Second damning report in two weeks exposes government’s wilful negligence on Centrelink payment suspensions
Late yesterday the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations quietly released an independent report triggered in 2024 by revelations of unlawful Centrelink payment cancellations. This comes just a week after the Commonwealth Ombudsman released the first report of his investigation into administration of the compulsory activities known as “mutual” obligations.
For media comment contact 0413 261 362 / media at antipovertycentre.org. For background information see bit.ly/TCF-investigation-background
While these investigations have been underway, hundreds of thousands of people on Centrelink payments continued to have their income stopped by outsourced job agencies who exploit IT system gaps and employment department negligence that allow them to impose unlawful, unfair and unreasonable penalties on a massive scale.1
The latest report, produced by Deloitte at a cost of $440,000, provides details of widespread legal and technical failures by the employment department in its administration of welfare compliance. It identifies that “compliance actions, including penalties and payment suspensions, are automatically applied without sufficient safeguards”. The extensive recommendations lay out an expensive, years-long proposal designed to rehabilitate the compliance system that has only ever served to punish people for the crime of being poor.
Despite containing shocking information about the employment department’s lack of care for welfare recipients or interest in upholding its legal responsibilities, and unequivocal confirmation that the system is not designed to operate in line with the law, the Deloitte report incoherently claims there are not grounds to stop the use of penalties. The report seeks to downplay the scale of harm caused through unlawful, unfair and unreasonable decisions by presenting a misleading detected error rate figure of 0.01% – excluding the use of payment suspensions, which happen at a rate of millions a year.
Evidence referred to in the report “suggests the presence of systemic issues related to provider discretion, oversight, and equity. The lack of system controls to assess the fairness or consistency of provider-reported compliance data significantly increases the risk of unfair outcomes.” Yet as the report itself notes, concerns related to inconsistency in the way providers apply suspensions were not adequately scrutinised because they were excluded from the scope and Deloitte was not provided with sufficient evidence to review.
It is clear this report is nothing more than an attempt to cover the department’s ass so it can prop up the system of punishment it outsources to unaccountable welfare cops who profit from poverty.
The Antipoverty Centre reiterates our response to last week’s Commonwealth Ombudsman investigation, supported by organisations listed below, calling on the government to immediately:
Stop all Centrelink payment penalties, including suspensions, reductions and cancellations, related to compulsory activities.
Commit to permanently removing the Targeted Compliance Framework – a program that has caused significant harm.
The following organisations are supporting the call to stop Centrelink payment suspensions immediately and end the Targeted Compliance Framework: Anglicare Australia, Antipoverty Centre, Anti-Poverty Network South Australia, Australian Council of Social Services, Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union, Basic Income Australia, Council of Single Mothers and Their Children, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, Economic Justice Australia, Inclusion Australia, People with Disability Australia, Single Mother Families Australia, Sweltering Cities, West Australian Council of Social Services, Women with Disabilities Australia.
If your organisation would like to support the call contact team@antipovertycentre.org
For media comment contact 0413 261 362 / media at antipovertycentre.org
Nearly 350,00 compliance-related payment suspensions were issued to people on Centrelink payments just in the first quarter of 2025, affecting more than 280,000 people out of the roughly 800,000 who had requirements during the period. (Antipoverty Centre analysis of published compliance data. Some people have received multiple penalties during this period. Figures are lower than in other periods due to an extended pause of penalties in the new year related to IT issues. Sources: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Workforce Australia Targeted Compliance Framework quarterly data; Department of Social Services, Disability Employment Services Targeted Compliance Framework monthly data.)