From the Guardian · · 2m
Robodebt mother shut out of $475m settlement
Kath Madgwick's son died by suicide after a Centrelink debt notice. Now lawyers say she cannot claim compensation because he never received an official notice.
In brief
Kath Madgwick's son died by suicide after a Centrelink debt notice. Now lawyers say she cannot claim compensation because he never received an official notice. The mother of a robodebt victim excluded from a historic settlement says she faces injustice again after commonwealth lawyers ruled her son ineligible for…
Son's death after debt notice
Jarrad Madgwick was twenty two when he died by suicide in two thousand nineteen after Centrelink told him he owed nearly two thousand dollars.
Historic settlement agreed
The federal government agreed last year to pay an additional four hundred seventy five million dollars in compensation to about four hundred fifty thousand victims of the robodebt scandal.
Mother excluded from payout
Kath Madgwick, Jarrad's mother, was told last month by commonwealth lawyers she would not be eligible for the settlement because her son did not receive an official debt notice.
Royal commission highlighted case
The royal commission's final report dedicated more than a page to Jarrad's case, finding the way he was informed about a potential debt was a precipitating factor in his death.
What happened to Jarrad
On twenty eight May two thousand nineteen, Jarrad received a Centrelink letter asking for payslip details. Two days after speaking with Centrelink about a provisional debt of one thousand seven hundred ninety five dollars eighty five cents, he died by suicide.
Services Australia's position
Services Australia disputes that Jarrad's provisional debt was calculated using income averaging, the unlawful method that defines the robodebt scheme and determines eligibility for compensation.
Mother's response
Madgwick said the exclusion denies what happened to her son. She vowed to continue fighting for justice after seven years of battling the case.
“When they say that they've cut me out of the settlement, it says to me you're denying what you did to my son.”
Services Australia's changes
Since two thousand nineteen, Services Australia has changed how it communicates with customers about debts, offering clearer information and increased access to specialist social work assistance for vulnerable people.
The key point
The mother of a robodebt victim excluded from a historic settlement says she faces injustice again after commonwealth lawyers ruled her son ineligible for compensation.
