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The Latest Breaking News from Centrelink

Why robodebt's use of 'income averaging' lacked basic common sense

The practice of “income averaging” to calculate debts in the robodebt scheme was completely flawed. This is what I confirmed in my new report conducted for the robodebt royal commission published last Friday, the final day of the commission’s public hearings.

The Conversation

Ask The Expert: More people are eligible for a Seniors Health Card – here’s how to apply

There is no asset test for the seniors health card, and the income test rules have been recently relaxed, and it is now very generous.

The New Daily

Robodebt: five years of lies, mistakes and failures that caused a $1.8bn scandal

The royal commission ended on Friday, having heard shocking testimony from officials and politicians, and heart-rending accounts of the impact of the botched scheme

The Guardian - AU

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read the most diverse news in one place.

Kathleen Madgwick tells Robodebt royal commission about her son Jarrad and the damage the scheme caused

Just weeks before his 23rd birthday in 2019, Jarrad Madgwick left the house hours after being issued with a $2,000 Robodebt. He never returned home or into the arms of his mum Kathleen.

ABC News

'Bizarre' debt notices flagged by Centrelink employees

Two former Centrelink employees have told a royal commission their concerns with the way robodebt was operating were repeatedly dismissed.

AAP

I’m still angry at the architects of robodebt, and furious that they have faced no consequences

I’m grateful to all those who spoke out, but it should never have happened and we have no guarantee it won’t happen again

The Guardian - AU

Malcolm Turnbull tells robodebt inquiry ‘I did not turn my mind to the legality of the program’

Former PM tells royal commission he accepted what then human services minister Alan Tudge told him about legality of scheme

The Guardian - AU

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Ask the Expert: Super, pensions and investments – how to balance them for the best return

It may sound daunting, but there are various ways to balance pensions and investments to get the maximum return from your super.

The New Daily

Written submissions to Robodebt royal commission made public, revealing significant toll on victims of unlawful scheme

A 98-year-old widow called her care provider in tears, saying she did not have anything else to sell, a written submission to the Robodebt royal commission says.

ABC News

Department of Human Services bureaucrat ordered Robodebt letter system be switched off, royal commission hears

Former director at the Department of Human Services Tenille Collins says she had concerns with the Robodebt scheme's practice of sending welfare recipients a debt if they did not respond to a letter from Centrelink after 21 days.

ABC News

Public servant claims she was ‘screamed at irrationally’ after querying robodebt scheme

Official tells royal commission she was threatened with losing her job after turning off part of the system without approval

The Guardian - AU

Former top lawyer denies seeking to withhold documents from coroner after robodebt victim’s suicide

Annette Musolino tells inquiry she did not withhold legal advice from her boss, the Department of Human Services secretary

The Guardian - AU

Robodebt made victim ‘feel like a cheat’, royal commission told

A robodebt victim has described how the botched program made him feel like a criminal and still affects his mental health five years later.

The New Daily

Former public servant avoids jail over JobSeeker fraud, magistrate accepts man was 'driven by need, not greed'

A former Commonwealth public servant will not spend time in jail for establishing a fictional Centrelink account in order to receive $4,000 in JobSeeker payments.

ABC News

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ABC News

Man issued with Robodebt bill of $11,000 tells royal commission he was made to 'feel like a welfare cheat'

A photographer who had a heart attack after being issued with an erroneous Robodebt bill says he was made to feel like a criminal.

The Canberra Times

Centrelink understaffing and delays having 'tragic impacts'

Centrelink needs more resources for staff and training, legal experts say.

The New Daily

Ask the Expert: What is super really for? We break down the functions of your retirement nest egg

You do not need a financial adviser for your super. You can keep things simple, especially if investing in an industry fund.

The Guardian - AU

‘Saddest part of my career’: Centrelink employee describes pain of implementing robodebt

Jeannie-Marie Blake says watching the royal commission into the scheme has been ‘triggering’ after giving evidence with striking frankness

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The Guardian - AU

Robodebt inquiry: evidence contradicts witness’s claim he didn’t know unlawful method was being used

Former Department of Human Services official tells inquiry he can’t explain emails and other documents he saw referring to use of income averaging

The Guardian - AU

Inability to cool homes in summer heat making almost 90% of Centrelink recipients ill, survey finds

A third of those polled said they had sought medical care for heat stress while others who had air conditioning avoided using it due to cost of electricity

The Guardian - AU

Public servants may have ‘colluded’ to launch robodebt despite knowing it was unlawful, inquiry hears

Former deputy secretary Serena Wilson denies ‘reconstructing events’ in her evidence to the royal commission to protect her own interests

The Guardian - AU

‘I can’t forget’: frontline worker gives searing indictment of robodebt as architects of scheme due to give evidence

Centrelink employee told the commission she would never forget what staff were ‘forced’ to do to victims of the program

The Guardian - AU

‘Platitudes and false words’: mother of robodebt victim who took own life tells inquiry of government stonewalling

‘It all became very sly. Everyone was lying and covering each other’s backs,’ royal commission hears

ABC News

Government lawyers were told Robodebt's income-averaging method couldn't be used to calculate welfare debts, royal commission hears

The inquiry hears from a mother whose son took his own life after being targeted with dozens of phone calls, text messages from Centrelink and debt collectors chasing an alleged Robodebt.

The Conversation

Friday essay: parents of 9-month-old babies as 'workers in waiting'? How ParentsNext monitors single mothers

For the first two months of Svetlana’s daughter’s life, the pair couch-surfed and lived on the streets. Granted public housing, Svetlana then worked to “stabilise” herself and slowly form “new ties”. A “former addict”, she had been “clean and sober for six years”.

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