Centrelink Is Getting Slammed For Sending “Threatening” Messages To Welfare Recipients (Again)
Advocates have called that the agency's latest tactic "completely inappropriate".
Centrelink has found itself under fire yet again, after sending letters to welfare recipients emblazoned with the logo of the Australian Federal Police warning that the penalty for welfare fraud could include time in prison.
Sent out in July to around 38,000 people, the letters include information about “Taskforce Integrity”, a joint operation between the Department of Human Services and the AFP that was established in 2015. According to the letters, the role of the task force is to “detect people who are deliberately withholding or providing false information, to dishonestly receive welfare payments.”
“We are sending this letter to remind you of your ongoing responsibility to keep your information up to date,” the letters read.
The letters also list various punishments for people who “deliberately withhold or provide false or misleading information”, including the possibility of court summons and a prison sentence.
The full Centrelink/AFP logo scare letter, complete with invitation to dob in your fellow Australians. pic.twitter.com/W3Euhsift2
— Jen (@juniperlilacs) August 4, 2017
This is not even a notice of wrong-doing, but the menacing branding will frighten people either way. The language is straight up threat.
— Jen (@juniperlilacs) August 3, 2017
The letters, and the use of the AFP logo, have been slammed by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS).
“It is completely inappropriate for the government to send letters to income support recipients with the Australian Federal Police logo asking if their details are up to date,” said ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie. “These letters are threatening and completely disregard any mental health issue the person may have.”
According to ACOSS, less than 0.02% of welfare recipients were investigated for fraud last year. Of the 996 cases that were referred to prosecutors, only 29 cases resulted in indictable charges.
Centrelink was the subject of considerable public outrage at the end of last year, when its automated debt recovery system was found to have sent out thousands of letters demanding the repayment of non-existent debt. Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge was also criticised after he went on A Current Affair and threatened to imprison people who owed the agency money. Good to see they’ve learnt their lesson.
Labor’s Human Services spokesperson Linda Burney criticised the government’s tactics, tweeting that “whether it’s Robodebt, or using AFP’s logo on Centrelink letters, this Gov is only interested in harassing vulnerable Australians.”
Whether it’s Robodebt, or using AFP’s logo on Centrelink letters, this Gov is only interested in harassing vulnerable Australians https://t.co/q84CBz5GBb
— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) August 4, 2017
However a spokesperson for the Department of Human Services defended the recent letters, saying that “Taskforce Integrity isn’t about prosecuting people who make genuine mistakes, it’s about enforcing the law and deterring those who set out to commit welfare fraud.”