How Crikey Could Improve Its Online Delivery of the NACC’s Robodebt Findings

[embed]NACC's robodebt investigation conjures offensive and stupid excuses for letting Scott Morison off The NACC report on robodebt is out and it exonerates Scott Morrison, with a series of excuses and a justification of…www.crikey.com.au

This Crikey article mainly criticizes the NACC’s handling of the Robodebt findings. It argues that although the NACC found two officials had engaged in serious misconduct, it still decided not to pursue corruption findings against former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Screenshot of Crikey’s headline and article layout for its report on the NACC’s robodebt findings. Source: Crikey.

This article is a timely report with a direct headline and clear layout. However, its online delivery still has some limitations.

Scannability

The article has too much text. The paragraphs are long. For a political issue that is already quite complex, this kind of presentation increases the reader’s burden. If the paragraphs were shorter, with more breaks and more white space, the article would be easier to read online.

Multimediality

As Son (2022) mentioned, online-friendly journalism can be strengthened through interactive and visual content, like

1. Videos
2. Slideshows
3. Infographics
4. Data visualizations

However, apart from the main image at the beginning, the article has no other visual elements. As this is developing news, adding a simple visual timeline would also make the article easier to follow and help readers compare key developments more clearly.

Hypertextuality

The article uses only one hyperlink to the NACC investigation document. News should include enough hyperlinks to sources and cited events so that users can look them up more easily (Son, 2022). Crikey’s article could be improved by adding more relevant links.

Reference

Basford Canales, S. (2026, March 11). Two robodebt officials engaged in serious corrupt conduct, Nacc finds, but Scott Morrison cleared. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/11/robodebt-officials-serious-corrupt-conduct-nacc-finds-scott-morrison-cleared-ntwnfb

Keane, B. (2026, March 11). NACC’s robodebt investigation conjures offensive and stupid excuses for letting Scott Morrison off. Crikey. https://www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/11/nacc-robodebt-investigation-scott-morrison-findings/

National Anti-Corruption Commission. (2026, March 11). NACC publishes investigation report into Robodebt referrals. https://www.nacc.gov.au/news-and-media/nacc-publishes-investigation-report-robodebt-referrals

Son, J. (2022). Online journalism and storytelling: A training and learning kit. FOJO Media Institute. https://sydney.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/readinglist/citation/52586592180005106/file/viewer

Wikipedia contributors. (2026, February 13). Scott Morrison. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 12, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scott_Morrison&oldid=1338176150