Senior public servants responsible for the illegal robodebt scandal could soon be investigated for misconduct.
Laws introduced to federal parliament on Wednesday will give the Australian Public Service Commissioner powers to investigate former agency leaders for breaching the public service code of conduct.
The changes were brought in after the royal commission into the unlawful robodebt scheme led to concerns officials responsible would not be able to be properly investigated.
Between 2015 and 2019, the botched scheme set up by the coalition government automatically used tax office data to calculate average earnings and issue debt notices.
Robodebt recovered more than $750 million from almost 400,000 people, with many welfare recipients falsely accused of owing the government money.
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the laws would help to restore integrity to the Australian public service.
"We expect the highest standards of conduct from those in whom we place the highest levels of trust," he told parliament.
"Agency heads are bound by the code of conduct in the same way as other Australian public servants ... these amendments will ensure the accountability of our most senior officials are in line with the public's expectations."
But people who campaigned against robodebt said more was needed to be done to address issues following the illegal scheme.
Asher Wolf, one of the lead organisers against robodebt, said while the laws were better than nothing, there had been a lack of accountability for senior officials involved.
"No one has faced charges, no one has gone to prison. No member of the Australian Public Service has faced an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission over robodebt," she told AAP.
"(Former Department of Human Services head) Kathryn Campbell will retire with her Australian Public Service superannuation, while there are unresolved false debts spanning back to 2003 that people unfortunately went to jail over."
The National Anti-Corruption Commission announced in June it would not launch investigations into officials connected with robodebt, saying they had already been examined through a royal commission.
The laws will also allow for agency heads who resign or retire during investigations into their conduct to be held accountable for their actions.
Mr Shorten said robodebt was the catalyst for the public service changes being introduced.
"As the inquiries progressed, claims were made that the alleged breaches of the code of conduct by former agency heads could not be investigated," he said.
But Ms Wolf said more action needed to be taken to address issues in the public service.
"(The government) may think that throwing the public a bone on accountability once in a while is enough to launder new data laws like digital ID," she said.
"But the Albanese government simply does not have public trust when it comes to accountability and transparency in the Australian Public Service."
