Editing Centrelink (section)

=== Parliamentary investigation and legal challenges ===
In March 2017, the Robodebt program was the subject of a Senate committee inquiry,<ref name="abc-enquiry">{{cite news|title=Centrelink debt recovery program to face Senate committee grilling|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-08/centrelink-debt-recovery-program-to-be-investigated/8334072|access-date=21 May 2017|work=ABC News|date=8 March 2017|language=en-AU}}</ref> where the department was asked how many people had become deceased after receiving a letter under the debt recovery program.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2017 |title=Community Affairs References Committee |url=http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/commsen/c12caad2-3d6d-4e0d-8c9e-6135b1336398/toc_pdf/Community%20Affairs%20References%20Committee_2017_04_21_4993_Official.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22committees/commsen/c12caad2-3d6d-4e0d-8c9e-6135b1336398/0000%22 |access-date=14 August 2017 |website=Parliament of Australia |pages=11–12}}</ref> After the question was taken on notice, the department was asked again in a subsequent inquiry hearing, and it was again taken on notice.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 May 2017 |title=Community Affairs References Committee |url=http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/commsen/eedc0787-26e5-4581-bb44-eb230b927fdf/toc_pdf/Community%20Affairs%20References%20Committee_2017_05_18_5094_Official.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22committees/commsen/eedc0787-26e5-4581-bb44-eb230b927fdf/0000%22 |access-date=14 August 2017 |website=Parliament of Australia |page=47}}</ref> Despite numerous and widespread concerns being raised about Robodebt, the [[2018 Australian federal budget]] indicated that the data matching scheme would be expanded further.<ref>{{cite news|title=Find out if you're a winner or a loser in this year's budget|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-08/federal-budget-2018-winners-losers/9738982|access-date=8 May 2018|work=ABC News|date=8 May 2018|language=en-AU}}</ref>

In February 2019, Legal Aid Victoria announced that they would challenge the method that Centrelink uses to calculate a person's income, with a spokesperson for Legal Aid stating that the calculation method used was "crude" and failed to take into account the variation in work periods and hours that many recipients had to juggle, thus rendering any income & consequent debt claim as false. Nine months later in November, the federal government settled the case and admitted that the figures produced by Robodebt's income averaging algorithm (for calculating people's income & consequent debt) were "not validly made" and were unlawful.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Henriques-Gomes |first1=Luke |title=Robodebt faces landmark legal challenge over 'crude' income calculations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/06/robodebt-faces-landmark-legal-challenge-over-crude-income-calculations |access-date=6 February 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=5 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Karp |first1=Paul |title=Government admits robodebt was unlawful as it settles legal challenge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/27/government-admits-robodebt-was-unlawful-as-it-settles-legal-challenge |website=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media |access-date=24 October 2024 |date=27 November 2019 |quote=Federal court declares Deanna Amato's debt was 'not validly made' in orders made by consent with government}}</ref>

In September 2019, Gordon Legal announced their intention of filing a [[class action|class-action]] suit challenging the legal foundations of the Robodebt scheme, and in June 2021 it was announced that the class action had been successfulll and Justice Bernard Murphy had approved a settlement that the ABC reported was worth at least $1.8billion to the people wrongfully pursued as a result of Robodebt, and an additional amount of $8.4million was owing to Gordon Legal for their work.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Katharine |date=2019-09-17 |title=Robodebt class action: Shorten unveils 'David and Goliath' legal battle into Centrelink scheme |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/17/robodebt-class-action-shorten-unveils-david-and-goliath-legal-battle-into-centrelink-scheme |access-date=2019-10-22 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Turner |first1=Rebecca |title=Robodebt condemned as a 'shameful chapter' in withering assessment by federal court judge |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-11/robodebt-condemned-by-federal-court-judge-as-shameful-chapter/100207674 |website=ABC News |access-date=25 October 2024 |language=en-AU |date=11 June 2021 |quote=A Federal Court judge has delivered a withering assessment of the unlawful Robodebt recovery scheme, calling it "a shameful chapter" and "massive failure in public administration" of Australia's social security scheme.}}</ref>