who was responsible for robodebt

The Robodebt scheme was primarily the responsibility of the Australian federal government, particularly under the leadership of multiple ministers and administrations across several years. It was first flagged and initiated in 2015 under then Minister for Social Services Scott Morrison and Minister for Human Services Marise Payne, during the Abbott government. The scheme was further developed and implemented by the Department of Human Services. Scott Morrison, who later became Prime Minister, was heavily criticized for overseeing the introduction of the scheme while Minister for Social Services. Christian Porter, who replaced Morrison as Social Services Minister in 2015, also played a role in the scheme's implementation. The scheme persisted through the Turnbull government and was defended by the Morrison government until it was scrapped in 2020. The Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, established in 2022 and led by Catherine Holmes, concluded that the scheme was a "costly failure of public administration" and found that the government officials involved, including Scott Morrison, misled Cabinet and failed in their ministerial duties. The scheme was condemned for being unfair, illegal in its income-averaging process, and cruel in its impact on welfare recipients, with some individuals referred for prosecution. In summary, responsibility lies with the Australian federal government, specifically key ministers like Scott Morrison and Christian Porter, and the Department of Human Services that designed and implemented the automated debt recovery system known as Robodebt.