The new system replaces manual checks by staff and has seen an explosion in the number of “compliance interventions”, up from 20,000 per year to 20,000 per week, according to the human services minister, Alan Tudge.
But the Independent Andrew Wilkie warned last week that his office was receiving reports the new system was generating debt notices in error.
Wilkie said his office had now received several dozen reports from individuals who were wrongly told they owed money to Centrelink.
He said one of the worst examples reported to his staff involved a man who suffered from anxiety, who was told he had a debt of $10,000. He said the man reported being suicidal.
Wilkie’s office queried the department and the debt was found to be wrong. Wilkie said Centrelink had actually owed the man $700.
“It’s just a shambles; $10,000 is a lot of money for anybody,” Wilkie said. “Some of these smaller figures … that’s equally big for them.”