Unpacking lessons for the public service, starting with the Robodebt Royal Commission. In 2019, after three years, Robodebt was found to be unlawful. The Royal Commission process found it was also immoral and wildly inaccurate. Ultimately the Australian Government was forced to pay $1.8bn back to more than 470,000 Australians. In this podcast we dive deep into public policy failures like Robodebt and the British Post Office scandal - how they start, why they're hard to stop, and the public s ...
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Mr Bates v Post Office part 8 - ‘The One Where The Report is a Slide Deck’
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Post Office’s internal inquiries never got to the bottom of the situation. Here we unpack how to choose an investigator, getting the information to the person, and what do with a report. Opening grab from Sir Anthony Hooper, independent chair of Horizon mediation scheme. Subsequent grab from Mr Beer KC and Paula Vennels, former Post Office Limited …
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Mr Bates v Post Office part 7 - ‘The One Where The Inquiries Go Nowhere’
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Post Office leadership commissioned at least 6 different investigations of varying degrees of independence and rigor into complaints about Horizon after 2010. And yet none of them got to the truth. In the next two episodes, we unpack what not to do when setting up inquiries and investigations. Opening grab from Mr Beer KC and Alice Perkins, former …
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TWT Ask Us Anything! Part 2 - culture and integrity agencies
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Another great round of questions, thanks! Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. If you want rigorous reporting on Robodebt, we recommend the work of Rick Morton at the Sa…
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TWT Ask Us Anything! Part 1 - trust in government, and how we organise ourselves
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Thanks for the questions folks! Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. If you want rigorous reporting on Robodebt, we recommend the work of Rick Morton at the Saturday Pap…
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Finally, the APSC has published its findings about Robodebt: what did they find, and where to from here?
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The Australian Public Service Commission has released the findings of its Centralised Code of Conduct Inquiry into Robodebt. Outro grab from The West Wing, Season 3, Episode 10. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t gu…
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Mr Bates v Post Office part 6 - information dead ends and accountability sinks
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In this episode, we look at why Post Office kept prosecuting Sub Post Masters through the lens of Dan Davies' analysis in his new book The Unaccountability Machine. Opening grab from Mr Beer KC (Counsel Assisting) and Alisdair Cameron, CFO and former interim CE of Post Office Ltd. Subsequent grab from Mr Blake KC (Counsel Assisting) and Graham Bran…
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Mr Bates v Post Office part 5 - prosecuting the innocent
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A massive power imbalance, everyone doing the narrowest version of their jobs, and an overriding culture that assumed postmasters were thieves. These are just some of the ways Post Office ended up prosecuting postmasters for shortfalls that existed only on the computer. Opening grab from Mr Beer KC (Counsel Assisting) and Rob Wilson, former Head of…
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The Hon John Hill, on being a Minister
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In this episode, former state Minister for Health and the Arts (among others) the Hon John Hill, shares his insights into what Ministers want - and what they need - from the public service. You can buy his book ‘On being a Minister’ here - and if you’re brave, share with your Minister! Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While w…
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Andrew Podger AO: Is Thodey public sector reform on Steroids or Valium?
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In this second interview with former Commonwealth Secretary and Australian Public Service Commissioner Andrew Podger AO, Danielle gets to chat about The pros and cons of bringing all service delivery together in a single agency The valuing of operational expertise v policy leadership The role of portfolio budget practices in driving Robodebt Cultur…
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Andrew Podger AO: the induction, tenure and bravery of Secretaries
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With a decade as a Commonwealth Secretary, and two more as Australian Public Service Commissioner, it is no surprise Robodebt Royal Commissioner Holmes turned to Andrew Podger AO for expert advice on the operation of the public service. In this episode, Danielle talks to Andrew about the impact that granting tenure could have on the quality of advi…
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The Essendon Footy Club supplements scandal (part 3): regulation in a changing world
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What does the community want more - every last transgressor to be punished, or government to keep out of their business? How can regulators keep pace with changing community expectations about what is ‘appropriate’ - and, indeed, what is a workplace? What is a regulator to do when you’re facing these issues in the full glare of media scrutiny? In t…
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The Essendon Footy Club supplements scandal (part 2): what’s it like to investigate Australia’s biggest sports codes?
