The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s (NACC) decision not to launch a corruption investigation isn’t the end of the Robodebt scandal, with other authorities still investigating five public servants for their role in the scheme.

The NACC announced on Thursday that it would not pursue a corruption investigation against six unnamed individuals who were referred to the newly formed anti-corruption watchdog by the Robodebt Royal Commission in July 2023.

It cited an inability to add  “significant new evidence” or “value to the public interest” in its decision not to pursue an investigation.

Terry Carney, emeritus professor at the University of Sydney, testified at the royal commission that he had lost his job at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal after he ruled against the federal government about Robodebt on five occasions.

He told The New Daily that a corruption investigation would have overlapped with work already done by the royal commission and ongoing inquiries.

“The only thing they didn’t allude to in their public justification for not proceeding was references to the fact there’s the sealed chapter of the royal commission report,” he said.

“It may well be findings of fact in that sealed chapter go into the definition of corruption.”

The Robodebt Royal Commission announced that it had made referrals to the Australian Public Service Commission, the NACC, the Law Society of the ACT and the Australian Federal Police after 303 hours of hearings and the examination of 958,000 documents 11 months ago.

Catherine Holmes, the Royal Commissioner into Robodebt, said at the time that the names of the referred public servants would not be publicly released “so as not to prejudice the conduct of any future civil action or criminal prosecution”.

The Robodebt Royal Commission ran from August 2022 until July 2023. Photo: AAP

Personal impact

Keen observers of the process expressed disappointment that authorities hadn’t initiated a corruption investigation after it received the referrals 11 months ago.

Carney said it is understandable that people may be frustrated with the process.

“I have a lot of sympathy for their concern and about the fact there is no further investigation by the corruption commission,” he said.

“The five who are still being investigated by the Public Service Commissioner, there are very serious remedies and sanctions they can place upon people.”

After devising the scheme as social security minister in 2015, Scott Morrison and his department implemented a system where welfare recipients had their amount owed to Centrelink incorrectly averaged by the Department of Human Services, often resulting in collectors chasing debts that people did not owe.

The royal commission heard that the scheme contributed to the suicide of two men in their 20s, while other people gave testimony about the impact the incorrect debts had on their wellbeing.

Katherine Prygodicz, a 43-year-old school teacher, told the BBC that she had her entire tax return confiscated and she received late-night calls asking for her bank details and personal information.

“I couldn’t understand why I had a debt,” she said.

“What upset me was that they were implying that I hadn’t reported my income properly, that I was committing welfare fraud, but I knew I was innocent.”

The scheme illegally took $730 million from Centrelink recipients.

Future

The NACC won’t pursue a corruption investigation, but it said that the royal commission report contains “lessons of great importance for enhancing integrity in the Commonwealth public sector and the accountability of public officials”.

Carney said that once all the different agencies and bodies have completed their referral process, the sealed chapter will likely be released publicly.

“It’s a matter of natural justice and procedural fairness, it’s a legal principle that is enforceable if there is a breach of it,” he said.

“Apart from the Public Service Commission, a number of lawyers were referred to the ACT Law Society for a breach of professional ethics and standards.”

Holmes also made referrals to the Australian Federal Police.

The NACC said it would take no further questions on the matter.