Hundreds of thousands of Centrelink payments cancelled illegally, Albanese government admits
Summary
The Australian government admitted it illegally cancelled around 300,000 Centrelink welfare payments due to a glitch in an automated system related to job-seeking rules. The cancellations happened before the legally required 28-day waiting period, affecting people who should have kept their payments.Key Facts
- About 300,000 Centrelink payments were cancelled illegally between 2020 and 2024.
- The cancellations happened because an automated system wrongly ended payments after people missed compulsory job-related activities.
- Legally, payments must not be cancelled until 28 days after a missed job activity, but cancellations happened before this.
- Many cancellations affected people who still needed payments, not just those who found work.
- The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations paused payment cancellations in July 2024 due to this issue.
- Economic Justice Australia first revealed the problem and says about 20% of affected people may get help to fix it.
- The government plans to change how employment services work to better support job seekers.
- Some groups worry that automatic systems do not apply proper judgment and harm people unfairly.
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