Defective Administration in the Robodebt Scheme
Dear Services Australia,
By the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), I wish to request the following information relating to the Robodebt scheme: I seek to obtain any risk matrix that was in place before, at commencement, and during the Robodebt scheme, upon the release of Robodebt and what risk matrix has been in place since its cessation.
When I refer to Robodebt, I am referring to the following programs;
· PAYG Manual Compliance Intervention program: From July 1, 2015 to July 1, 2016
· Online Compliance Intervention: From July 1, 2016 to February 10, 2017
· Employment Income Confirmation: From February 11, 2017 to September 30, 2018
· Check and Update Past Income: From September 30, 2018 to May 29, 2020
· Income Compliance Program: Also known as Robodebt, this program ended in November 2019
Additionally, I am requesting statistics on the number of debts raised by defective administration and how this was detected and managed prior to and during the Robodebt Scheme.
These requests are in the public interest of those affected by the scheme through the practice of averaging and those affected by the defective administration portion of the Robodebt scheme. This information will benefit the public by helping them understand the department's measures taken in relation to the duty of care in raising debts. It will also ensure safeguards are put in place for those who have accepted money in good faith, determining how the department deals with vulnerabilities, how they measure vulnerabilities and how to ensure all harms of Robodebt are mitigated in the future.
Yours faithfully,
Kathleen Madgwick
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
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Dear Services Australia,
I agree to the 30-day extension of the processing time and consent to the redaction of personal information of Agency Staff.
I look forward to the information being released in due course.
Yours faithfully,
Kath Madgwick
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this
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Dear Kathleen
I am writing in regard to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to
Services Australia (the Agency) as follows:
By the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), I wish to request the
following information relating to the Robodebt scheme: I seek to obtain
any risk matrix that was in place before, at commencement, and during the
Robodebt scheme, upon the release of Robodebt and what risk matrix has
been in place since its cessation.
When I refer to Robodebt, I am referring to the following programs;
· PAYG Manual Compliance Intervention program: From July 1, 2015 to July
1, 2016
· Online Compliance Intervention: From July 1, 2016 to February 10, 2017
· Employment Income Confirmation: From February 11, 2017 to September 30,
2018
· Check and Update Past Income: From September 30, 2018 to May 29, 2020
· Income Compliance Program: Also known as Robodebt, this program ended in
November 2019
Additionally, I am requesting statistics on the number of debts raised by
defective administration and how this was detected and managed prior to
and during the Robodebt Scheme.
Scope of your request
I would like to clarify the last part of your request (highlighted).
The term ‘defective administration’ is generally used by our Agency in the
context of the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective
Administration (the CDDA Scheme). I am advised that seeking compensation
to offset a debt is beyond the scope of the CDDA scheme and therefore our
Agency does not hold data on this. However, I consider that your request
may be more related to data on ‘administrative error’ in relation to debts
raised – please confirm.
Additionally, your request relates to seeking documents about the
above-mentioned programs associated with Robodebt. However, in this point,
you refer to ‘managed prior to’ the Robodebt Scheme, when those specific
programs did not exist. Therefore, I am seeking to understand whether you
require documents concerning the above-listed specific Robodebt Scheme
programs (of which documents would not exist prior to the Scheme, only
during the Scheme) or if by ‘prior to’ you are seeking information about
all debts not associated with Robodebt. If the latter, we would require a
relevant date from you to conduct searches.
For action
We would be grateful for your response by close of business 9 May 2025 (if
possible) on the following:
o whether you are seeking data on ‘administrative error’ associated with
debts raised, and
o confirm that you are only seeking documents about the above-listed
Robodebt Scheme programs (of which documents would only exist during
the scheme), or advise us if you are seeking documents relating to all
debts and provide a date range for the period ‘prior to’ the Robodebt
Scheme programs.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Cherie
Senior FOI Officer
FOI & Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division
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To follow us on social media go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/socialmedia
Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
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Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION,
I apologise for the late response; I was unavailable until today.
