Courage and tenacity: The story of everyday Australians versus “crude and cruel” robodebt scheme

Powerful new SBS series 'The People vs Robodebt' tells the devastating human story of the illegal scheme, which affected almost half a million victims.

Deanna Amato, whose court case proved Robodebt was illegal.

Death, indignity, destruction: the price of a half-baked, reckless government productivity measure.

Nearly a decade has passed since robodebt was introduced, removing humans from 'human services' in favour of an automated welfare compliance system. This system wrongfully calculated debts, holding nearly half a million vulnerable Australians hostage to a system that was later found to be illegal. That finding is the heart and soul of The People vs Robodebt, which not only traces the chronology of a national disaster but reveals the enormous courage and tenacity of the people who had lost so much or had so much on the line in coming forward: parents, children, government employees, contractors, victims and advocates.

Calling The People vs Robodebt a documentary would sell it short. Interviews move from lawyers and journalists in high-rise buildings to suburban homes. Victims’ experiences are brought to life through re-enactments of events before the debt-disaster and during it, most movingly the life of Rhys Cauzzo, who took his own life as a consequence of mounting debt and incessant pressure from Centrelink. We see him at work in a florist shop, on the phone to his mother, opening the letter of demand for over $10,000. These are insights we need to see and feel, and a pacy and compassionate account of the robodebt disaster owes its mastery to a well-seasoned team of documentary makers teamed with a drama writer: executive producer Michael Cordell (Go Back to Where You Came From, Bondi Rescue, Revolution School), Andrew Farrell (Working Class Boy, Murder in the Outback), supervising executive producer Paula Bycroft (Con Girl, Homicide with Ron Iddles, The Good Cop), director Ben Lawrence (Ithaca, Ghosthunter), and drama writer, Jane Allen (In Our Blood, Janet King, Troppo).

Veteran public servant Colleen Taylor, who warned her superiors from the start that robodebt was wrong, is among those appearing in the documentary. Credit: Simon Morris

Like hundreds of thousands of people, robodebt also came for me with relentless automated messages updating me about the money I owed the government. It was a tough period. Nobody wants to be dependent on government payments to pay rent and afford basics like food and electricity. The debts seemed inexplicable, but I assumed they must be right. The worst part of the entire experience was the immense sense of isolation and guilt: I'd put myself in this position to owe money to the government, and I must be the only one.

Those three years are still a raw wound. Between 2016 and 2019, robodebt drove people to bankruptcy, divorce and suicide, and merely six years later, there is no absolute surety that this couldn't happen again. The near-messianic embrace of artificial intelligence to make systems more efficient threatens to expose Australians to automated, ill-equipped computers instead of accountable human beings. I rang Centrelink, sought explanations, and on several occasions (after an hour of hold music each time), a human would express their confusion at the basis for these debt notices. As recounted in The People vs Robodebt, the extent of whistleblower protest and warnings is bittersweet. There were numerous red flags for former prime minister Scott Morrison (the social services minister between 2014 and 2015), former government services minister Stuart Robert, former human services minister Alan Tudge, and former Department of Human Services secretary Kathryn Campbell.

After the Royal Commission into Robodebt, which dubbed the scheme "crude and cruel", all four ministers were criticised for their lack of accountability before, during and after their scheme was in action. Campbell was found to have halted efforts by her acting secretary, Barry Jackson, to seek legal advice from the Australian Government Solicitor on Robodebt. The Commission found that Campbell instructed DHS workers to ignore Jackson's request, lest the illegality of the scheme be exposed publicly.

But those high-profile names and faces have had more than their share of the spotlight and opportunity to defend themselves. It is the neighbours, colleagues, friends and strangers who sacrificed their time, resources and jobs to rally against Robodebt who are the focus of The People vs Robodebt. They are the blueprint for how we do democracy - after all, it dies in silence.

Jenny Miller in 'The People vs Robodebt'. Credit: Simon Morris

We see and hear from Deanna Amato, whose courageous court case proved the illegality of Robodebt. Victim of the scheme, Sandra Bevan. Jenny Miller, whose son, Rhys Cauzzo, committed suicide under the immense stress and trauma of Robodebt demands. Some of the most fascinating interviews are with those inside the machine, or who take a magnifying glass to its workings. Centrelink worker Jeannie-Marie Blake risked her income and her future employment as a whistleblower. Colleen Taylor expressed her fears to government superiors that the scheme was backfiring. Chris Knaus was one of the first journalists to expose the problematic scheme to the public. While none of these people saw themselves as heroes, their actions – in tandem – ultimately broke the scheme and forced the federal government to face investigation and international disrepute.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (up to age 25).  More information about mental health is available at Beyond Blue.

All 3 episodes of The People vs Robodebt will premiere on Wednesday 24 September on SBS On Demand. Episodes air weekly on SBS starting Wednesday 24 September at 7.30pm AEST.

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The People vs Robodebt

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