Welfare cops now on patrol

The federal government's welfare cop on the beat has finally put his hat on.

Human Services Minister Stuart Robert on Thursday announced the launch of a new federal police-led taskforce to find and crack down on welfare fraudsters.

It's the largest welfare fraud measure ever initiated, he told reporters in Canberra.

A 100-strong team will be tasked with catching fraudsters with the help of eight other Australian Federal Police officers.

They will look to find about $1.7 billion in savings owed to the taxpayer in locations where suspected fraud is high.

A pilot of the program already has found 790 cases of overpayment and recovered $2.2 million.

The Sydney suburb of Rockdale has been one of the first areas under scrutiny, with locations in Victoria and Queensland next.

AFP assistant commissioner Ray Johnson says the chances of people being caught have never been higher.

"It's not worth a criminal record," he said.

But Labor poured cold water on the measure, saying Mr Robert was simply re-hashing old announcements given his predecessor also promised a "welfare cop on the beat".

Those who deliberately rorted the system should be investigated and required to repay the money, it said

"Stuart Robert needs to spend less time trying to look tough and more time doing the tough work his job requires," opposition human services spokesman Doug Cameron said in a statement.