Question Time AU

Bill Debate · Second Reading

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Responding to Robodebt) Bill 2025; Second Reading

House of Representatives · Monday 25 August 2025

Official Hansard for this day (APH) · Read this debate on OpenAustralia

At a glance

Independent members Andrew Wilkie and Helen Haines moved and seconded the bill to address outstanding recommendations from the royal commission into robodebt. They argued that legislative reform was necessary to prevent the recurrence of automated debt recovery errors and to ensure social security recipients were treated with dignity. The bill introduces new duties for Services Australia, mandates human oversight for significant automated decisions, and reinstates a six-year limit on debt recovery. Both speakers emphasised that current administrative practices still caused harm to vulnerable Australians and that the government had failed to enact sufficient safeguards.

Summary in reported speech - not a transcript. AI-generated, so check the official record before quoting.

How the debate unfolded

Opened the debate

Andrew Wilkie (Clark) (Independent) Ind

Wilkie argued that the government had failed to enact significant legislative reform following the royal commission into robodebt, despite acknowledging some progress in cultural change within Services Australia. Wilkie stated that the bill aimed to remedy this by implementing recommendation 10.1, which requires policies to be designed with an emphasis on the people they serve. Wilkie highlighted new duties for the secretary to avoid stigmatising language, ensure sensitive engagement, and explain processes in plain language. Wilkie noted that the bill included guidelines for automation, requiring human review for decisions likely to cause distress and flagging computer-generated decisions to recipients. Wilkie also pointed to changes in debt waiver provisions for administrative errors or domestic violence cases and the reinstatement of a six-year limit on debt recovery.