NACC Robodebt investigation finds two people engaged in serious corrupt conduct


March 11 2026
ABC News

Former prime minister Scott Morrison was one of the four individuals cleared of corrupt conduct. (ABC News)

In short:
Two people involved in the Robodebt scheme have been found to be corrupt.

A National Anti-Corruption Commission report has found two of six people referred to it for investigation engaged in corrupt conduct, while it cleared the remaining four.

Those cleared include former prime minister Scott Morrison.


Former prime minister Scott Morrison has been cleared of corrupt conduct by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) over his role in the so-called Robodebt scheme.

Two public servants have been found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct, however, they will not be referred to face criminal charges.

The Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme referred six people to the NACC, describing the scheme as a "crude and cruel mechanism".

The NACC has now released the names of the six people and its findings.

Mr Morrison, along with public servants Kathryn Campbell, Catherine Halbert and Annette Musolino, have been cleared.

But the NACC found two public servants engaged in "serious corrupt conduct".

The report states that Mark Withnell, the former general manager of business integrity at the Department of Human Services, engaged in corruption when he misled public servants who were preparing a federal cabinet submission.

The report points to findings from the royal commission, which found Mr Withnell was heavily involved in the development of the policy but "did nothing to ensure that Cabinet was properly informed of the averaging component of the ['Robodebt'] Measure".

Robodebt pushed victims to the brink, and some did not live to see justice

The federal government's $475 million compensation to Robodebt victims may do little to alleviate the "pain and anguish" for those who lost loved ones over the scandal.   

Serena Wilson, the former deputy secretary at the Department of Social Services, was also found by the NACC to have engaged in corrupt conduct.

The report stated she "engaged in corrupt conduct by intentionally misleading the Ombudsman" in 2017.

Despite the findings, the NACC concluded there was "insufficient admissible evidence" and did not consider it "appropriate" to refer the pair to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Morrison cleared
The NACC looked at whether former prime minister Scott Morrison should have further questioned the policy during cabinet discussions.

Mr Morrison was the social services minister when the scheme was proposed.

The report found his failure to detect misleading information was not in breach because he was expected to rely on the advice of his department.

Mr Morrison has welcomed the findings of the report.

In a lengthy statement he expressed his sympathies to those impacted by the scheme but said department officials were to blame for not providing proper advice.

"The NACC has rightly concluded that Ministers must be able to rely on the accuracy of the advice provided by their departments, especially on matters of technical expertise, and receive that advice in good faith," he said.

"Whether they follow that advice is a matter for those Ministers. In this case, I relied upon, and followed, that advice.

The departmental advice and warranties provided to Ministers were wrong."

Robodebt was an unlawful automated government scheme that used an income averaging algorithm to incorrectly demand hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients pay debts they did not owe.

About 443,000 welfare recipients received false debt notices, with some told they owed the government tens of thousands of dollars.

The scheme caused significant distress to many and was linked to multiple suicides.   

This year, the federal government agreed to pay $475 million in compensation to victims.

The NACC was tasked with looking at the development, approval and implementation of the Robodebt scheme in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

In 2024, it initially opted not to investigate the Royal Commission's referral.

But an inquiry into that decision found Commissioner Paul Brereton failed to step aside from the decision-making process after declaring a "close association" with one of the six people under question.

The NACC earlier this year announced it would investigate the six people.

Robodebt gone but concerns still remain      
Attorney General Michelle Rowland welcomed the investigation's findings, saying a Robodebt-type scheme must never be allowed to happen again.

"The illegal Robodebt scheme was a betrayal of everyday Australians, resulting in human tragedy and untold misery," she said in statement.

Independent Andrew Wilkie said the NACC findings were a "rare moment of accountability" but noted that many people would be disappointed that no criminal referrals have been made.

He also urged the current government needed to do more to ensure such a scheme would never be created again.

"While the NACC considers the Royal Commission recommendations to be sufficient to prevent a repeat of such tragic misgovernance, to the Government's shame many recommendations are still yet to be enacted."

Wow - so the criminals in the Govt all get off Scot free?

That is typical.