Tasmanians are doubly over-represented in the class action against the government's potentially illegal robo-debt program, suggesting the harm from the part-automated government welfare retrieval process hit the island state harder.
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Of the approximately 10,000 people registered for the class action, about 450 were from Tasmania, according to data released by Gordon Legal which is running the action in the Federal Court.
This represents 4.5 per cent of the applicants, while Tasmania only makes up 2.1 per cent of Australia's population.
The class action is examining whether the debts issued as a result of income averaging - in which Centrelink based the debt on an estimate of an individual's income - are unlawful.
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About 600,000 debts were issued as a result of this method.
Gordon Legal's action is calling for these debts to be refunded and for compensation to be paid.
More than 120,000 Tasmanians live below the poverty line.
TasCOSS acting chief executive officer Simone Zell said the program was "blatantly unfair", and the disproportionate rate of Tasmanians involved in the class action "is likely a reflection of the prevalence of low incomes in our state".
"The high rate of under-employed or part-time workers in Tasmania has also added to the impact of robo-debt as fluctuating incomes such as these make people particularly vulnerable to automated income matching systems," she said.
"Ninety-four per cent of jobs created in the past five years were casual or part-time (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
"Robo-debt created a culture of fear and dread around our social safety net that has driven people away from support when they need it most."
A Senate inquiry into Centrelink's compliance program held a public hearing in Launceston last year.
A spokesperson for the Minister for Government Services, Stuart Robert, said it would be inappropriate to comment as the matter is before the court.