Social Services Minister Anne Ruston has admitted Centrelink compliance activity briefly restarted in flood-affected Townsville, but insists no debts were pursued.
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Senator Ruston was responding to concerns people in the north Queensland city had been chased through the controversial "robo-debt" program.
Labor has pursued the issue in Senate question time over the past fortnight, producing a redacted Centrelink letter sent to a Townsville address asking for almost $2000 in owed welfare.
Senator Ruston said compliance activity restarted on July 2 but the department had since been told to stop, while also continuing the freeze of debt recovery.
"That has subsequently happened," she told parliament on Thursday.
Compliance activity is the first stage of the process, which identifies a discrepancy in payments, while debt recovery letters are sent once an issue is confirmed.
Senator Ruston said she would investigate the letter Labor had produced and report back to the Senate.
Labor senator Nita Green said Senator Ruston and Government Services Minister Stuart Robert, who is in charge of debt recovery, were trying to split hairs.
"If I get a letter demanding I pay a debt in four weeks, that sounds like debt recovery to me," she told parliament.
"Townsville residents are hurting and they should not be harassed by the government for debts that they may not even owe."
Australian Associated Press
