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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Luke Henriques-Gomes Social affairs and inequality editor

Senior DHS official ‘very angry’ when colleague suggested robodebt needed ‘major response’, inquiry told

Centrelink sign
A royal commission is investigating why and how the unlawful Centrelink debt recovery scheme robodebt was established and operated. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

A senior public servant was “very angry” when she was told the robodebt scheme required a “major incident response” from the Department of Human Services, a royal commission has been told.

The commission is investigating why and how the unlawful Centrelink debt recovery scheme was established in 2015 and ran until November 2019, ending in a $1.8bn settlement with hundreds of thousands of victims.

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