Much of that angst is reflected in a marathon on the line to a call centre or being treated as a number.

Given the federal government's long move away from a "human interface" the emergence of the Robodebt scandal is not surprising.

Both Coalition and Labor governments have been involved in taking a hardline approach to fraudulent welfare claims.

That in itself is not unreasonable, given more than 35 per cent of the federal budget funds social security and welfare there is an expectation it will be distributed fairly and to those most in need.

However, Robodebt has exposed what happens when a computer-generated process to collect supposed arrears is not properly administered and monitored.

The matching of data between the Australian Tax Office and Centrelink has been exposed as hopelessly wrong with $721 million to now be paid back to those incorrectly accused of rorting.

The government will not apologise for the fiasco, hiding behind the line that legal action against the Commonwealth is outstanding.

That may be so and government ministers might still have to enter a witness box to answer questions about Robodebt, but the bottom line is those who have suffered through this process deserve an apology.

Marriage breakdowns, suicides and depression have been linked to this scandal.

Social Security Minister Stuart Robert was given the task of announcing the $721 million payback.

While he is not the only minister to have overseen Robodebt in its years of operation, he is the person responsible now and he should resign, given the gravity of the matter.

This affair does nothing for people's faith in the federal government and it would help to rebuild some integrity in the institution and its arms if Mr Robert resigned.

Sadly though the concept of ministerial accountability seems to be not part of the "human interface" between the government and voters.