Current IT issues at Workforce Australia have sparked renewed calls for a full investigation of the nation’s employment services system.
The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) said the fact the Government had currently paused mutual obligations due to Workforce Australia IT failures should be the catalyst for a wide-ranging review.
ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie said mutual obligations had been paused since January 6, with the pause recently extended until January 28.
Dr Goldie said there should be an ongoing pause to the enforcement of mutual obligations following the latest IT issues.
She said the current failures of the employment services system come after a string of errors uncovered in 2024, including that income support payments may have been illegally cancelled, affecting at least 1000 people between April 2022 and July 2024 and over 1000 people had wrongful financial penalties applied to them in a separate IT issue uncovered in January 2024.
“The latest IT failures in Workforce Australia are yet more evidence the system is failing and needs a full and thorough investigation.”
“We cannot have any confidence in a system which repeatedly fails, placing even greater stress on people living on the brink.”
Dr Goldie said ACOSS was calling for the suspension of the Targeted Compliance Framework and a fully independent, arms-length legal and human rights review.
“The compliance system cannot continue to operate against hundreds of thousands of people whilst the IT system is vulnerable to failure and the legality of decisions are in question,” Dr Goldie said.
She said, in December, ACOSS referred the Government to the Commonwealth Ombudsman over potentially illegal cancellations of people’s vital income support payments and called for the immediate suspension of the compliance system.
“Payment suspensions and cancellation have extremely harmful impacts on people, including not only the loss of income but also potential homelessness, relationship breakdown and destitution,” Dr Goldie said.
