Damning Ombudsman report shows government must stop Centrelink payment suspensions
Welfare recipients and community sector organisations are calling for an urgent intervention by government to stop Centrelink payment suspensions, which cause severe financial hardship and turmoil in the lives of poor people.
Today the Commonwealth Ombudsman released the first report of its investigation into administration of the compulsory activities known as “mutual” obligations. Maladministration of the Targeted Compliance Framework has caused thousands of welfare recipients to have their Centrelink payment reduced and cancelled unlawfully, though the full scale of wrongly cut and delayed payments is not yet known. Cancellations are not the only harmful penalty. Nearly 350,00 payment suspensions were issued just in the first quarter of 2025, affecting more than 280,000 people out of the roughly 800,000 who had requirements during the period. 1
The Ombudsman’s investigation commenced in February 2025 and exposes disturbing failures on behalf of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and Services Australia that show total disregard for the lives and wellbeing of welfare recipients, which cause catastrophic consequences for hundreds of thousands of people.
Below: List of supporting organisations and comments from Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan. For background information see bit.ly/TCF-investigation-background
- The Ombudsman found that DEWR unlawfully cancelled at least 1,000 welfare recipients’ payments, including 45 people whose payments were cancelled after DEWR failed to implement its own decision to stop cancelling payments.
- The report makes clear that DEWR and Services Australia must make decisions that are not only lawful, but are also fair and reasonable, and use their discretion wherever possible to protect people from being thrown into destitution.
- The report indicates there are concerns of the potential for a much larger scale of unlawful, unfair, and unreasonable decisions being made not just by government departments but also by private job agencies who have the power to stop people’s Centrelink payments.
In the Guardian, Anderson said:
“The targeted compliance framework has had a number of different problems, and so the secretary of DEWR needs to do much more than simply look at the unlawful cancellation issue… We have some concerns as to whether the suspension process is happening fairly and reasonably,”
Those responsible for running these harmful systems should feel deep shame and be held responsible for the damage done to people in poverty. The release of this report is a small step towards justice for every person who has been subjected to abuse and mistreatment at the hands of (un)employment services providers while on a Centrelink payment, and for those who have spoken up about the abuse they experienced.
For the first time, welfare recipients may feel they are being taken seriously and their lives being treated as valuable by someone in a position of power.
Media contact: email media at antipovertycentre.org or call/message 0413 261 362 via Signal
The Antipoverty Centre, supported by organisations listed below, is calling on the government to immediately:
- Stop all Centrelink payment penalties, including suspensions, reductions and cancellations, related to compulsory activities.
- Commit to permanently removing the Targeted Compliance Framework – a program that has caused significant harm.
Melbourne-based JobSeeker recipient Cheyanne McRae said:
Employment services have caused more harm and damage than it could ever rectify. I don’t know how anyone who justifies or contributes to this issue doesn’t see a monster in the mirror every night.
Antipoverty Centre spokesperson and JobSeeker recipient Jay Coonan said:
This is only the tip of the iceberg. The release of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s report is a significant moment for every person who has been subjected to compulsory activities while on a Centrelink payment. Welfare recipients have been documenting the extreme harm caused by compulsory activities for years and consistently pushed for the government to stop harm by abolishing the cruel and infantilising rules they call “mutual” obligations. It has never been more obvious that this must happen.
Amid this scandal, outsourced employment services are still wielding payment suspensions as a weapon against welfare recipients, threatening and penalising people who can’t even afford to live.
People in the system have little ability to resist unfair and unlawful decisions or receive any compensation for harm suffered.
The government has systematically breached its duty of care in its quest to deny poor people access to threadbare financial support. The Ombudsman’s report confirms our belief that this system has been run by cowboys for years. This report only scratches the surface.
Like Robodebt, the “mutual” obligations system causes immense distress and hardship to hundreds of thousands of the poorest people across the continent. The community expects the government to ensure people who need a Centrelink payment can survive and thrive, not spend billions a year on finding ways to cut our payments while lining the pockets of grifters who run outsourced (un)employment services.
We are relieved that this report may lead to scrutiny of this industry, and hope the voices of welfare recipients may finally be heard and the suffering to end. We are the experts in our own lives.
Media contact: email media at antipovertycentre.org or call/message 0413 261 362 via Signal
- Antipoverty Centre analysis of published compliance data. Some people have received multiple penalties during this period. Figures are lower than in other periods due to an extended pause of penalties in the new year related to IT issues. Sources: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Workforce Australia Targeted Compliance Framework quarterly data; Department of Social Services, Disability Employment Services Targeted Compliance Framework monthly data. ↩︎