More than 15,000 Australians were wrongfully convicted for social security offences between 1991 and 2011. My research, out today in the @UNSWLawJournal, reveals how this happened – and why it's the forgotten precursor to Robodebt. 🧵.#auslaw #auspol #welfarelaw

@SydneyLawSchool @SydneyHealthLaw @Sydney_Uni @SquigglyRick @maximumwelfare @Paul_Karp @cait__kelly @senatorpennyqld @tanya_plibersek.

📖 Read my full statement here: Read the open-access research article here: @SydneyLawSchool @SydneyHealthLaw @Sydney_Uni #WelfareLaw #PublicPolicy #SocialJustice.

The #Robodebt Royal Commission revealed a broken welfare system. My research shows the dysfunction runs deeper and older than we knew. With scandals like income apportionment now under review, the federal government must ensure no more lives are defined by welfare injustice.

This historic injustice demands attention. I'm calling for:.▫️ A Govt-led review to find those affected.▫️ A simple process to quash convictions.▫️ A compensation scheme.▫️ An Australian Criminal Cases Review Commission.

This is Australia's UK Post Office Horizon scandal, but without the response. In the UK, the Horizon scandal led to mass exonerations. In Australia? Systemic inaction. We've put an impossible burden on individuals to challenge convictions they don't even know are unsound.

The human cost is likely to have been devastating. The cohort was predominantly vulnerable women on parenting payments. My research estimates over 750 people were likely imprisoned based on these wrongful convictions, with thousands more facing stigma and barriers to work.

This is not an opinion. The High Court of Australia confirmed this legal failure in landmark rulings in 2011 (Poniatowska) and 2013 (Keating). Nevertheless, the 15,000 wrongful convictions were never reviewed or overturned. They were simply forgotten.

I've called it 'the omissions affair'. For two decades, people were prosecuted for 'failing to report' their income. The problem? Prosecutors systematically failed to prove a legal duty to report existed. 15,000 people were convicted for offences 'unknown to law'.

@maximumwelfare @not_my_debt … ie, payslips rather than income records). The dissentient, Kennett J, found that the fallback evidence could not substantiate these debts. Kennett J, the former Deputy President of the AAT whose reasons went into great detail, would have found they were mostly unremediable.

@maximumwelfare @not_my_debt when these historic debts were originally calculated unlawfully. But it is also a fair policy to adopt here, as the now confirmed-as-lawful ‘recalculation’ of these debts will depend only on what even the majority in Chaplin accepted was the less preferable fallback evidence. ….

@maximumwelfare @not_my_debt … recovering past debts — an accepted recommendation of the Robodebt Royal Commission. Reinserting the statutory limitation into the social security legislation is especially logical here, ….

@maximumwelfare @not_my_debt It is terrific that Paul has been able to tap into the federal government’s thinking on how it might deal with these unlawful debts and to query whether the Minister will make good the government’s agreement to reinstate the six-year limitation on ….

@maximumwelfare @not_my_debt #robodebt.

Many thanks to @Paul_Karp of the @FinancialReview for including some quotes from me in his excellent piece on income apportionment after the decision in Chaplin v Secretary, DSS. @Paul_Karp has been covering this story since it first emerged in 2023.

An update from the Albanese government regarding income apportionment after the Chaplin decision was handed down today:

An update from Secretary DSS regarding the Chaplin decision: Peopl who have had their social security debts paused for several years will unfortunately see debt recovery action recommence shortly. Kennett J's dissent signals a potential High Court appeal.

#robodebt #incomeapportionment.

The important decision of the Full Federal Court in Chaplin v Secretary DSS has been handed down today: Chaplin's appeal has been dismissed. Reading now!.