Welfare Law in Australia

So, what next?

The Income Apportionment Fallout

Jul 29 • 

Darren O'Donovan

3

The ghost of Robodebt

Federal Court rules billions of dollars in welfare debts must be recalculated

Jul 28 • 

Christopher Rudge

4

The unexamined precursor to Robodebt

How a long-forgotten episode involving the wrongful conviction of 15,000 Australians for unproven welfare offences prompted the creation of the Robodebt…

Jul 23 • 

Christopher Rudge

4

June 2025

How Centrelink made an Australian with a disability destitute

As time went on, I learned more about how DHS deals with vulnerable people as a group… The more I learned, the more my focus expanded to encompass the…

Jun 5 • 

Darren O'Donovan

10

4

November 2024

Uncovering the Grim Realities: Excavating Unlawful Income Apportionment

Recently we learnt that income apportionment — an unlawful way of calculating welfare overpayments — goes back to the 1990s. But yesterday we learnt…

Nov 28, 2024 • 

Darren O'Donovan

 and 

Christopher Rudge

9

September 2024

A Path out of the Morass?

Reacting to FTXB; Department of Social Services

Sep 16, 2024 • 

Darren O'Donovan

 and 

Christopher Rudge

5

5

March 2024

A Generational Miscalculation

Unpicking Centrelink’s Unlawful Income Apportionment

Mar 22, 2024 • 

Darren O'Donovan

5

5

February 2024

Backlogged in bureaucracy

How do a million Centrelink claims go unprocessed?

Feb 14, 2024 • 

Darren O'Donovan

4

September 2023

Barriers to Implementing the Robodebt Royal Commission: The Audit Office Report on Welfare Timeliness and Accuracy

The Australian National Audit Office report into payment accuracy and timeliness in the welfare system was released last week. It sharply criticises the…

Sep 3, 2023 • 

Darren O'Donovan

2

August 2023

Making things right? Ombudsman's statement highlights welfare department's recalcitrance

A new Ombudsman's statement reveals how Services Australia exempted itself from notifying some 15,000 welfare recipients (out of of a total of 47,000…

Aug 28, 2023 • 

Christopher Rudge

2

1

When is an unlawful debt calculation method akin to playing soccer with boots on your hands?

Sometimes, making sense of unlawful governmental action can give rise to imperfect and whimsical analogies.

Aug 22, 2023 • 

Christopher Rudge

2

12

Lessons in Lawfulness

An analysis of the Commonwealth Ombudsman report finding more than 100,000 Centrelink files are affected by 'income apportionment' -- an unlawful method…

Aug 10, 2023 • 

Christopher Rudge

3

2