The Commonwealth Ombudsman is wasting no time in starting its investigation into the Federal Government's welfare debt claw-back scheme, scheduling meetings around the country this week to quiz welfare groups about the impact of the controversial project.
The Ombudsman's office said it would be holding roundtable discussions with "stakeholders" as part of the investigation it launched earlier this month.
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ndependent MP Andrew Wilkie wrote to the Commonwealth Ombudsman Colin Neave yesterday offering to put investigators in touch with a former Department of Human Services staff member who has accused Centrelink of bungling the project.
Mr Wilkie said he had been contacted by numerous Centrelink whistleblowers who had accused the welfare agency of providing "little to no training regarding the debt recovery program".
"Officers are discouraged from looking too closely at complex cases and have been managed out of the debt recovery if too many questions are asked," Mr Wilkie's letter said.
Department of Human Services general manager Hank Jongen rejected the claims, saying that all staff dealing with the debts were properly trained.