Built to
The standards behind payments and entitlements
The Robodebt Royal Commission, the Ombudsman's automated decision-making guide, social security administration and review principles, data-matching rules, proper use of public money, and the UK and US due-process equivalents, with where each shows up.
| Standard | Source | Requirement | Where it shows up here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme (Australia, 2023) | Findings and recommendations on automated decision-making, debt calculation and vulnerability | No adverse decision by automation alone; debts calculated from actual information for the period, never by averaging; a lawful basis for every debt; procedural fairness before recovery; vulnerability identified and acted on; a clear record of who decided and why. | GL-PE-01 (adverse decisions are a person's), GL-PE-05 (actual data per period, notice and 28 days before any recovery decision), hardship considered before recovery, every decision on the evidence chain with the decider's name and role. |
| Commonwealth Ombudsman: Automated decision-making better practice guide | Principles for lawful, fair, transparent automated systems | Legal authority for automation; the rules the system applies are the rules in the law; the person can understand and challenge the decision; humans can intervene; the system is tested and audited. | Automated favourable determinations only under a recorded authorisation (GL-PE-02); eligibility rules cite the provision and the fact relied on; every notice carries reasons and review rights (GL-PE-07); every run is on the record for audit. |
| Social security administration principles (Australia) | Social Security (Administration) Act: notice of decision, internal review by an authorised review officer, external merits review | Written notice with reasons; internal review by someone not involved; external tribunal review; decisions take effect on notice. | Determination and overpayment notices carry reasons, the provision and the review pathway; internal review by REVIEW_OFFICER; external tier recorded. |
| Data-matching guidelines (Australia) | OAIC guidelines and the data-matching program rules | Consent or legal authority for matching; the person notified and given time (28 days) to respond before adverse action; the source of data on the record. | GL-PE-06 (held data only with consent, source recorded on every test); overpayment notices open a 28-day response period before a recovery decision can be recorded. |
| Proper use of public money | PGPA Act s 15 and s 23 (Australia); HM Treasury Managing Public Money (UK) | Payments approved by an officer with authority; records of every payment; efficient, effective, economical and ethical use. | Payment runs prepared by the agent and released by the finance officer (GL-PE-04); every payment linked to an entitlement and a determination. |
| Universal Credit and DWP decision-making (UK) | Mandatory reconsideration then First-tier Tribunal; claimant commitment; change of circumstances duty | A reconsideration step before tribunal; the person's duty to report changes matched by a simple way to do it. | Report a change from the recipient's view; internal review then external tier. |
| Social Security due process (US) | Goldberg v Kelly; SSA reconsideration and hearing rights | Notice and an opportunity to be heard before benefits are reduced or terminated. | Reductions and cancellations held for a person, notified with reasons; the current rate continues until decided. |
| Hardship practice | Social work practice in income support; Financial hardship guidelines | A person in hardship is spoken to, not processed; urgent payments and advances decided by a trained officer with the person's circumstances in front of them. | GL-PE-03: the agent calculates the maximum and the repayment schedule and stops; the support officer must record that they spoke to the person. |
| Privacy and identity | APP 3, 5, 6; GDPR 5, 6, 13; NIST 800-63 / TDIF | Collect only what is needed, tell the person, use only for the purpose; state the identity assurance level and withhold payment until verified. | Consent to data use on the recipient record; identity level gates payment (favourable determination can issue, payment withheld until IAL2). |
| Accessibility and plain language | WCAG 2.2 AA; ISO 24495-1 | Every screen usable with assistive technology; notices a person can understand. | Interfaces designed against WCAG 2.2 AA with conformance evidenced per deployment; reasons written in plain sentences. |