Kathryn Campbell

Beginning in 2016, while Campbell was the Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DHS), the DHS welfare program Centrelink became embroiled in a debt recovery controversy, commonly referred to as Robodebt. The Robodebt scandal has been described in the media as the "defining controversy" of Campbell's public service career, and she has been a focus of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.[14] Robodebt was the subject of an investigation by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, two Senate committee inquiries, as well as the Royal Commission, all of which Campbell was required to testify at.

Appearing before the first Senate committee inquiry in March 2017, which the controversial program was still active, Campbell shifted the blame to victims of Robodebt saying "they had not engaged" with Centrelink and this was the reason for false calculations and the ongoing debt chasing for over 500,000 Australians; all of those served with debts have since had their debts removed and voided.[15][16][17] Campbell stated "The view of the department is that there are a number of refinements that need to be made—those refinements are being made—and that the system should continue."[18] Reporting on Campbell's testimony, political commentator Jack Waterford placed considerable blame on Campbell, saying "she put pleasing ministers ahead of duty to the public, the public interest and public service values.”[19]

At the second Senate hearing in July 2020, Campbell controversially denied that people had died by suicide as a result of receiving the unlawful automated debt recovery notices, refusing to accept that suicides attributed to the scheme were in fact caused by it. The mother of one man who died by suicide after receiving a Robodebt notice responded by saying "I wanted five minutes with [Campbell] for her to tell me how she knows my son better than I did."[20][21]

Testifying at the Royal Commission in November and December, 2022, Campbell admitted to her "lack of curiosity" over advice related to the legality of the scheme, and admitted that the scheme was a significant failure of public administration, though refused to consider it as a "massive" failure.[22][23] In her third and final testimony on 7 March, 2023, Campbell admitted it was her Department's "significant oversight" that led to cabinet being misled, but she denied it was deliberate.[24][25]

Former Secretary of DHS, Renee Leon took over the DHS role from Campbell in September 2017. Her evidence to the Royal Commission included her reporting of the unlawfulness of the scheme to the Minister, Stuart Robert. She described “the deep cultural problems at senior levels at the department when she took over from Campbell” and how staff were very fearful of Campbell and “the reward and punishment culture” that prevailed. Leon testified that there were wider cultural problems within the department included aggression and public shaming promoted by Campbell.[26][27][28] Leon told the inquiry of how she previously had a "collegiate" relationship with Campbell. However, she soon became aware that Campbell was deliberately undermining her with Robert, the then responsible Minister. Leon described the conduct of Campbell and other senior officials as malfeasance.[29] Leon testified that her predecessor “took credit” for the Robodebt scheme. Further, Leon testified that Campbell was “rewarded” for being more responsive to the coalition government’s policy agenda than other department secretaries, and that she, and many others, believed that Campbell’s elevation to the role of the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade “was a very big reward for someone who had no background in diplomacy.”[30]

Timothy Ffrench, who was chief counsel at DHS, testified that Campbell was largely to blame for a culture that meant the Robodebt scheme’s legality was not checked earlier. Ffrench further testified that he also advised the then DHS secretary, Leon, on 17 November 2019 of her exposure to a claim of misfeasance in public office if the scheme continued. Ffrench said Leon suspended the scheme the day after he sent her that advice, on 18 November, 2023.[31]

Louise Macleod, a former Senior Assistant Ombudsman, testified that in the undertaking of the Ombudsman's investigation, she felt that DHS had “misled” her through it not providing her with crucial documents that suggested the scheme was unlawful. It has been speculated that the failure to provide those documents to the Ombudsman investigation was a direction from DHS Secretary Campbell. Testimonies from the then acting Ombudsman, Richard Glenn, and the current Ombudsman Iain Anderson, confirmed that DHS under Campbell deliberately misled the Ombudsman's investigations by withholding key documents that flagged issues with the scheme's legality.[32][33][34]