Major General
Kathryn Campbell
AO, CSC & Bar
Campbell in 2021
Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
In office
22 July 2021 – 1 July 2022
Preceded byFrances Adamson
Succeeded byJan Adams
Secretary of the Department of Social Services
In office
18 September 2017 – 21 July 2021
Preceded byFinn Pratt
Succeeded byRay Griggs
Secretary of the Department of Human Services
In office
7 March 2011 – 17 September 2017
Preceded byFinn Pratt
Succeeded byRenée Leon
Personal details
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Southern Queensland, University of New South Wales
OccupationPublic servant
Civilian awardsOfficer of the Order of Australia
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceAustralian Army Reserve
Years of service1989–2021[1]
RankMajor General
Commands2nd Division (2018–21)
5th Brigade (2014–16)
Sydney University Regiment (2007–09)
Battles/warsOperation Okra
Military awardsConspicuous Service Cross

Kathryn Jane Campbell, AO, CSC & Bar is a former Australian public servant[2] and a former senior officer in the Australian Army Reserve.[1]

Campbell was the Secretary of the Department of Human Services from March 2011 to September 2017. She played a key role in the illegal debt recovery scheme known as Robodebt. At two Senate committee inquiries, Campbell controversially shifted the blame of Robodebt to the victims, and refused to accept people had died by suicide after receiving illegal Robodebt notices. The Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme was "scathing" of Campbell, finding she had intentionally misled cabinet about the scheme, and took steps to prevent the unlawfulness of Robodebt being uncovered.[3]

Campbell moved onto the Secretary of the Department of Social Services from September 2017 to July 2021. She became Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) from July 2021 to July 2022.[4][5] In July 2022, she was removed as Secretary of DFAT,[6] and was appointed to the defence portfolio as an advisor to the AUKUS program, while retaining the remuneration of her previous role. In July 2023, Campbell was suspended without pay from the Australian Public Service, following the findings against her at the Royal Commission.[7][8] She resigned later that month.

Career

Campbell managed government divisions in social welfare from 2002 until 2004, and finance responsible for budget policy and coordination from 2004 until 2005.[9] Between 2005 and 2010, Campbell was Deputy Secretary of the Budget and Financial Management Groups in the Department of Finance and Deregulation, and from 2010 to 2011, Campbell was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.[10]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced Campbell's appointment as Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DHS) in late December 2010,[11] responsible for delivering the Australian Government's Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support programs, along with a number of smaller programs.[12] Campbell commenced those duties on 7 March 2011. In September 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed Campbell as Secretary of the Department of Social Services.[13] In 2021, Campbell left her position as an officer in the Australian Army Reserve, having enlisted in 1989.[1]

On 9 July 2021, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced her appointment as the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), replacing Frances Adamson.[5] In June 2022, new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Campbell would be replaced as Secretary of DFAT, with her term concluding on 1 July 2022. Campbell would instead be given "a senior appointment in the Defence portfolio in an AUKUS-related role", as proposed and approved by Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty.[14] Campbell’s removal as DFAT Secretary was described in the media as “being ousted in a public service shakeup”. Further, the removal of Campbell was widely anticipated, especially given her performance in questioning at Senate estimates, by Senator Penny Wong, who became Minister for Foreign Affairs under the newly elected Labor government. It was also clear that Campbell’s central role in the Robodebt controversy was a major concern and Labor had made an election pledge to launch a royal commission into the discredited scheme.[15][16]

Appointment to AUKUS

On 31 May 2023, Senator Jacqui Lambie questioned Greg Moriarty on his appointment of Campbell to the $900,000 job as a supervisor for the AUKUS nuclear submarine project, specifically because she has been the central figure in the Robodebt scandal. Although Moriarty said that at the time he appointed Campbell there was no Royal Commission, her responsibilities for Robodebt were already well-known, as were her denials including to Senate Estimates. Lambie described Campbell's appointment as a disgrace.[17] Campbell was suspended without pay from the role three days after the release of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.[7]

Robodebt controversy

Beginning in 2016, while Campbell was the Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DHS), the DHS welfare program Centrelink became embroiled in a debt recovery controversy, commonly referred to as Robodebt. The Robodebt scandal was described by The Mandarin as the "defining controversy" of Campbell's public service career.[18] Robodebt was the subject of an investigation by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, two Senate committee inquiries, as well as the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, at all of which Campbell was required to testify.

