Paying record payments to the victims of the Australian Welfare Plan “illegal”

Hundreds of thousands of Australians who were forced to pay the welfare debts created by an illegal automatic system that won the largest batches in the country’s history.

Known as “Robodebt”, the plan was told by mistake the beneficiaries of social welfare that they were paid and demanded that these debts be paid, which often had never existed.

In 2020, a successful collective action led to a $ 1.8 billion settlement (876 million pounds; $ 1.2 billion) for the victims of the plan – some of whom took their lives.

However, the group’s lawyers resumed more money after new evidence showed that the liberal national coalition government officials at the time knew that the plan was “illegal” but they continued anyway.

On Thursday, the current Labor Party government announced that it would settle on this claim, and hand over an additional $ 475 million as compensation for the damage caused by the illegal and immoral “Robodebt and and Unlawful”.

Other $ 13.5 million has been allocated for legal costs and up to $ 60 million to manage the compensation system.

“This is the just and fair thing,” said Attorney General Michel Roland, adding that it reflects the damage caused by thousands of Australians who are weak under the “catastrophic” scheme.

Collective lawsuit lawyers said that additional compensation is to “verify health” for the victims.

“Today also is also another excitement of the principle that Australia is still a nation governed by laws and not by kings – laws that bear even the government,” Peter Gordon told reporters, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC.

One of the victims, Velicity Bot, told reporters that he was a sweet moment and passed, because some of the victims lost family members, passed the divorce or became bankrupt.

“Impact mental health issues that arose from this … We can never compensate for it.”

It is estimated that more than 440,000 people were affected by the illegal system, which lasted from 2016 to 2019 under the conservative government of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison. It was aimed at saving about $ 1.7 billion.

He was the affected Some of the poorest countryAnd Historical investigation I heard the scheme led to at least three suicides.

The Royal Committee – the most powerful forms of public investigations in Australia – in the scheme that ended in mid -2013 and attracted hundreds of public presentations.

I have heard how the algorithm used to determine whether someone has been paid over it on defective accounts by calculating the average person’s income every two weeks.

This income number has been used to determine the amount of luxury, but the account led to errors if the social welfare recipient makes irregular hours from a week to a week.

The committee also discovered new evidence that showed senior public officials who designed and managed the plan that it was illegal.

This prompted the lawyers who deal with the collective action to resume the original settlement, and demand more compensation due to “the lack of difference in the public office.”

In total, the recession scheme reaches about $ 2.4 billion. This includes $ 1.76 billion in the debts that were wiped and money is returned to victims who paid false debts.

The announcement of Thursday for an additional amount of $ 475 million in compensation is in addition to an amount of $ 112 million, which was granted in 2020, which means a total of $ 587 million.

The largest batches previously were $ 500 million for survivors 2009 Black Bush fires in Victoria – The worst ever in Australia – 173 people were killed, according to Nine.