Having worked in the Centrelink debt system, there are just a few problems with this idea that are an issue. First there are the wrongful debts. This includes those raised years later, where people can no longer raise payslips and are being raised due to comparison to tax records which don't compare as accurately as the data most people and companies don't keep. There are also those where Centrelink are notified but dont act. People in general are so confused by the system, they trust Centrelink. 

Then thete are the poor who change addresses many times. Because they can only afford cheap accommodation which is churned over about every six months, they may have moved twice by the time the debt is raised. Should they be penalised for not being able to afford better accommodation?

Also debts are forwarded to debt collector after 10 days. Given that Australia Post cannot guarantee delivery to regional areas in that time frame let alone allow time for people to research or obtain records, is this fait?

And yet the rich who owe millions can negotiate a discount on their tax or ASIC fines repayments as they can afford the lawyers. Where is the justice?

The evidence from Centrelink is one hundred and seventy thousand people have nine hundred million dollars of debt with Centrelink and choose not to repay their Centrelink debt.

Why is this? Could it be because Centrelink debt is the cheapest debt anyone is ever likely to have? Probably yes.

Would anyone choose to repay debt which has a zero percent interest rate? Probably no (unless they were forced to).

The Australian Government currently owes the rest of the world about three hundred and fifty thousand million dollars and pays interest on every dollar of it. Every year the Australian Government spends more than it takes so the debt continues to increase. It is financially incompetent of the Australian Government to loan one hundred and seventy thousand people nine hundred million dollars at zero percent interest. At last some action which is common sense to most of us.

I like they way you think

More than 1,000 rich welfare cheats have been forced to repay over $40 million to taxpayers under a recent crackdown, the Federal Government says.

Amount recouped by state:

ACT: $304,621

NSW: $15,578,530

NT: $18,790

QLD: $2,462,520

SA: $1,129,667

TAS: $672,245

VIC: $21,069,394

WA: $2,192,260

Centrelink has been working with Australia's financial intelligence agency to identify welfare recipients with large amounts of unexplained wealth.

Using data-matching technology, suspicious bank transactions can be instantly cross-checked against Human Services Department records.

Centrelink has recouped $43.4 million since July 2015, with more than one third of that amount being returned this financial year.

Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said "there's a lot of money that can be saved" by targeting wealthy rorters.

Time they got back some of my misplaced taxes. Heard today they're going to drug test some welfare recipients. Not a bad idea, but I'm thinking the backlash will be huge from the do gooders.

The public service and the government are not able to run the welfare system fairly or correctly.

In other words they could not manage a root in a brothel.