Former Department of Social Services official denies she turned a blind eye to robodebt, inquiry hears

Former deputy secretary Serena Wilson denies ‘reconstructing events’ in her evidence to the royal commission to protect her own interests

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The former deputy secretary of the Department of Social Services has told a royal commission she denies “reconstructing events” to protect herself from claims she turned a blind eye to the robodebt scheme.

Fronting the inquiry for a second time on Thursday, Serena Wilson repeated claims her counterpart at the Department of Human Services, Malisa Golightly, assured her Centrelink would not use “income averaging” to raise welfare debts under a proposal taken to cabinet in 2015.

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