Two public servants adversely named by the robodebt royal commission have been quietly scrubbed from organisational charts, including the former top lawyer at Services Australia who had spent months assisting the commission.
Annette Musolino, who was general counsel at the Department of Human Services (DHS) at the time of the unlawful debt recovery program and later chief operating officer of the department, renamed Services Australia, is on leave.
Both Musolino and Russell De Burgh, an assistant secretary in the prime minister’s department, have been removed from official organisational charts.
The robodebt royal commissioner, Catherine Holmes, found that Musolino “failed to advise DHS executives of the weakness of the DHS position on averaging and the extent of the legal risk that it faced”.
De Burgh, was the manager of the pensions and integrity branch of the Department of Social Services, one of a trio of DSS public servants the commissioner found had made “false representations” and concealed critical information which “was designed to, and did, mislead the ombudsman”, who was investigating the robodebt program.
Services Australia declined to answer questions about whether Musolino had been suspended. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet would not comment on De Burgh’s employment status.
On Thursday the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed that former DHS secretary Kathryn Campbell, who is now a senior Department of Defence official, had been suspended without pay due to findings of the royal commission.
But the government has refused to say whether Campbell is the only public servant to be suspended while independent reviewer Stephen Sedgwick determines whether any individuals have breached the Australian public service’s code of conduct.
Guardian Australia does not suggest that Musolino or De Burgh have breached the code or are currently suspended.
Musolino does not appear on Services Australia’s current organisational chart, which lists Russell Egan as COO. A search of archived versions of the Services Australia website reveals she has not been described as COO since about October 2022.
“Ms Musolino was taken offline at that time to focus on assisting the royal commission,” the Services Australia spokesperson said. “Mr Egan has been Chief Operating Officer since then.”
According to Musolino’s 31 October statement to the royal commission, she was still COO at that time. The statement also reveals she sought an extension on medical grounds to respond to a notice to produce from the commission.
Guardian Australia contacted Musolino for comment by her Services Australia email, generating an automated reply: “Thank your for your email. I am currently on leave.”
In May, De Burgh was the assistant secretary responsible for health and aged care in the department of the prime minister and cabinet. But an updated organisational chart of 18 July, omits De Burgh’s name and describes Kim Dobbie as the acting assistant secretary.
Asked whether public servants other than Campbell had been suspended, the public service minister, Katy Gallagher, said she could “understand people’s interest” in the issue but she was taking a “cautious approach”.
“At the appropriate time that information should be made clear,” Gallagher told Guardian Australia in Saturday’s episode of Australian Politics.
Gallagher said the Australian Public Service Commission was an “independent statutory authority” that had “an important job to do here”.
The commission gave notice to individuals about who it proposed to make adverse findings or make a referral for further civil action or criminal prosecution for response before Holmes finalised her report. Holmes submitted the robodebt royal commission report to government on 7 July.
On 15 July, the government services minister, Bill Shorten, told Guardian Australia the commissioner had recommended the sealed chapter remain confidential until action was taken by regulators.
“But I think eventually detail just emerges, not from the sealed report but from the conduct of individuals and processes.”
Guardian Australia contacted Musolino and De Burgh for comment.
