Centrelink should consider waiving 100,000 debts that may be unlawful, ombudsman report finds

Watchdog says Services Australia and the Department of Social Services ‘did not act promptly’ to address the issue and calls on agencies to apologise

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Centrelink should consider forgiving all 100,000 debts that may have been affected by unlawful income apportionment, the commonwealth ombudsman has said in its second and final report into the controversy.

The ombudsman found that Services Australia and the Department of Social Services “did not act promptly” to address the issue and it “expected more action to have been taken” given the agencies had known about the problem for three years.

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