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In episode two of this mini-series, we pick up the story of the Essendon supplements scandal from the perspective of the investigators. In this story we hear how ASADA ends up in the middle of a media fire storm, with inadequate regulatory powers and biopharmaceutical technology racing ahead. But is it really a matter for ASADA at all? Is this an a…
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The Royal Commission we should have? The 2013 Essendon Football Club supplements scandal
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“Lack of good governance is why good people did bad things at Essendon Football Club”. So says Lindsay Tanner, former Minister for Finance, and President of the Essendon Football Club from 2015. In this mini-series, Caroline tries to convince us there are lessons for public servants from the Essendon Football Club supplement scandal in 2013. In thi…
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Sue Vardon AO, inaugural CE of Centrelink: On learning while in the job
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In the second of two follow ups to her interview at the end of 2023, Sue Vardon dives deep on her commitment to training Centrelink staff, including the establishment of an in-house Registered Training Organisation (RTO). Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time …
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Sue Vardon AO, inaugural CE of Centrelink: On lawyers
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In the first of two follow ups to her interview at the end of 2023, Sue Vardon returns to share her thoughts on the dangers for Senior Executives who outsource considerations of legality to the lawyers. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allo…
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'Do it now, get it right later': payment (in)accuracy in Centrelink - setting the stage for Robodebt
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Centrelink is not alone in having a push and pull between the investment required to get it right up front, versus the convenience of fixing things up later. We discuss the old chestnut 'fast, cheap, good - pick two' , and the less obvious costs of running lean - whether in pandemic preparedness, strategic policy capacity, workforce burnout. Finall…
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Mr Bates v Post Office part 4 - the roll out of Horizon
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If you knew your IT system was unreliable, wouldn't you keep some manual checks to make sure it doesn't go wrong? Not if you're Post Office, and desperately looking for savings. Especially if you've just lost your biggest revenue source, in the form of the Benefits Agency and the cash in the tills it provides. In the final episode of our first (but…
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Mr Bates v Post Office part 3 - accepting a lemon
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Despite hundreds of technical issues and continuing delays in meeting quality requirements, in January 2000, Post Office Board accepted the Horizon IT system as its own. In this episode, we discuss how hard it is to say 'stop' in the middle of a game of whack-a-mole of problem fixing, especially when there are institutional incentives to keep going…
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Mr Bates v Post Office part 2 - a very poor procurement
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Why was the Post Office's Horizon IT system so error ridden in the first place? And is the false conviction of nearly 1000 postmasters really Tony Blair's fault in the end? (Spoiler alert: probably not.) In this episode, Caroline takes us through why Horizon was probably doomed from the start, with Post Office and the Benefits Agency shackled toget…
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Mr Bates v Post Office - shades of Robodebt?
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Season 2 kicks off with a deeper look at the British Post Office fiasco. Gaslighting critics, false confessions, aggressive litigation tactics, challenges with redress, and no accountability from senior leaders - sound familiar? Nick Wallis BBC4 podcast The Great Post Office Trial Alison's recommended listening re psychological safety, Adam Grant's…
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Bonus episode: Sue Vardon AO - inaugural CE of Centrelink (1997-2004)
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In this special holiday bonus, inaugural CE of Centrelink Sue Vardon AO joins Danielle and Caroline to talk through her submission to the Robodebt Royal Commission. Her submission outlines the changes in Centrelink that made Robodebt possible - as well as the things that have stayed the same. She also takes us through her career, from being the onl…
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16. Taking responsibility - lessons from Robodebt
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Much of the evidence heard by the Royal Commission was from people who didn't know what was happening - either because they were too junior to have all the information, or, if they were senior, too busy to have stopped and asked the question. Provoked by Dr Darren O'Donovan, in this episode we unpack practical steps that create organisations that c…
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Bonus Episode: Dr Darren O'Donovon on centering the victims of Robodebt, the fragmentation of knowledge and accountability, and the creation of moral discomfort
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In this in-depth and wide-ranging interview, Dr Darren O'Donovan, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University Law School, reflects on what it was like being on the outside looking in at Robodebt. *This was recorded before the release of the Government's response to the Royal Commission.* Some references from the interview include: Frank Kafka Before the…
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15. Behavioural insights in Robodebt: at last, an argument!
