Alan Tudge denies he was responsible for department’s failure to check legality of robodebt, royal commission hears

Former human services minister says he was not aware of issues with Centrelink scheme until Malcolm Turnbull sent him an article in 2017

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Former human services minister Alan Tudge has denied he was responsible for his department's failure to check the legality of the robodebt scheme, telling the royal commission the issue didn't cross his mind until I read about it in the newspaper" years later.

Tudge, who held the role at the initial height of the scandal in 2017, told the inquiry he never asked for or saw legal advice on the robodebt scheme and he had been focused on fixing its practical issues, rather than its budget savings.

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