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Senate report in to Centrelink's automated debt recovery system due

21 June 2017
Fran Kelly
ABC Radio National

A senate inquiry in to Centrelink's controversial robo-debt recovery scheme will reveal its findings later today.

The automated scheme was implemented in July last year, and matches information from the Australian Taxation Office with Centrelink records to identify possible welfare overpayments.

The system has attracted controversy, with the acting Ombudsman finding the system lack transparency, and treats come customers unfairly.

Cassandra Goldie, the CEO of Australian Council of Social Service said, "We're extremely concerned the impact this has been having on people, both emotionally and also financially."

"The reality is the fundamental flaws in the system have been addressed by the government despite repeated calls by us and many others across the community."

"The fundamental issue here is the calculation of the amount of money the government says a person owes is still being automated. There's not human involvement associated with it."

She said the government is still putting the responsibility for people to prove their own innocence.

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