Royal commission hears Paul Menzies-McVey was awaiting ‘definitive advice’ from the solicitor general on robodebt’s legality
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A top departmental lawyer has told a royal commission he didn’t turn his mind to the consequences for welfare recipients of continuing the robodebt scheme while awaiting further legal advice, despite what he conceded was “undesirable uncertainty” about its legality throughout 2019.
The commission is investigating why and how the unlawful Centrelink debt recovery scheme was established in 2015 and ran until November 2019, ending in a $1.8bn settlement with hundreds of thousands of victims.
Continue reading…Royal commission hears Paul Menzies-McVey was awaiting ‘definitive advice’ from the solicitor general on robodebt’s legalityGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA top departmental lawyer has told a royal commission he didn’t turn his mind to the consequences for welfare recipients of continuing the robodebt scheme while awaiting further legal advice, despite what he conceded was “undesirable uncertainty” about its legality throughout 2019.The commission is investigating why and how the unlawful Centrelink debt recovery scheme was established in 2015 and ran until November 2019, ending in a $1.8bn settlement with hundreds of thousands of victims.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading…