Hundreds of thousands of people affected by the cruel Robodebt debacle will be relieved to know the NACC is now taking the matter seriously.
The relevant definition of corruption is that a person engages in corrupt conduct if:
- they are a public official and they breach public trust
- they do something that adversely affects a public official’s honest or impartial exercise of powers or performance of official duties
- they engage in improper acts or omissions in their official capacity
In June last year the NACC announced it would not pursue the six individuals referred by the Robodebt Royal Commission because public service investigations were being carried out.
Public pressure and the fact that public service robodebt taskforce found 12 public servants, including the former department heads Kathryn Campbell and Renée Leon, had breached the code of conduct 97 times during their involvement in the robodebt program.
A class action was settled, with taxpayers footing the $751 million bill for unlawfully claimed debts and $112 million in compensation to approximately 400,000 people.