People Need to Understand That They Are Stealing From Their Neighbours’

A Critical Media Analysis of the Representations and Resistance Throughout the Robodebt Scheme

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11229136
AutoresElla Kruger (University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia), Phillipa Evans (0000-0003-0225-6141, University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Fecha de publicación2025-07-06
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAustralian Journal of Social Issues (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0157-6321 • E-ISSN: 1839-4655
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajs4.70042
OpenAlexW4412065364
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas23

The Robodebt scheme issued thousand‐dollar debts to an estimated half a million people who had received social security. The debts were largely inaccurate and illegal, with the aim of improving the federal government's budget. The 2023 Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme found that the stigmatising political and public language about people receiving necessary government support was fundamental to Robodebt's rise and fall. Yet, there is currently no research on the discourses around Robodebt. This study provides a descriptive analysis of 42 news articles to investigate Australian news media representations of people who received Robodebts and social security across three key years and three media outlets. Our mixed‐methods analysis found that the representations of people changed significantly over time. Earlier representations from 2016 were more inconsistent and likely to describe people as exploitative ‘frauds’ and ‘cheats’. However, by 2023, the articles represented people more consistently as ‘victims’, vulnerable or subject to injustice. People impacted by the scheme were quoted the most in 2023, informing more evidence‐based and dignified representations. Ultimately, this study argues that future just and accessible social security policy must be led by advocacy and people with lived experience

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