When Centrelink started hounding Lloyd Taylor for money he didn't owe them, he was doing what the government wanted.
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Having dropped out of school young, with parents who never graduated, Mr Taylor was studying his Year 12 Certificate at the Canberra Institute of Technology to better his life.
It was 2015, he was in his early 20s, had moved to Canberra from the coast and was surviving on a student subsidy. He lived week-to-week with little savings.
Then came the letters, the calls, and the dark place.
"[I felt] stressed, I was dealing with my own mental problems and confused, because I thought I was doing the right thing," Mr Taylor said.
"No one would listen, [I was on the phone to Centrelink] for hours on end.
"I felt like I was gonna go to court and have to defend myself over [a few hundred dollars a week]."
Commissioner Catherine Holmes handed down a report on Friday outlining her findings and recommendations after a royal commission into the robodebt scheme.
The scheme operated from 2015 to 2019, and issued automatic notices to people the scheme determined owed the government money.
The Albanese government said there were more than half a million victims of the scheme.
Commissioner Holmes said that "at the heart of the 'massive failure of public administration', which was the Robodebt Scheme were the social security recipients who were targeted".
"Little to no regard was had to the individuals and vulnerable cohorts that [the scheme] would affect," she said.
This included people who took their own lives after receiving debt letters.
"The Scheme was responsible for heartbreak and harm to family members of those who took their own lives because of the despair [it] caused them," Commissioner Holmes wrote.
When someone takes their own life, the entire community is impacted, Suicide Prevention Australia CEO Nieves Murray said.
"We can never underestimate the impact that every life lost to suicide has on family, friends, workplaces and the broader community," she said.
The Commission also heard from people who would not seek welfare after false debts, despite being in serious financial hardship.
After his experience, Mr Taylor's trust in social services was eroded, and he has decided he will never seek welfare again.
"I can't trust the government because of what's happened," he said.
Now working at Woden Community Service and studying social work at university, Mr Taylor considers himself one of the lucky ones.
He was able to get payslips from his previous job and prove he did not owe the welfare department money.
Not all Robodebt victims were able to stand up for themselves, senior manager of mental health programs at Woden Community Service and Mr Taylor's boss Leanne Heald said.
"[Lloyd] was able to get through that, but we've got participants who can't, and we've got participants where getting away from Centrelink income is not an option for them," she said.
"To get a message like that, you can only imagine what that would do to their mental health.
"There are a cohort of people out there that can't look at that letter and simply go, 'I'll prove to you that's not the case'. That would cause a lot of anxiety and grief and paralyse them."
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The Commissioner also slammed the politicisation and stigmatisation of people who receive income support.
"Recipients were made to feel like second-class citizens, criminals, and dole cheats," she said.
Ms Heald said while some people had no choice but to rely on social welfare permanently, Mr Taylor's story showed how it could help someone improve their life and re-enter the economy.
Support is available for those who may be distressed:
- Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis support line)
- Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 (24/7 telephone, website or email short-term counselling)