The Employment department on Wednesday apologised for its bug riddled and “dead ends” technology systems that have for years been incorrectly penalising hundreds of jobseekers, including 10 that died after incurring incorrect penalties.
But Department secretary Natalie James, who says she is no longer satisfied some of her computer programs are acting lawfully, will not suspend the wider compliance framework.
“I’ve got real concerns and I’m asking the department to undertake interrogation in a range of different ways. And so, I need to have sufficient information to make a decision… I can’t not administer the [Social Security] Act. I can’t not make decisions that the Act requires me to make.”
Ms James told a Senate Estimates hearing that the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) had repaid $1.2 million to almost 1300 people that may have been illegally penalised because of IT faults that went undetected or were misunderstood.
As revealed by The Saturday Paper, 10 of the participants that were penalised have since died and dozens more could not be contacted, while the supply of jobseekers to private employment providers may also have influenced the government’s response.
The tech issues that caused the incorrect penalties began in 2018 and were only recognised and fixed by the government in 2023 and 2024.
The faults have also raised concerns about a more systemic issue – the lawfulness of decisions to cancel or suspend payments under the Targeted Compliance Framework that advocates say does more harm than good.
“We now have a number of examples where the system is not operating in alignment with the legislative framework and associated policies,” Ms James said.
“This is a framework that can lead to decisions which have a profound impact on people’s experience of the employment services system and critically, their social security payment.”
The legality of almost 1,000 payment cancellations between 2022 and 2024 are now in doubt and Ms James quietly suspended cancellations last year, but DEWR is yet to repay this cohort eight months on.
Pressed on why she has not also suspended the Targeted Compliance Framework that the bug riddled technology operationalises, Ms James said she has not yet formed a view that other parts are illegal or not reflecting policy.
“Absent forming that view I am actually obliged to continue to administer the system,” she said.
That decision hinges on the results of DEWR’s now daily assurance activities, an independent review of the technology systems by Deloitte, a legal review and an Ombudsman’s inquiry, all of which are ongoing.
The technology assurance review will conclude in May. Ms James said it has already identified several “dead ends” in the technology system and a lack process documentation. She said several of issues will require remediation “to ensure the integrity and accountability of this system”.
The secretary “unreservedly” apologised for the lack of confidence in the system, the department’s lack of communication and the impact on its participants.
“I do apologise for the impact this has had on people. People are entitled to expect better from the government.”
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