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The Latest Breaking News from DSS

Coalition government lacked 'empathy' for welfare recipients, focused on cost savings, Serena Wilson tells Robodebt royal commission

A former department head described the office of then-social services minister Scott Morrison as having "limited interest in advice" between 2014 and 2018.

ABC News

Former top Department of Social Services lawyer failed to share advice Robodebt was illegal, royal commission hears

Ex-government lawyer says he was "not sure if I turned my mind to that" when asked if he worried about people who received debt letters while a Centrelink worker reveals how the program was administered.

ABC News

Robodebt royal commission: the questions that remain as inquiry’s final public hearings begin

Outlines for the upcoming hearings on the Coalition’s flawed debt recovery scheme show where the investigation may be headed next

The Guardian - AU

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Taxpayer-funded review that found 'flaws' in Robodebt scheme was discontinued by Department of Human Services, royal commission told

In a deal worth almost $1 million, the Department of Human Services engaged a consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the budget savings program, but then declined to see the end result.

ABC News

Department of Social Services legal team was under 'definite pressure' from senior leadership, former in-house lawyer tells Robodebt inquiry

A former in-house legal officer tells the Robodebt royal commission that departmental cultural issues and leadership changes may have impacted the handling of the flawed scheme.

ABC News

Former Social Services official denies trying to conceal evidence during robodebt investigation

Robert Hurman tells royal commission it was ‘not my intention’ to be anything other than full and frank with the watchdog

The Guardian - AU

‘I can finally sleep at night.’ Former students, others react to boarding school closing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After hearing that Agape Boarding School was closing its doors, many former students and Missouri lawmakers took a moment Wednesday to celebrate.

Tribune News Service

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Despite findings he hurt students, Agape leader won’t go on state abuse registry for now

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Agape Boarding School’s longtime director won’t be placed on Missouri’s child abuse and neglect registry any time soon, a judge ruled Wednesday, despite several findings that he harmed students.

Tribune News Service

Scott Morrison tells Robodebt inquiry he was given 'very explicit advice' scheme didn't need legislation

Scott Morrison's evidence to the Robodebt inquiry becomes fiery as Commissioner Catherine Holmes asks the former prime minister if he understands parliamentary privilege.

ABC News

Centrelink worker recounts ‘callous indifference’ from superiors after raising alarm about robodebt

Colleen Taylor tells royal commission that staff were told ‘not to interrogate’ injustices facing welfare recipients

The Guardian - AU

‘I don’t know’: Marise Payne unsure why advice for legal change to robodebt disappeared from policy plan

‘Essentially responsibility is always borne by ministers,’ the then human services minister tells royal commission into doomed scheme

The Guardian - AU

The Australian government had multiple chances to press ‘stop’ on robodebt – but didn’t

Legal advisers said again and again that the automated debt recovery scheme was unlawful. New evidence shows how the objections were overcome

The Guardian - AU

Former bureaucrat says 'give me a break', denies claims she misled watchdog over Robodebt

Catherine Halbert was questioned over her correspondence with the federal watchdog, in which she said she believed changes had been made in 2015 to ensure the proposal that became Robodebt was lawful.

ABC News

Senior official denies ‘manipulating the truth’ to ombudsman over legality of robodebt scheme

DSS witness faces scrutiny at royal commission over involvement in robodebt plans and evidence given to watchdog’s 2017 investigation

The Guardian - AU

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The Guardian - AU

Former social services official told to ‘tone down’ robodebt legal concerns, inquiry hears

Andrew Whitecross says he fiercely criticised the proposal and questioned its legality in the scheme’s initial plan

ABC News

Bureaucrat told to 'tone down' Robodebt criticism, royal commission hears

Andrew Whitecross, then an employee at the Department of Human Services, agrees the policy which became Robodebt was a "radical departure" from compliance at the time.

The Guardian - AU

Robodebt royal commission told ‘misrepresentation may have made its way into the cabinet’

Bureaucrats from March 2015 insisted in documents that scheme would ‘not change’ how welfare overpayments were calculated, inquiry hears

The Independent UK

Who is protecting the Prince and Princess of Wales when they visit Boston?

Security of the senior royals is a top priority on any overseas trip

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ABC News

The Robodebt royal commission has wrapped up for now. Here are some of the key takeaways

The Robodebt royal commission hears startling evidence with senior bureaucrats admitting they didn't follow legal advice, were too busy to raise concerns or didn't think it was their responsibility. Here's how the two weeks of hearings wrapped up.

The Guardian - AU

Conspiracy or stuff up? Robodebt royal commission probes how far up the chain of command blame falls

The first two weeks of hearings into the unlawful welfare scheme sought to answer a central question: how could this happen?

ABC News

Former Department of Human Services secretary tells royal commission she had a 'lack of curiosity' regarding Robodebt lawfulness

The top bureaucrat at the department responsible for the unlawful Robodebt scheme tells the royal commission it was a "significant failure of public administration".

ABC News

Finn Pratt confirmed Robodebt's lawfulness despite not taking legal advice, commission hears

The former Department of Social Services secretary signed a letter to the Commonwealth Ombudsman in 2017 saying the scheme was legal, despite not seeing any legal or policy advice or knowing how it worked, a royal commission hears.

The Guardian - AU

Robodebt likely a ‘stuff up’ rather than a ‘conspiracy’, former department boss tells inquiry

Royal commission also shown key 2015 document confirming Scott Morrison’s request for welfare ‘compliance’ measures

ABC News

Senior bureaucrat Serena Wilson admits in Robodebt inquiry to breaching public servants' code of conduct

The inquiry hears Ms Wilson received advice in 2015 showing the illegal income-averaging proposal that became Robodebt was unlawful but it still reached then-social services minister Scott Morrison.

The Guardian - AU

Robodebt royal commission: official says she failed to tell Scott Morrison scheme could be unlawful

Serena Wilson says she lacked the ‘courage’ to speak up after being made aware of legal advice

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