Your assumptions are correct. I am seeking data on the percentage of overpayments that resulted from administrative errors.
The scope of the information I seek includes;
** Annual data on overpayments that were waived due to administrative errors detected by staff annually from 2010 to 2016.
** Overpayments due to administrative errors, where a debt was raised and overturned at the Administration Appeals Tribunal, annually from 2010 to 2019.
I am requesting a copy of the Risk Matrix carried out before the Robodebt system and a description of how the system would detect overpayments due to administrative error, averaged debts, and double-up of employers' income.
To my understanding, prior to the Robodebt program, compliance staff manually detected these overpayments. The issues mentioned above were considered before raising a debt, and these portions of overpayments were partially or fully waived.
I am particularly interested in the following;
** Prior to Robodebt, how did the system detect, record and handle administrative errors?
** How the Robodebt system detected, recorded and handled staff errors that resulted in overpayments.
** How are administrative errors resulting from overpayments detected, recorded, and dealt with now?
I assume that data collection on administrative errors was recorded, and risk assessments were carried out prior to the Robodebt program.
Yours sincerely,
Kath Madgwick
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this
e-mail
**********************************************************************
Dear Kathleen,
Thank you for your email clarifying the scope of your request. Based on
the additional information you have provided, I have understood your
request to be for the following:
I wish to request the following information relating to the Robodebt
scheme:
I seek to obtain a copy of the Risk Matrix carried out before the Robodebt
Scheme. In particular, I am seeking a document containing the following:
o A description of how the system would detect overpayments due to
administrative error, averaged debts, and double-up of employers'
income.
o How the system detected, recorded and handled administrative errors
I seek to obtain a copy of the Risk Matrix carried out during the Robodebt
Scheme. In particular, I am seeking documents which display the following:
o How the Robodebt system detected, recorded and handled staff errors
that resulted in overpayments.
I seek to obtain a copy of the Risk Matrix carried after the cessation of
the Robodebt Scheme. In particular, I am seeking documents which display
the following:
o How administrative errors resulting from overpayments are detected,
recorded, and dealt with now.
Additionally, I am seeking data on the percentage of overpayments that
resulted from administrative errors (outside of the Robodebt scheme). The
scope of the information I seek includes:
o Annual data on overpayments that were waived due to administrative
errors detected by staff annually from 2010 to 2016.
o Overpayments due to administrative errors, where a debt was raised and
overturned at the Administration Appeals Tribunal, annually from 2010
to 2019.
When I refer to Robodebt, I am referring to the following programs:
o PAYG Manual Compliance Intervention program: From July 1, 2015 to July
1, 2016
o Online Compliance Intervention: From July 1, 2016 to February 10, 2017
o Employment Income Confirmation: From February 11, 2017 to September
30, 2018
o Check and Update Past Income: From September 30, 2018 to May 29, 2020
o Income Compliance Program: Also known as Robodebt, this program ended
in November 2019
To my understanding, prior to the Robodebt program, compliance staff
manually detected these overpayments. The issues mentioned above were
considered before raising a debt, and these portions of overpayments were
partially or fully waived. I assume that data collection on administrative
errors was recorded, and risk assessments were carried out prior to the
Robodebt program.
Further assistance
If you have any questions or I have not understood the scope of your
request, please contact me as soon as possible by replying to this email.
If we do not hear from you, we will process your request by using the
above scope.
Kind regards,
Amanda
FOI & Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division
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Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
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Dear Kathleen,
I refer to your request received by Services Australia (the Agency) on 29
April and revised on 20 May 2025, in particular to the following parts of
your request:
Additionally, I am seeking data on the percentage of overpayments that
resulted from administrative errors (outside of the Robodebt scheme). The
scope of the information I seek includes:
o Annual data on overpayments that were waived due to administrative
errors detected by staff annually from 2010 to 2016.
o Overpayments due to administrative errors, where a debt was raised and
overturned at the Administration Appeals Tribunal, annually from 2010
to 2019.
