The Ombudsman and Robodebt: Failure, Regulatory Capture of Something Else?

The Robodebt program was a serious failure of public policy and governance. Robodebt occurred and continued by reason of an almost unique, systemic failure of governance. The scheme was eventually brought undone by a class action in the Federal Court, but not before several parts of the framework of administrative accountability failed to reveal the illegal foundation of the scheme. This article examines one such failure that has attracted relatively less attention – the Commonwealth Ombudsman. That office conducted not one but two inquiries into Robodebt. Both inquiries were heavily criticised by the Royal Commission into Robodebt, which found that the Ombudsman had essentially failed its mission on Robodebt. This article examines the actions of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in relation to Robodebt. The article explains why the work of the Ombudsman deserved strong criticism but also questions whether the most contentious decision of that office – the failure to publicly question the legal foundation of Robodebt – was a mistake the Ombudsman was entitled to make.