Pressure is growing on the Turnbull government over the Centrelink debt-recovery controversy, after the Commonwealth Ombudsman launched a wide-ranging investigation amid calls for the system to be shut down.
[...]
"Mr Neave has commenced an own-motion investigation into the matter and is considering the issues on a systemic level," a spokeswoman said.
"The Ombudsman conducts own-motions in private and, accordingly, cannot comment on any specific details.
"The Ombudsman will make no further comments at this stage."
The investigation is expected to look at the matching of Centrelink income data and information held by the Australian Taxation Office and other agencies, as well as complaints-handling processes and communication methods used by the welfare agency.