Tudge, who was human services minister between 2016 and 2017, will be the third former minister to be questioned at the inquiry into the unlawful Centrelink debt recovery program.

The scheme, which used averaging on incomes to determine debt levels, ran from 2015 to 2019 but continued to operate despite concerns over its legality.

The controversial program recovered more than $750 million from over 380,000 people, leading to several taking their own lives while being pursued for false debts.

The royal commission was on Tuesday told how Tudge requested the Centrelink files of those affected by robodebt who had appeared in media articles about the scheme.

Tudge’s former media adviser Rachelle Miller, who also appeared at the commission, said private Centrelink details of robodebt victims were also provided to journalists in a bid to discredit negative articles about robodebt.

Miller said Tudge was forceful about finding case studies of people who had received Centrelink debt notices so they could be used in the media as well as political attacks.

She told the hearing she first heard about the robodebt scheme in late 2016 and that it suited the government narrative on cracking down on welfare debt.

“We were under a great deal of pressure there and I think that I saw that as a good story opportunity,” she said.

Tudge will also be cross-examined by lawyers for Miller during Wednesday’s hearing.

Former Liberal minister Christian Porter, who was in charge of social services at the time of the scheme, will also testify before the royal commission later this week.