Join the Antipoverty Centre and Anti-Poverty Network SA for a critical briefing in Adelaide on the current state of the compulsory activities known as mutual obligations as the government faces a potential Robodebt-scale disaster. Kristin O’Connell (Antipoverty Centre) will unpack how the system has harmed millions and gets in the way of people focusing on the things that will improve their lives and their communities.  

What’s at Stake:

  • Systemic Failures: In March 2025, DEWR admitted that payment reductions and cancellations under the Targeted Compliance Framework (TCF) that underpins the mutual obligations system may not have been “validly made,” prompting a legal and IT system pause.
  • Unlawful Suspensions: Despite some parts of the system being paused in March, DEWR has refused to stop suspending Centrelink payments when a job agency decides a person is “non-compliant”. There are more than 2 million payment suspensions per year, with job agencies having a track record of using them as tools of abuse.
  • Legal Scrutiny: The Commonwealth Ombudsman initiated an investigation in February 2025 to assess whether the TCF decisions were “lawful, fair and reasonable”, with his first report expected to be made public in July. 
  • Calls for Action: Antipoverty Centre and other groups have called on the government to immediately stop all penalties including payment suspensions immediately.

Who is in charge :
Murray Watt, the federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations at the time legal issues became public,  mounting pressure to respond but took no action before the election. Both he and DEWR Secretary Natalie James admitted uncertainty about the system’s legality at Senate Estimates. Despite this, Watt and the new employment minister Amanda Rishworth have insisted that payment suspensions remain in place despite extensive evidence of abuse and misuse.

Why It Matters:
This briefing will unravel how compulsory activities continue to punish people unfairly and unlawfully, and set the stage for informed action in South Australia. If you’re interested in the intersection of policy, social justice, and legal accountability, this is not to be missed.

Join us for an informative afternoon at SACOSS, 47 King William Road, Unley (enter via Young Street)!

Lunch will be provided — please fill in the registration form to attend.

If you have any questions, email info@apnsa.org or leave comments in your form response.

Note: Lunch will be followed by Anti-Poverty Network SA’s ‘Partner Rates Campaign Session’ which people are welcome to sit in on. It will be a brainstorming session for our new national campaign.

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