A Port Lincoln woman is calling for a royal commission into the government's unlawful Robodebt bungle, in response to her brother's suicide after he repaid Centrelink payments while also experiencing financial hardship.
Jessica Webb said their mother was contacted by Centrelink this year, trying to locate Mr Webb in order to repay the Centrelink payments he made in 2017 — with the department not knowing Corey had died a few months after the repayments.
"Mum was confused, and had to go through that process to explain he'd passed away," Ms Webb said.
She said the Centrelink staff member explained that Corey had been given an illegal robodebt, and he can now be given compensation through a class action.
Ms Webb said after the phone call, it was like another piece of the puzzle that fell into place.
"We were able to step back and go, wow, this was an extra thing that he had on top of all the other things he was experiencing that potentially contributed to making the decision that he made," she said.
Ms Webb explained her brother had lost employment prior to his death, and he was looking for another form of employment while training and up-skilling.
"He had significant loans with the bank which he got prior to losing his employment," she said.
"Compared to some of the other significant amounts, the robodebt probably wasn't that much, but several thousand dollars when you have other debts is significant.
Searching for answers
The Webb family want Centrelink to release official communication between Mr Webb and the department.
"We are wanting to find out: What that looks like, how many letters did he receive, how much pressure was being put on him to pay back money he didn't even owe?" Ms Webb said.
The family said after failed attempts to seek help from Member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey — they've been able to submit FOI requests with the help of Independent Senator Rex Patrick for more answers.
Mr Patrick said the FOI process is ongoing, and he has also taken the matter to Minister for Government Services Linda Reynolds.
"To her credit she's trying to get the data released administratively, we will continue with FOI — I hope the Minister can help me resolve this over the next couple of days," he said.
Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey said correspondence had stopped between the family and himself, and he thought the matter was resolved.
"I don't why that would be difficult to obtain that information — I would have thought Centrelink would be forthcoming," Mr Ramsey said.
Ms Webb said a Royal Commission would shine a light for families who may have been similarly affected.
"I know they are expensive and take a long time," she said.
