Government Debt Collection after Robodebt

Abstract

In recent decades, Australian public agencies have increasingly adopted the practices of the private sector when recovering debts and have outsourced part or all of their debt collection to private firms. This practice gained notoriety during the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, which identified ‘disastrous’ failures in the Commonwealth Government’s collection of social security debts, both directly and through private agents. These failures caused serious harm to thousands of people, including vulnerable low income earners. This article highlights significant gaps in the legal frameworks concerning debt collection by government agencies and firms acting on their behalf. It outline..