It was recently revealed in a Senate committee hearing the estates of up to 200 dead people were pursued, while victims of the debt notices said they felt bullied by the agency. The department reportedly will also review all existing alleged debts and freeze existing debt recovery actions pending the review.
The scheme matches tax office and Centrelink data to recover overpaid welfare payments. About one-fifth of initial debt notice letters sent by Centrelink included information that was later proved to be wrong.
Government Services Minister Stuart Robert says the changes are just a refinement of the system, not a major shake-up.
"Refinements are being made a number of times over the last few years, both before and after the Ombudsman's report. the government makes no apologies for fulfilling our legal obligation to collect debts with income compliance and with wider debt collection."
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