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Public sector union calls for immediate suspension of Centrelink debt recovery scheme

10 January 2017
news.com.au

Centrelink's controversial debt recovery system must be urgently suspended, according to the public sector union which has warned staff are already struggling to cope.
The CPSU says service standards have already dropped to “unacceptable levels” following thousands of job cuts in the Department of Human Services, and now the latest scandal is piling on more pressure.

Centrelink crisis: people targeted with inaccurate debts may be able to sue

10 January 2017
Guardian

People who have been unfairly targeted with inaccurate Centrelink debts could have grounds to sue the government, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
The social services minister, Christian Porter, continued to defend the automated system on Monday, saying the debts being issued were “fairly and legitimately calculated after a very staged and methodical process”.
The commonwealth ombudsman confirmed to Guardian Australia it had initiated its own investigation of the debt recovery system.

The ombudsman has started investigating the Centrelink data-matching debacle

10 January 2017
Business Insider

After an intense week of complaints from customers, politicians, Legal Aid, the social services lobby and privacy groups, the Commonwealth ombudsman will investigate Centrelink’s debt data-matching programme.
The office of ombudsman Colin Neave on Monday afternoon confirmed it is looking into the matter.

Centrelink staff to struggle with scandal

10 January 2017
AAP

The public sector union is calling on the federal government to suspend its controversial Centrelink debt recovery system, warning the public will suffer as staff struggle to cope.
The CPSU says service standards have already dropped to unacceptable levels following thousands of job cuts in the Department of Human Services, with the latest scandal piling on more pressure.

Centrelink's debt debacle: It's going to get worse, says union

10 January 2017
The Age

Beleaguered Centrelink staff are bracing for a "perfect storm" of customer service problems in the coming weeks, heaping more misery on the welfare agency's millions of clients, according to the main workplace union.
[...]
The union says its members working on the controversial debt recovery scheme are reporting that nearly all the debts they are being asked to review turn out be bogus with cases, such as a demand for $9000 from a client who really owed just $90, pointing to a complete system failure.

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