The chairwoman of the Senate inquiry into Centrelink's automated debt recovery system says it remains unclear how many overpayment errors have been caused by the agency itself.

Figures provided by the Department of Human Services to the inquiry yesterday show 133,282 debts were raised or identified between July and December last year, and almost 8,500 of those were reduced to zero or waived altogether.

But Greens senator Rachel Siewert said the department was not collecting figures on how many overpayments were caused by errors within the system, rather than by recipients.

"They don't count it," she said. "I asked again in estimates last week and they confirmed they don't keep a record of the number of errors that are made that result in overpayments, so we have no idea."

Senator Siewert said the Senate committee had also requested more information on how many debts have been reduced after a Centrelink client asked for their case to be reviewed.

"I think it remains very unclear what is the percentage of errors from Centrelink itself that have resulted in overpayments."

The new system was introduced in mid-2016. It matches Centrelink information with Australian Tax Office records, and automatically issues a letter asking for an explanation if it identifies a discrepancy.

In January, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge made some changes in a bid to address increasing community concern.

Letters are now sent by registered post to make sure they are received, and people do not have to start paying back a debt if their case is under review.

Senator Siewert said the changes were welcome but not enough.

"As far as many people are concerned it's like moving chairs on the Titanic for a better view, whereas what people want is a completely different system and they don't want the automated system, certainly not how it's being implemented even with the changes."

Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) chief executive Cassandra Goldie told the inquiry the program had caused "extensive distress and suffering".

But Mr Tudge rejected claims his department had cultivated "a climate of fear" over debt repayments.

"These statements are being made by people like the unions and ACOSS who have a philosophical objection to doing widespread compliance checks," Mr Tudge said.

"We think this is a critical part of our overall system to ensure there's integrity."

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