Appearing before the first Senate committee inquiry in March 2017, which the controversial program was still active, Campbell shifted the blame to victims of Robodebt saying "they had not engaged" with Centrelink and this was the reason for false calculations and the ongoing debt chasing for over 500,000 Australians; all of those served with debts have since had their debts removed and voided.[19][20][21] Campbell stated "The view of the department is that there are a number of refinements that need to be made—those refinements are being made—and that the system should continue."[22] Reporting on Campbell's testimony, political commentator Jack Waterford placed considerable blame on Campbell, saying "she put pleasing ministers ahead of duty to the public, the public interest and public service values.”[23] At the second Senate hearing in July 2020, Campbell controversially denied that people had died by suicide as a result of receiving the unlawful automated debt recovery notices, refusing to accept that suicides attributed to the scheme were in fact caused by it. The mother of one man who died by suicide after receiving a Robodebt notice responded by saying "I wanted five minutes with [Campbell] for her to tell me how she knows my son better than I did."[24][25] The Royal Commission later confirmed that people had died by suicide as a result of Robodebt.[7]

Testifying at the Royal Commission in late 2022, Campbell admitted to having a "lack of curiosity" over advice related to the legality of the scheme, and acknowledged Robodebt was a significant failure of public administration, though refused to consider it as a "massive" failure.[26][27] In her third and final testimony, Campbell admitted it was her Department's "significant oversight" that led to cabinet being misled, though denied it was deliberate.[28][29] Timothy Ffrench, who was chief counsel at DHS, testified that Campbell was largely to blame for a culture that meant the Robodebt scheme’s legality was not checked earlier.[30] Testimonies from the then acting Ombudsman, Richard Glenn, and the current Ombudsman Iain Anderson, stated that DHS under Campbell deliberately misled the Ombudsman's investigations by withholding key documents that flagged issues with the scheme's legality.[31][32][33]

Renee Leon, who took over Campbell's role at DHS in September 2017, told the Royal Commission of deep cultural problems at senior levels at the department under Campbell. She testified that staff had been very fearful of Campbell and "the reward and punishment culture" that she promoted, as well as her practices of aggression and public shaming.[34][35] Leon told the inquiry she once had a "collegiate" relationship with Campbell, though became aware that Campbell was deliberately undermining her with Stuart Robert, the then responsible Minister.[36] Leon testified that her predecessor “took credit” for the Robodebt scheme, and that Campbell was “rewarded” for being more responsive to the coalition government’s policy agenda than other department secretaries, and that she, and many others, believed that Campbell’s elevation to the role of the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade "was a very big reward for someone who had no background in diplomacy."[37]

The findings of the Royal Commission were "scathing" and "damning" of Campbell. It noted her policy proposal for the scheme mentioned nothing about the income averaging method it relied on, nor the fact legislative amendments would be required to allow this, despite the fact Campbell was aware of both. The Commission concluded that Campbell intentionally misled cabinet with the proposal. It also found her choice to not continue correspondence regarding legal advice surrounding the scheme was "motivated by a concern that the unlawfulness of the Scheme might be exposed to the Ombudsman in the course of its investigation", and that she had also made false statements regarding Robodebt to the public.[3] The Royal Commission reported that Campbell was “responsible for a department that had established, implemented and maintained an unlawful program”. Further, it reported that Campbell “did nothing of substance” when exposed to information that brought to light the illegality of income averaging, and “failed to act” when presented with opportunities to obtain legal advice. Campbell was identified as the central public service figure in the illegal Robodebt scheme. The Royal Commissioner Catherine Holmes concluded by stating that the people behind robodebt caused extraordinary harm “through venality, incompetence and cowardice”.[2]

Three days after the Royal Commission released their report, Campbell was suspended without pay from the Australian Public Service.[7][8] The Australian Associated Press reported that the suspension was involuntary.[38] Campbell resigned from her role at the Department of Defence with effect on 21 July 2023.[2][39] Campbell's action have received significant criticism, and she has been described as a "disgraced top bureaucrat" in The Canberra Times.[40] Following Campbell’s resignation, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) issued a statement, saying her suspension and resignation was welcomed by CPSU members, and describing Campbell as a "fervent advocate of a scheme that devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across this country."[41]

Education

Campbell studied at the University of Southern Queensland, where she obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science (Applied Mathematics) in 1988, and a Master of Business Administration in 1998.[42] She also holds a Master of Information Studies from the University of New South Wales.[9] In 2008, she completed an Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.[9][18] Campbell is a fellow of CPA Australia and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.[43]

