The Robodebt royal commission this week heard from senior ministers and bureaucrats involved in the debt recovery program, but the toll on its victims has been laid bare in now-public submissions.
The commission, held in Brisbane, is in its fourth and final block of hearings after conducting more than 40 days' worth.
Former government services minister Stuart Robert on Thursday told the commission he took "absolute responsibility" for the implementation of the illegal scheme and had defended it as a "dutiful cabinet minister" despite being aware it could be illegal.
The debt collection program illegally claimed almost $2 billion in payments from 433,000 people.
Among the 34 written submissions published this week, advocacy bodies and organisations reiterated they had been warning the government for years that using income averaging and debt collection tactics were causing harm and distress.
The organisations highlighted that individuals receiving Centrelink payments were often from some of the most vulnerable groups in society — those with mental and physical health conditions, disabilities, First Nations peoples, the elderly, homeless people, those without financial and social support, and victims of a range of types of abuse and violence.
Single mother sent into panic with shock phone call detailing $12,000 debt
In its submission, Anglicare Australia said its network supported people on the lowest incomes and was aware of the harms the automated welfare debt recovery scheme was causing from the beginning.
One of the case studies referenced was a single mother in her 40s who was told she had a $12,000 debt.
The mother of three, Shirley, received a carer's pension because one of her daughters, who has an intellectual disability and global development delay, requires constant care.
The southern Queensland branch of Anglicare had been supporting Shirley dealing with anxiety and depression for two years when Centrelink suddenly called at 5pm on a Thursday evening to inform her the carer's pension she was expecting to receive the next day was suspended and she owed $12,000.
"I panicked and was confused," Shirley is quoted as saying in the submission.
"I was trying to talk to them and I said, 'You can't just cut me off; how am I supposed to support my kids and myself? I will have no money there to cover my bills this week'.
"All she could say was, 'Go to the Salvation Army and get food orders and ask relatives and friends to help you until you get your Newstart approved'.
"She didn't care. It was a very difficult time, a very stressful time. I didn't know what I was doing. They just said, 'Contact the Salvation Army'.
"They didn't give me a number; there was no help, nothing, no address; just deal with it yourself."
The next day, she contacted her support worker from Anglicare.
"It threw her into absolute panic," the submission said.
"The bizarre thing was we saw a member of staff at one desk and half an hour later saw someone five yards away and got completely different advice.
"But for her to be told at 5pm that she's not going to be paid the next day and she's got her own mental health issues and her daughter with a disability, it's terrible."
The support worker in the submission said Shirley had a lot of anxiety about what would happen when her carer's pension was withdrawn soon after, meaning she would lose about $300 a fortnight.
"She knows she will not be able to manage, and she says she is 'extremely stressed out about it all'," the worker said in the submission.
"It's a fight, a continual fight."
Young man couldn't afford repayments of $60 per fortnight
Another Anglicare frontline worker in southern Queensland was quoted about her experience helping one young man repay his debt at $60 a fortnight.
"He says it's not affordable, so I have tried to go in and speak to them and ask for it to be reduced to $40 per fortnight, which is more manageable, but they told me to do it online," the submission said.
"I go online, and it says contact your local Centrelink. So it's this cycle. We sit down, look at the online site, fill out all the details, and then it says, 'We cannot process your claim; go to your local Centrelink'.
"He had been in twice and tried online once by that point. He waited on hold on the phone for half an hour, and then the phone hung up. So he gave up and came to see me about it."
Blind elderly woman receives $3,000 bill
In its submission, Anglicare Australia reported a 98-year-old woman, who was blind, received a letter saying she owed $3,000 and called one of the service's Tasmanian-based financial officers in distress.
"A widowed client in her 90s called in tears saying, 'I don't have any money, I don't have anything to sell. I can't pay this bill. Do you think I should sell my couch? How much do you think I would get for it?'" the submission said.
The frontline worker who helped them said the government needed to understand the impact of their systems.
Debt recovery tactics triggered mental health problems
The Consumers of Mental Health Western Australia (CoMHWA) said members reported increased feelings of shame, reinforced feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness.
One member told the organisation that while they were asked to repay debt with Centrelink, they "remember being broke, stressed, and feeling really worthless and hopeless".
Other members felt increasingly strong urges for self-harm and suicidality after receiving debt notices, the submission said.
"CoMHWA members cited feeling worthless, hopeless, distressed, leading to feelings of physical and emotional unsafety," the submission said.
"Some members reported that the debt notices had significant consequences for people living in domestic violence situations.
"The financial pressure of the situation led individuals to feel unstable and unsafe in their lives."
'You don't carry all your paperwork around when you're homeless'
Victoria Legal Aid said in its submission that the service saw the significant hardship and distress caused by the Robodebt scheme in its daily work and demonstrated it through seven de-identified stories from clients.
One of their clients, Isabella (not her real name), was experiencing the ongoing impacts of post-traumatic stress disorder from family violence and living day-to-day when she was asked to repay a Centrelink debt.
Isabella told Victoria Legal Aid she was working different casual jobs on-and-off and had irregular income, and was unable to get previous payslips due to the length of time since she had worked at the businesses and because she was couch surfing and sleeping rough.
"You don't carry around all your paperwork when you are homeless," she said.
"It felt like Centrelink was kicking me while I was down.
"I was grappling with homelessness, severe trauma and couldn't work. Taking money out of my payment was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"During that fortnight, I was not able to live properly – I didn't have enough money for food. I couldn't even think about saving up for a bond for a rental because I had to focus on surviving.
"I felt like I had no options and thought I wasn't going to live much longer. It breaks my heart that some people who experienced Robodebt didn't make it through. I could have been one of them."
The case study's debt was significantly reduced, and was able to secure housing and mental health support.
"The impact of Robodebt on my life is, however, a trauma I continue to live with and am still triggered by," Isabella told Victoria Legal Aid.
The royal commission continues next week.
