[4][5] In July 2022, she was removed as Secretary of DFAT,[6] and was appointed to the defence portfolio as an advisor to the AUKUS program, while retaining the remuneration of her previous role.

[1] On 9 July 2021, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced her appointment as the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), replacing Frances Adamson.

[5] In June 2022, new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Campbell would be replaced as Secretary of DFAT, with her term concluding on 1 July 2022.

It was also clear that Campbell’s central role in the Robodebt controversy was a major concern and Labor had made an election pledge to launch a royal commission into the discredited scheme.

[15][16] On 31 May 2023, Senator Jacqui Lambie questioned Greg Moriarty on his appointment of Campbell to the $900,000 job as a supervisor for the AUKUS nuclear submarine project, specifically because she has been the central figure in the Robodebt scandal.

Although Moriarty said that at the time he appointed Campbell there was no Royal Commission, her responsibilities for Robodebt were already well-known, as were her denials including to Senate Estimates.

The mother of one man who died by suicide after receiving a Robodebt notice responded by saying "I wanted five minutes with [Campbell] for her to tell me how she knows my son better than I did.

[26][27] In her third and final testimony, Campbell admitted it was her Department's "significant oversight" that led to cabinet being misled, though denied it was deliberate.

[28][29] Timothy Ffrench, who was chief counsel at DHS, testified that Campbell was largely to blame for a culture that meant the Robodebt scheme’s legality was not checked earlier.

She testified that staff had been very fearful of Campbell and "the reward and punishment culture" that she promoted, as well as her practices of aggression and public shaming.

Further, it reported that Campbell “did nothing of substance” when exposed to information that brought to light the illegality of income averaging, and “failed to act” when presented with opportunities to obtain legal advice.

The Royal Commissioner Catherine Holmes concluded by stating that the people behind robodebt caused extraordinary harm “through venality, incompetence and cowardice”.