I have consulted with several business areas to ascertain if the Agency
holds the types of data you have requested. Unfortunately, the information
you are seeking is not held in any existing reports or documents.
As a result, this part of your request does not meet the requirements for
the Agency to release documents to you through the FOI Act, as a person is
not entitled to obtain access to a document if it is available elsewhere
(section 12(1)(c)).
Access Data
The Agency has arrangements in place for the purchase of statistical
information and data.
You can submit a request for statistical data by contacting the External
Information Release Team via email at
[1][email address].
Therefore, in accordance with section 12(1)(c) of the FOI Act, you are not
entitled to request access to the documents under the FOI Act.
Further information
The Agency also makes a range of statistical information and data
available to the public. For further information regarding public
statistical information and lodging requests for statistics and data,
please visit our website at: [2]Statistical information and data - About
us - Services Australia
The Agency will continue to process the remainder of your request, however
the data portion, as detailed above, will be taken to be withdrawn from
your request.
Kind regards
Leanne, Senior FOI Officer
FOI and Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division
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Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
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subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
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1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/sta...
Dear FREEDOMOFINFORMATION,
Thank you for your response and the link to obtain the statistical information that I am seeking.
I look forward to hearing from you regarding the other information requested.
Yours sincerely,
Kath Madgwick
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) team in Services
Australia (the Agency).
This email acknowledges your correspondence and provides some general
information in relation to FOI.
FOI – Extension of time request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) you have a right, with
limited exceptions, to access documents the Agency holds. The Agency has
30 days to process an FOI request. Please note this period may be extended
if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise
you if this happens.
We are currently experiencing a higher than usual volume of requests,
which has resulted in some delays in our review and response process. We
are seeking your agreement to extend the processing time by an additional
30 days. If you agree to this additional time, we would appreciate it if
you could reply to this email with ‘I agree’ at your earliest opportunity.
Administrative release of documents
The Agency has administrative access arrangements ('the arrangements') for
the release of certain documents without the need for a formal FOI
request. If you agree to the release of documents under these
arrangements, we may provide you with documents under the arrangements,
where appropriate.
Any parts of your FOI request that are addressed by documents being
released under the arrangements will be considered withdrawn. The
arrangements do not extend to information or materials of third parties.
You will be notified when documents are released to you under the
arrangements.
Personal information of Agency staff
We consider staff details to be personal information of those staff
members. As part of the FOI application process, we will seek your consent
to exclude the following information from documents that may be captured
by your request:
•names of Services Australia staff below the Senior Executive level
(junior staff)
•direct staff telephone numbers, signatures, logon identifiers and email
addresses.
If you consent to exclude this information, we will treat it as outside
the scope of your request and therefore irrelevant under Section 22 of the
FOI Act.
Charges
No charge is payable for providing a person with their own personal
information.
If you are requesting non-personal information the Agency will advise you
as soon as practicable if a charge is payable to process your request, and
the amount of any such charge.
How we will send documents to you
We typically use this email address to send documents related to your FOI
request unless you have specifically requested to receive them via post.
However, we might seek your consent to deliver the documents
electronically if it is deemed more suitable.
How long do I have to wait?
We are required to answer your request within 30 days unless the time
frame is extended under the FOI Act.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this
e-mail
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Dear Kathleen
Please find attached the decision letter and documents relating to your
request for access to documents held by Services Australia, under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Kind regards,
Cherie (on behalf of Leanne)
Senior FOI Officer
FOI & Reviews Branch, Legal Services Division
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with Services Australia wording to the right of the symbol. Underneath is
servicesaustralia.gov.au and icons representing our social media accounts.
To follow us on social media go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/socialmedia
Aligning the bottom of the signature block is the Services Australia
indigenous artwork strip consisting of cultural elements depicting our
agency’s progress story for First Nations people.
Services Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands we
live on. We pay our respects to all Elders, past and present, of all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this
e-mail
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