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The Latest Breaking News from Department of Human Services

Department of Social Services legal team was under 'definite pressure' from senior leadership, former in-house lawyer tells Robodebt inquiry

A former in-house legal officer tells the Robodebt royal commission that departmental cultural issues and leadership changes may have impacted the handling of the flawed scheme.

ABC News

Civil rights groups sue Maryland agency over medications prescribed to foster children

BALTIMORE — Civil rights organizations and advocates representing three Maryland teens are challenging the state’s oversight of medical records for foster children receiving psychotropic drugs, according to a new federal lawsuit filed this week.

Tribune News Service

Welfare scandal sharpens contrasts in long-poor Mississippi

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is supposed to help some of the poorest people, and Mississippi has long been one of the poorest states in the U.S. But a welfare misspending scandal in Republican-led Mississippi has ensnared high-profile people, including retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre

The Independent UK

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How Morrison launched Australia’s ‘strong welfare cop’ – and the pain robodebt left in its wake

Public servants had legal advice saying the robodebt proposal was unlawful long before Scott Morrison announced it. How was it never delivered to him?

The Guardian - AU

Boss 'very angry' after manager suggested declaring 'major response' into Robodebt, royal commission told

A former compliance manager tells the Robodebt royal commission her suggestion to declare a major response into Robodebt made her boss "very angry".

ABC News

Scott Morrison leaned on his faith in his department to explain the ‘critical failure’ of robodebt

Former PM’s verbose approach in stand meant it took an eternity to establish his position that he didn’t see vital legal advice on the scheme and can’t say why

The Guardian - AU

Scott Morrison tells Robodebt inquiry he was given 'very explicit advice' scheme didn't need legislation

Scott Morrison's evidence to the Robodebt inquiry becomes fiery as Commissioner Catherine Holmes asks the former prime minister if he understands parliamentary privilege.

ABC News

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Centrelink worker recounts ‘callous indifference’ from superiors after raising alarm about robodebt

Colleen Taylor tells royal commission that staff were told ‘not to interrogate’ injustices facing welfare recipients

The Guardian - AU

Grand jury finds sexual assault, abuse and cover-ups at Pennsylvania juvenile detention center

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating conditions inside Delaware County’s youth detention facility — which was emptied in March 2021 after allegations of rampant abuse were raised — has found systemic problems and a “dangerous absence of oversight” enabled violence, sexual abuse and other maltreatment.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Tax officials who raised concerns about robodebt were ‘fobbed off’, inquiry hears

Royal commission also hears ATO stonewalled the media despite misgivings that data it provided for robodebt was not ethical

The Guardian - AU

Former bureaucrat says 'give me a break', denies claims she misled watchdog over Robodebt

Catherine Halbert was questioned over her correspondence with the federal watchdog, in which she said she believed changes had been made in 2015 to ensure the proposal that became Robodebt was lawful.

ABC News

Senior public servant under scrutiny at robodebt inquiry appointed head of Aukus project office

Former head of Department of Human Services Kathryn Campbell has come under extensive questioning at the royal commission into robodebt

The Guardian - AU

Bureaucrat told to 'tone down' Robodebt criticism, royal commission hears

Andrew Whitecross, then an employee at the Department of Human Services, agrees the policy which became Robodebt was a "radical departure" from compliance at the time.

ABC News

Draft Robodebt proposal to Scott Morrison was a 'watering down' of legal advice

Emails between Department of Human Services and Department of Social Services officials showed the language around the Robodebt scheme had been softened.

The Canberra Times

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The Guardian - AU

Robodebt royal commission told ‘misrepresentation may have made its way into the cabinet’

Bureaucrats from March 2015 insisted in documents that scheme would ‘not change’ how welfare overpayments were calculated, inquiry hears

ABC News

Former department head concerned not enough effort made to contact people who had debt notices, Robodebt inquiry hears

The former head of the Department of Human Services is asked if she cared more about people engaging with the welfare system than whether their debts had been inaccurately calculated, the Robodebt inquiry hears.

The Guardian - AU

Scott Morrison’s lawyers say his ‘reputation is on the line’ over robodebt royal commission testimony

Counsel for former PM says he should be able to refer to secret cabinet documents when giving evidence

Chicago Sun-Times

State of Mississippi revises lawsuit against Brett Favre

The Mississippi Department of Human Services made a new demand of up to $5 million against Favre and a university sports foundation, saying money from an anti-poverty program was improperly used to pay for a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi.

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The Independent UK

Mississippi revises demands on Favre in welfare lawsuit

The Mississippi Department of Human Services is changing its demands against retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre in a lawsuit that seeks repayment of misspent welfare money

The Guardian - AU

Officials given chance to ‘effectively co-write’ report into department’s handling of robodebt, inquiry told

Former manager at DHS testifies that it was ‘useful’ if the department which administered debt recovery scheme could ‘influence’ watchdog’s language

The Independent UK

Favre asks to be dismissed from Mississippi welfare lawsuit

Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is asking to be removed from a civil lawsuit by the state of Mississippi that seeks to recover millions of dollars in misspent welfare money that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. An attorney for Favre filed papers Monday…

ABC News

The Robodebt royal commission has wrapped up for now. Here are some of the key takeaways

The Robodebt royal commission hears startling evidence with senior bureaucrats admitting they didn't follow legal advice, were too busy to raise concerns or didn't think it was their responsibility. Here's how the two weeks of hearings wrapped up.

The Guardian - AU

Conspiracy or stuff up? Robodebt royal commission probes how far up the chain of command blame falls

The first two weeks of hearings into the unlawful welfare scheme sought to answer a central question: how could this happen?

ABC News

Former Department of Human Services secretary tells royal commission she had a 'lack of curiosity' regarding Robodebt lawfulness

The top bureaucrat at the department responsible for the unlawful Robodebt scheme tells the royal commission it was a "significant failure of public administration".

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Judge orders state Human Services to accept Philly teens from chaotic, overcrowded detention center

PHILADELPHIA — A Commonwealth Court judge has ordered Pennsylvania state officials to take custody of 15 children currently living at a juvenile detention facility in Philadelphia that the city says is dangerously overcrowded and understaffed. They’re among 135 statewide on a waiting list to receive court-ordered treatment at state placements…

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