The number of letters sent out under Centrelink's controversial robo-debt policy has soared past 230,000 as the federal appeals tribunal braces for a flood of disputes.
Treasury costings have put the price of Centrelink's data-matching and debt recovery at least $93 million, including payments to commercial debt collectors.
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The Coalition government has vowed to push ahead with the controversial program, that aims to claw back up to $4.5 billion in welfare overpayments in 1.7 million "compliance interventions" in coming years, despite the storm of protest from citizens who say they are being hounded for money they do not owe.
Costing the policy for the 2016 election, when it was envisaged that only 750,000 "compliance interventions" would take place, Treasury put the cost at $93.6 million.
"This policy would cost DHS [Department of Human Services] approximately $93.6 million to administer, which includes contractors and ICT requirements," the costing document reads.
"As specified in the costing request, any additional departmental costs associated with administering this policy is to be met from within the existing resources of DHS.
The much smaller Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which hears the first rounds of legal disputes between Centrelink and its clients and which finished the past financial year several hundred thousand dollars in the red, is expected to absorb "approximately $3.3 million in total costs to deliver this proposal."
The tribunal, which received more than 15600 applications for reviews of Centrelink decisions in the 12 months to July 2016, was contacted for comment but did not respond before deadline on Thursday.