Robodebt royal commission hears former ombudsman who investigated the scheme allowed DHS to amend wording of report

A former ombudsman has been accused of failing to run an impartial investigation into Robodebt after his final report did not mention the scheme was illegal. Key points: The commission yesterday heard others in the ombudsman's office had raised issues of legality Former acting Commonwealth ombudsman Richard Glenn said he "chose not to" include this in the report Hearings that form part of the inquiry wrap up on Friday The royal commission into the unlawful debt-raising scheme also heard the department responsible for the Coalition-era program – the Department of Human Services — was allowed to submit notes on a final report into Robodebt. When asked about the issue on Thursday, Mr Glenn said: "On the material before me, I was not satisfied we could make a declaratory statement and I chose not to comment on legality". Mr Scott later put to Mr Glenn: "By failing to deal with the question of lawfulness in the report … failing to more squarely deal with the issue of the inaccuracy of averaging in the report and by failing to make a referral to the AAT on the question of law … you failed to demonstrate the level of independence required of your office at the time." Mr Glenn replied: "I think it's poor practice, I would wish to reflect on whether that's maladministration."