Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Government Services. The government has given an absolute undertaking that debt recovery in the Townsville area hasn't commenced. Why was that absolute undertaking given when people in Townsville are currently receiving debt recovery notices as recently as this month, including this $2,000 robo-debt issued on 8 July?

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. We as a government are committed to supporting people impacted by natural disasters, and the Far North Queensland floods are no different. During natural disasters such as cyclones, bushfires or floods, it's routine practice for the Department of Human Services to temporarily suspend all compliance activities within an affected local area. This occurred in New South Wales and Victoria after the devastating bushfires earlier this year, as well as in previous natural disasters under governments of all persuasions. I think we'd all agree it's the right thing to do. As a general rule, this suspension is in place for six months, unless extended. I have asked the department to extend the absence of debt recovery in Northern Queensland for the foreseeable future until I am satisfied that the region has recovered.

For the benefit of the House, when the department sends a notification to a citizen, this is what the notification says, and I will table it so we're all clear exactly what communication is sent to Australians. It says: 'We need you to check and update your past income information. We need to make sure that you received the right amount of payments from us in the past. The ATO has given us information about how much income you earnt from work in the past. The information from the ATO is different to the information you've reported to us. We need your help to check and update your information. You need to do this even if you haven't received any Centrelink payments for a while.'

It then has a nice big black box: 'What you need to do'. 'You have 28 days from when you receive this letter to update your information. Over the page, you'll find the information we have received from the ATO. Please check this carefully and then go to humanservices.gov.au/confirmincome, select start here, or go to myGov. Documents like bank slips or bank statements will help you do this. We understand you may not be able to get to these quickly. That's okay, you can ask for more time if you need it. If you don't check and update your information, we'll use the details we already have, including the information from the ATO. This might mean you have to pay back money. If you need help, go to humanservices.gov.au/checkpastincome or call us' on a specific number.

I table that document for the benefit of the House so everyone can be quite clear as to the type of information that the department sends out. It is sensitive. It doesn't seek to raise a debt in the first instance. It simply says to Australians: 'There is a discrepancy between what your assessment is and what the ATO has told us, and please call us. I reiterate to all Australians, if you receive a letter like that, call the department, because the department is here to assist.