Australia agrees to record $309 million payout to victims of illegal debt recovery scheme


SYDNEY (Reuters) -The Australian government said on Thursday it had agreed to pay a further A$475 million ($308.66 million) in compensation to victims of an illegal welfare debt recovery programme, which if approved by the courts would be the largest class action payout in the country's history.

The programme, known as “Robodebt”, chased hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients for false debts calculated by a faulty automated algorithm between 2016 and 2019, until a court ruled it illegal.

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