SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - An Australian inquiry into a programme to recover welfare debt said on Friday former Prime Minister Scott Morrison had misled the cabinet about the scheme in an earlier ministerial role.
The report recommended unnamed people be referred for prosecution or civil action over the automated "robodebt" programme, designed to ensure welfare recipients were not underreporting income and over-receiving government payments.
The report said Morrison, who in 2015 monitored the rollout of the programme as the social services minister, took the proposal to the cabinet without necessary information.
Morrison, prime minister from August 2018 to May 2022 and still a member of parliament, rejected each finding adverse to him and critical of his involvement in "authorising the scheme".
In 2020, he apologised in parliament for distress caused by the robodebt scheme but did not admit legal liability.
Persons:
Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese, Morrison, Renju Jose, Jamie Freed, William Mallard
Organizations:
SYDNEY, Royal Commission, Australian Federal Police, Thomson
Locations:
Australian, Sydney