Two robodebt officials engaged in serious corrupt conduct, Nacc finds, but Scott Morrison cleared | Centrelink debt recovery
Two former public servants sent to the anti-corruption watchdog over robodebt by the royal commission were found to be involved in serious corruption, while former prime minister Scott Morrison was acquitted.
The long-awaited report into possible corruption related to the illegal income averaging scheme, published on Wednesday, covered six referrals made by royal commissioner Catherine Holmes in 2023, which were restricted from public view in a sealed section.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation, which began in February 2025 after an independent reviewer said it should have happened, examined the actions of five former public servants and the former prime minister regarding the development, approval and implementation of the automatic debit scheme in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Attorney General Michelle Rowland thanked NACC and said the federal government would table the previously sealed section.
Former human services department official Mark Withnell deliberately misled Department of Social Services officials during the preparation of his cabinet presentation in 2015, the commission found.
Former social services assistant secretary Serena Wilson was also found to have been involved in serious acts of corruption by deliberately misleading the Commonwealth Ombudsman during an investigation in 2017.
Nacc deputy commissioner Kylie Kilgour said the release of the report “provides transparency into how these conclusions were reached”.
The other four names cited by Nacc but not found to have engaged in any corrupt conduct included Morrison, Kathryn Campbell, Annette Musolino and Catherine Halbert.
The report found that Morrison’s failure to identify misleading advice from the department was due to the failure of the social and human services departments to advise both him and other ministers that new laws were needed.
Guardian Australia has contacted Morrison for a response.
Campbell was one of two people selected in 2024 by the Australian Public Service Commission, which found twelve public servants, including Campbell and former department head Renée Leon, breached the code of conduct 97 times during their participation in the robodebt programme.
More details to follow
