Human Services Minister Alan Tudge announced on Tuesday evening that Centrelink, which has been sending private debt collectors to pursue debts raised under contentious data matching policy, will no longer demand payment for debts that are under review.

But the burden of proof will still lie with the welfare agency's clients who must prove that debts generated by the error-riddled system are not theirs and Mr Tudge's opposite number, Labor's Human Services spokeswoman Linda Burney, says the changes do not go close to fixing the problems with robo-debt.

She said the changes did nothing for people who had already been hit with debt notices by the system, which has been operating in its stepped-up form since July 2016, and were being pursued for money they believe they do not owe.

"Changes to the robo-debt system should be retrospective – it is only fair that those who have already received debt notices are able to have theirs reviewed before being forced to pay debt which may not exist," Ms Burney said.

"Changes are a start but they do nothing to solve the underlying problem, the system makes too many mistakes.

"Making it easier to have debts reviewed is simply an admission that many debt notices have been issued incorrectly.

"Alan Tudge must apologise to those who have been wrongly targeted by his error prone robo-debt system, pause the system and fix it before it is "expanded to target even more age and disability pensioners."

The government has endured a storm of criticism over the recovery program, which uses an automated data-matching program in an effort to track down overpaid welfare benefits, and frustration with the troubled myGov portal has been running high for several years.

The government says it will recover up to $4 billion that has been overpaid to Centrelink clients going back many years in some cases, but there has been a harsh public and political backlash over the high error rate in the automatically-generated debts and complaints of heavy-handed tactics by private debt collectors hired to recover what many clients believe are bogus debts.

Mr Tudge said that he was making it easier for people to get in touch with Centrelink, a key flashpoint in the controversy, when they are notified of discrepancies that they must resolve and people who have been hit with a robo-debt notice can now confirm their data online without having to first establish a myGov account.

Those receiving notices will now be given a special access code to log directly into the online compliance section and enter the required financial information using bank statements which in most cases can be accessed as far back as seven years.

"I've recently made the decision to say that, well, if you ask for a review then you don't have to enter into a repayment schedule," Mr Tudge said on Tuesday night.

"It's only after the review is completed and you still owe the debt that you'll have to enter into that repayment schedule."