A dozen current and former senior public servants, among them former department heads Kathryn Campbell and Renee Leon, were discovered to have violated their code of conduct in connection to the infamous robodebt scheme. An investigation revealed that 16 public servants, including some current employees who were highlighted in a sealed section of the robodebt royal commission's final report, were referred to the public service commissioner for further examination.
The commission's report, released on a Friday morning, detailed that 12 current and former public servants and previous agency heads had committed breaches of the code on a total of 97 occasions. Sanctions were implemented against four current employees who breached the code, which included reprimands, fines, and demotions. However, the commissioner noted that some referred individuals had retired or resigned, making it impossible to enforce sanctions against them.
The robodebt scheme, a system designed for evaluating and recovering Centrelink debts under the governance of Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, and Scott Morrison, was ultimately declared unlawful after facing legal challenges. The Australian government was involved in legal proceedings over the scheme and agreed to a $1.8 billion repayment and compensation settlement through a class action lawsuit. Commissioner Gordon de Brouwer expressed apologies on behalf of the public service for the shortcomings exposed through the robodebt inquiry.
The breaches identified encompassed a range of misconducts, such as failing to act honestly and with integrity, neglecting to demonstrate care and diligence, providing misleading information, and not upholding public service values. Former secretary Kathryn Campbell and Renee Leon were specifically pinpointed for their roles in the scheme. Campbell was found to have committed 12 breaches, including failure to seek legal advice, insufficient response to criticism, and creating an environment that deterred scrutiny of robodebt. On the other hand, Leon, while serving as secretary, was identified with 13 breaches, which included misrepresentations of legal positions, delaying informing the minister, and neglecting to promptly act upon advice regarding the scheme.
In response to the findings, Renee Leon defended her actions in the robodebt scandal, asserting that she sought legal advice and worked to end the program promptly once doubts were raised. She highlighted her efforts to convince the government to cease the program and expressed disappointment with the commission's decision. The investigation emphasized that failures in leadership had cascading effects on junior staff, impacting the organizational culture where employees were discouraged from providing comprehensive advice or highlighting risks. The commission acknowledged the emotional toll on public servants subject to code inquiries and pledged to avoid exacerbating the harm caused by the robodebt scheme.