Robodebt findings spark calls to fix NACC and protect whistleblowers

An investigation into the illegal Robodebt scheme has found two senior public officials engaged in corrupt conduct, but the Greens say the political and bureaucratic “architects” have “walked away scot-free”.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) reported it found no corrupt conduct among four other people referred for investigation, including former prime minister Scott Morrison.

Bill Browne, the Australia Institute’s director of the Democracy and Accountability Program, welcomed the findings.

“Robodebt was a cruel, illegal and illogical program, which levelled false debts against those Australians who could least afford to pay them.”

The Greens agree but argue the outcome amounts to nothing more than “a slap on the wrist”.

“Robodebt was the worst failure of public administration in Australian history, raising an estimated $1.73 billion of illegitimate debts from over 430,000 vulnerable Australians,” said Senator Penny Allman-Payne, the Greens spokesperson for social services.

She contends that key figures behind the scheme have escaped responsibility.

“There may be some small satisfaction found in the fact that two staff were found to have acted corruptly, but the architects of Robodebt are still sitting pretty,” she said.

“I don’t think the thousands of people harmed by the illegal and immoral Robodebt scheme will be celebrating these NACC findings.”

The Royal Commission into the scheme referred six people to the NACC in July 2023, describing Robodebt as “a crude and cruel mechanism” that was “neither fair nor legal”.

It found the scheme was “put together on an ill-conceived, embryonic idea and rushed to Cabinet”, with the report noting difficulties in collecting evidence.

“The Commission found it remarkably difficult to get any kind of consistent answer, and the process did not inspire confidence in the transparency of government policy making and implementation,” it stated.

Mr Browne said an accountable and open government is needed to prevent another Robodebt-style scandal but pointed out that the Albanese Government had “instead been secretive and closed”.

“The Robodebt Royal Commission exposed a dysfunctional culture among senior public servants, but senior public servants have continued to stonewall parliamentarians in Senate Estimates, miss deadlines to reply to questions and ignore or mishandle freedom of information requests.”

While the Royal Commission referred six people to the NAAC in July 2023, the corruption watchdog started its investigation – known as Operation Myrtleford, in April 2025.

The NACC report states Mark Withnell engaged in serious corrupt conduct by intentionally misleading officers of the Department of Social Services during the preparation of a Cabinet submission in 2015.

It also determined Serena Wilson engaged in serious corrupt conduct by intentionally misleading the Commonwealth Ombudsman during an investigation in 2017.

Both have since retired from the public service with the report concluding that there was “insufficient admissible evidence to establish the alleged offences” against them.

Mr Morrison was named as one of the four people cleared, along with public servants Kathryn Campbell, Catherine Halbert and Annette Musolino.

The Royal Commission pointed to deeper cultural and political drivers behind the scheme, with Commissioner Catherine Holmes noting “politicians need to lead a change in social attitudes to people receiving welfare payments”.

“Anti-welfare rhetoric is easy populism, useful for campaign purposes. It is not recent, nor is it confined to one side of politics.

“Largely, those attitudes are set by politicians, who need to abandon for good (in every sense) the narrative of taxpayer versus welfare recipient.”

Senator Allman-Payne is urging the Albanese Government to implement all 57 recommendations of the Robodebt Royal Commission in full to “ensure that Robodebt can never happen again”.

Since the Robodebt report was handed down in July 2023, warnings from the NACC indicate the underlying risks have not been resolved.

In December 2024 it flagged to federal agencies and departments that gross misconduct may be more prevalent than previously thought.

Documents – released to the Financial Review under freedom of information requests) – showed public servants had admitted to witnessing but failing to report at least 554 instances of corruption, including nepotism, fraud, cronyism and conflicts of interest.

Mr Browne said it is clear that “reform is needed to fix the National Anti-Corruption Commission.”

“The Government and Public Service Commission are responsible for the culture of the public service and ensuring that whistleblowers feel comfortable making reports.

“Nine thousand Australians have joined the Australia Institute’s call for an independent review of the NACC, expanded powers and a whistleblower protection authority.”

The Australia Institute’s recommendations include:

• Immediately bring forward the independent review of the NACC
• Give the NACC the power to hold public hearings whenever it is in the public interest
• Expand the Inspector’s powers to review more of the NACC’s operations
• Ensure no party has the majority vote on the NACC’s parliamentary committee
• Implement a Whistleblower Protection Authority

Serious concerns have also been raised about Labor’s current welfare compliance system, with recent findings highlighting systemic failings.

In August 2025, the Commonwealth Ombudsman found 964 jobseekers had their income support payments unlawfully cancelled between April 2022 and July 2024 due to chronic maladministration.

A subsequent report found the department’s remediation approach and cancellation decisions “not to be fair and reasonable”.