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In this episode, Danielle and Alison bring the conflict on their views of behavioural insights. Danielle thinks it's a revelation that government started thinking about its customers and what works for them. Alison thinks it's oversold, and not always deployed in the interests of the people. Caroline wonders if we can all just get along. Ultimately…
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14. The Grinch that stole Christmas
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Christmas leave plays an outsize role in Robodebt. Danielle takes us through some of the questions raised about Christmas leave, including who holds the can when people are on leave, and how 'hovering' while you're on leave can confuse and disempower. She also makes a case that government should never, ever shut down over Christmas, because our wor…
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13. Pink Batts and Robodebt - lessons not learned
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In September 2014, at the very moment DHS invents Robodebt, the APS receives a frank assessment of its limitations in the form of the Final Report Home Insulation Program Royal Commission. In this episode, a review of the 'pink batts' Royal Commission report shows the key failings that recur. Why is it so hard as a public servant to say 'we can't d…
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12. Robodebt as algorithm (part 3) - Jurassic Park ICT and AI
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In our final episode on the algorithmic nature of Robodebt, we tackle the implications of algorithms being commercial in confidence property of third party providers, legacy ICT systems, plus recognise we need to lean in to understanding AI and how it works. We do a second mini-dive into the Great British Post Office scandal - this time into the sy…
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11. Robodebt as algorithm (part 2) - random number generator decision-making
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How will automation impact the ability of people to seek review of administrative decisions by government agencies? In this episode, we talk about the human bias toward thinking computers are right, and take a brief digression into another public service scandal - The Great Post Office Trial - where discrepancies on a computer screen were used as p…
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10. Robodebt as algorithm (part 1) - junk data and Swiss cheese
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The first of a number of episodes on the algorithmic nature of Robodebt. This episode focuses on big data in government - what we know about it, the ways in which data can be hard to use, and the supreme importance of context. Danielle talks about disappearing from a government system, and Alison gives an important life hack to all double-barrelled…
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9. Why is it hard to hear whistleblowers? The lessons from Robodebt
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Why can it be hard to hear whistleblowers in big organisations? Caroline takes us through Kathryn Campbell's response to whistleblowers that come in via the media and come in via the union, and thinks there's something in that. Alison thinks it's a failure of change management - but is stuck on finding words to describe that aren't "waffle cloud". …
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Bonus Episode: The Robodebt Report is out - early thoughts and reflections
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In this special episode, Caroline and Danielle unpack their feelings about the Royal Commission Report, five days after its release. We also pick through some of the Commissioner's key findings, as they relate to things discussed in previous episodes. If you are new to the podcast, we suggest you start at the beginning and come to this after you've…
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4. Culture on the frontlines - Centrelink and Robodebt
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In the second episode of two episodes exploring the culture in DHS and how it contributed to Robodebt, Danielle takes us through the pressures being experienced on the frontline in Centrelink. From the rise of employee engagement surveys, the use of temporary labour hire, to the decline of unions, this episode explores the importance (and challenge…
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5. How *not* to stop something - DSS, the Columbia effect, and the first missed opportunity to stop Robodebt
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In this episode, Caroline takes us through the tick-tock of how, in late January and early February 2015, DSS went from having legal advice that said Robodebt was unlawful, to waving it through the Budget process. We discuss how something that is 'not consistent with legislation' is actually 'illegal', and the impacts of softening language on the b…
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6. When you discover you've been had - DSS, faux collegiality and the second missed opportunity to stop Robodebt
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In this episode, Caroline takes us through the reaction of DSS in early 2017, when it becomes clear DHS hadn't abided by the agreement they thought they had to kill Robodebt. However, far from handing DHS over to the Ombudsman, DSS engage in a process that looks like ‘a conspiracy to conceal stuff up’, in the inimitable words of Commissioner Holmes…
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7. 'A bit of a fixer-upper' - DHS and the botched launch of Robodebt
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In this episode, Caroline takes us through how DHS responds in early 2017 when things start hitting the fan. Aggressive defence is the name of game in the media, while in the background frantic efforts are made to improve 'the customer interface'. We talk about how DHS backed themselves into a corner, and despite a lot of senior attention to solve …
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8. Advice is just advice - what the lawyers knew about Robodebt
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In this episode, Caroline takes us through the many different ways in which lawyers in the Commonwealth Government knew that Robodebt was illegal well before the Federal Court settlement in late 2019. You might not remember who wrote the constitutional law text book, but you would remember going to a conference where an eminent KC dismantles your p…
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2. Bright Ideas - the origin of Robodebt
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Where did Robodebt come from? In this episode, we track the genesis of Robodebt in the heart of the compliance division in the Department of Human Services in late 2014. This is a cautionary tale about a bright idea that gets fast tracked by senior leadership, who have their own reasons for taking it forward, and aren't very interested in whether w…
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3. Culture from the top - DHS and Robodebt
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The first of two episodes looking at the role the culture of DHS played in enabling Robodebt to get off the ground, and keep moving, in spite of all the red flags. In this episode, Danielle talks us through the ways in which Secretary Kathryn Campbell and her leadership team set the tone, and the efforts of later leaders like Renee Leon to fix the …
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1. What is Robodebt? An explainer
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An explainer episode on what Robodebt is, how it unfolded, and why public servants should be interested in finding out more. Far from a political conspiracy, the Robodebt Royal Commission has shown that it was a creature of the public service. Join Alison, Danielle and Caroline, as they reflect on the lessons of Robodebt through the lens of their p…
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