Awards

Campbell's awards include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Biography of Secretary, Kathryn Campbell AO CSC and Bar". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Hurst, Daniel (24 July 2023). "Kathryn Campbell quits $900,000 top defence job after robodebt royal commission report". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 Knaus, Christopher (7 July 2023). "Robodebt royal commission final report: key findings on Scott Morrison, Stuart Robert, Kathryn Campbell and Alan Tudge". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023.
  4. ↑ McIlroy, Tom (7 September 2017). "Immigration boss Michael Pezzullo to lead new Home Affairs Department". Canberra Times. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 Prime Minister of Australia. "Announcement of New Department Secretaries". pm.gov.au. Retrieved 9 July 2021..
  6. ↑ Hurst, Daniel (21 December 2022). "Public servant grilled over robodebt scheme appointed to Aukus role worth $900,000 a year". The Guardian Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Al-Khouri, Chantelle (20 July 2023). "Kathryn Campbell first senior bureaucrat suspended after Robodebt royal commission". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 Karp, Paul; Hurst, Daniel; Rmeikis, Amy (20 July 2023). "Senior public servant Kathryn Campbell suspended without pay after robodebt findings". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Kathryn Campbell". TVET Australia. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Kathryn Campbell, Chief Executive Women, archived from the original on 12 March 2015
  11. ↑ Gillard, Julia (21 December 2010). "Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  12. ↑ Australian Public Service Commission (2014), Australian Government Leadership Network Annual Conference: Towards Excellence, Building Capacity for Change (PDF), Australian Government, p. 5, archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2015
  13. ↑ Turnbull, Malcolm (7 September 2017). "Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Announcement of Department Secretaries". Prime Minister of Australia. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  15. ↑ Grattan, Michelle. "Head of Foreign Affairs Kathryn Campbell ousted in public service shake-up". The Conversation. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Labor pledges royal commission into 'human tragedy' of robodebt if elected". The Guardian. 30 April 2022. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  17. ↑ Basford Canales, Sarah (31 May 2023). "PM&C, Defence secretaries arranged for Kathryn Campbell's senior AUKUS role". The Canberra Times.
  18. 1 2 "Kathryn Campbell: former DFAT secretary". The Mandarin. 22 November 2022. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023.
  19. ↑ Belot, Henry (12 January 2017). "Centrelink debt recovery: Government knew of potential problems with automated program". ABC News. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  20. ↑ "Centrelink's compliance program". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "Senate sends robodebt to inquiry for the second time in three years". Australian Greens. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "Community Affairs References Committee". 8 March 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  23. ↑ Waterford, Jack (9 March 2017). "Centrelink's doomed brigadier, Kathryn Campbell, stares down the hordes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  24. ↑ Henriques-Gomes, Luke (31 July 2020). "'Not correct' that robodebt caused suicides, former head of Human Services says". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  25. ↑ Henriques-Gomes, Luke (17 August 2020). "Robodebt official challenged by mothers of two young men who took their own lives". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  26. ↑ Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, Transcript of Proceedings, 11 November 2022, https://robodebt.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2022-11/transcript-hearing-day-12_11-november-2022.pdf
  27. ↑ "Secretary in charge of robodebt admits 'significant failure'". Australian Financial Review. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  28. ↑ Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, Transcript of Proceedings, 8 March 2023, , https://robodebt.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-03/transcript-hearing-day-43-7-march-2023.pdf
  29. ↑ "Robodebt: top bureaucrat admits 'significant oversight' led to cabinet being misled". The Guardian. 7 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023.
  30. ↑ "Minister said 'opinion is just an opinion' when told of robodebt's legal 'challenges', inquiry hears". The Guardian. 22 February 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  31. ↑ Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, Transcript of Proceedings, 8 March 2023, https://robodebt.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-03/transcript-hearing-day-44-8-march-2023.pdf
  32. ↑ "'It annoyed the hell out of me': Robodebt documents withheld from investigators, inquiry hears". ABC News. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  33. ↑ Bannister, Maeve (9 March 2023). "Watchdog 'had doubts' about legality of robodebt scheme". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  34. ↑ Robodebt Royal Commission Hearings Transcript, 28 Feb 2023, https://robodebt.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-03/transcript-hearing-day-38-28-february.pdf
  35. ↑ Henriques-Gomes, Luke (28 February 2023). "Stuart Robert said 'we will double down' after being advised robodebt was unlawful, inquiry told". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023.
  36. ↑ "'We will double down': Former minister refused advice to apologise for Robodebt, inquiry hears". ABC News. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  37. ↑ Eccles, David (6 March 2023). "Bureaucrat who 'took credit' for robodebt to front inquiry again". InDaily. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023.
  38. ↑ Brown, Andrew (20 July 2023). "Senior public servant suspended after robodebt findings". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  39. ↑ "Statement on Kathryn Campbell". Media release. Department of Defence. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023.
  40. ↑ Landis-Hanley, Justine (21 July 2023). "Will Kathryn Campbell take home a six-figure pension?". The Canberra Times.
  41. ↑ CPSU Statement on Campbell Resignation,https://www.cpsu.org.au/CPSU/Content/Media_releases/CPSU_statement_on_resignation_of_Kathryn_Campbell.aspx
  42. 1 2 "Alumnus of the Year Award Previous Winners - University of Southern Queensland". Archived from the original on 3 November 2022.
  43. ↑ "Asia Society Australia Announces the Appointment of Kathryn Campbell AO CSC to the Advisory Council". 8 November 2021.
  44. ↑ "Search Australian Honours, Name: CAMPBELL, Kathryn Jane, Award: Conspicuous Service Cross", itsanhonour.gov.au, Australian Government, archived from the original on 29 July 2015
  45. ↑ "Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). Australia Day 2019 Honours List. Office of the Governor-General of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  46. ↑ "Australia Day 2022 Honours List" (PDF). Office of the Governor-General of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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