despite having the legal requirement to do so.
Mr Anderson also noted the automation failures happened after the Robodebt Royal Commission which highlighted the 'serious impact' automated processes can have on 'highly vulnerable people'.
Ms James also took nearly 10 months between April 2022 to September 2023 to pause the automated cancellations after it was raised by external legal advisers, with Mr Anderson questioning the 'apparent lack of urgency' over the 'significant issue'.
As of March 21 this year, reductions and cancellations in income support payments have been paused pending ongoing legal and IT reviews.
'We do not consider a delay of over three years, coupled with an indefinite commitment to future action, is reasonable,' the report said.
'It does not satisfy the legislative requirement in the SPROM Act that the Secretary establish the DPF.
'In our view, if parliament imposes an obligation on an agency head without specifying
a time frame (as was the case here), the agency head should aim for implementation
as soon as reasonably practicable.'
While the department has accepted all seven recommendations issued by Mr Anderson, the ombudsman issued an urgent warning to all government agencies, calling on them to ensure all 'automated decision-making is aligned with law and policy and is subject to ongoing testing and assurance'.
'Implementation of the recommendations is an important step towards restoring the confidence of the public, parliament and above all the people affected, that automated decisions are being made responsibly and according to law,' he said.
Antipoverty Centres spokesperson Kristin O'Connell urged more action, including the permanent removal of the TCF.
'It is not enough for the government to implement the Ombudsman's recommendations and move on,' she said.
'The release of this damning report is a significant moment for every person who has been subjected to compulsory activities while on a Centrelink payment and for those who have spoken up about the abuse they experienced.
'For the first time, welfare recipients may feel their experiences are being taken seriously and their lives being treated as valuable by someone in a position of power.'
Greens' social services spokeswoman Penny Allman-Payne said the report should be a 'wake up call for change'.
'Despite clear warnings that the TCF is cruel and unlawful, Labor has continued to allow suspensions of payments to be used as a weapon against welfare recipients, to the benefit of so-called employment service providers who profit from poverty,' she said.
'It is clear that the TCF is an expensive hangover from a conservative government which has been heartlessly prolonged by this Labor government for far too long.'
During Senate estimates in February, Ms James apologised and took full responsibility for the IT outages which resulted in the cancellations.
'I absolutely and unreservedly apologise on behalf of the department that we cannot have full
confidence in this system delivering what it's intended to deliver,' she said.
'It's not acceptable, and it is my responsibility and not the minister's (Murray Watt), in this respect, although he may wish to add his own commentary but I will say that I am responsible, legislatively and administratively, for overseeing this process.'
At the time her comments resulted in welfare advocates calling for a half to the TCF framework, with Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie lashing the system as 'overly punitive and in need of a complete overhaul'.
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