Like “hell“: locals struggle with Centrelink

The resident described numerous Centrelink bungles as being like "hell".

By Danielle Kutchel

Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, decimating jobs and whole industries, thousands of Australians have found themselves dependent on government support to get by.

For many, this is their first time dealing with the notorious Centrelink – notorious for numerous bungles over the years, including the Robodebt scandal.

Some are finding their problems are simpler than being issued with a debt recovery notice.

One Officer resident who was forced onto Centrelink as part of the initial Covid job-losses said the system was incredibly difficult to navigate.

“It’s just not intuitive. There are questions that repeat themselves and somehow, despite putting in that I live with a partner, I had to go all the way to the end before it asked for his details and then I had to go back to the start and start it all over again,“ she said.

Fortunately, the resident found work and immediately contacted Centrelink to revoke her application for JobSeeker. But two weeks later, she received a JobSeeker payment.

“I contacted them to tell them that had to be an error because I was no longer eligible, and they couldn’t tell me why I’d even received it,“ she said.

“I asked if I would have to pay it back if it was an error and they couldn’t confirm that either.“

She later received a notification that her application for JobSeeker had been cancelled – dated before she had even put in the initial claim.

For those who have dealt with Centrelink for more than the past four months, these issues are nothing new.

Another resident, who wished to remain anonynous out of fear of reprisals from Centrelink should they know she was speaking out about her experience, described years of unfair treatment at the hands of the government agency.

“To call it hell would be a gross understatement,“ the resident said.

“I have chronic health conditions and for all intents and purposes, I should be on the disability pension.

“However, the hoops you have to jump through are so convoluted and taxing.

“What makes matters worse is that there are so many other people like me – chronically ill or disabled Australians either scared off the disability pension, or kicked off onto the much cheaper Newstart.“

She too has faced her share of mix-ups and blunders with Centrelink.

“It took Centrelink months to process my first claim, which was then rejected because they said I provided incorrect bank details. I didn’t. They even admitted that when I went into the Centrelink branch to reapply.

“I was then awarded $1 and my case file closed. I then had to reapply again, all the while in crippling pain awaiting surgery on the public waitlist.“

At one point she was assigned a face-to-face appointment in New South Wales – despite having lived in the City of Casey for her entire life and there being no evidence that she had ever lived anywhere else.

The resident, who uses a walking stick to get around due to her disability, was marked as “no barriers to employment“ even though her disability limits the type of work she is able to do – and the onus, she said, was on her to shuffle back into the organisation’s office or call their “clogged phone line“ to fix the error.

Attitudes from the media and the public compound her feelings of worthlessness and despair, she said, with words like “bludger“, “scum“ and “lazy“ often getting thrown around in response to stories of people who are on any form of Centrelink support.

“I don’t ’want’ to be on Centrelink. No one ’wants’ to be on Centrelink. You simply find yourself on Centrelink because there’s no other option.

“And yet we’re branded these horrible words. It feels like no one cares about you. You’re the lowest of the low,“ she said.

Hank Jongen, general manager of Services Australia which delivers government payments including those from Centrelink, said the organisation does everything it can to “sensitively and comprehensively“ help those in need.

He added that Services Australia has made improvements to its services, such as upgrading the capacity of MyGov, and taking on more staff to process claims.

A spokesperson for the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union (AUWU) said the union had seen a “dramatic increase“ in the number of people looking for support during Covid-19.

Anyone unsure on how to navigate the Centrelink maze can call the AUWU’s free advice hotline, the spokesperson said, on 1800 289 848.

“Thankfully, Centrelink have recently made their online systems easier to follow and navigate, but please don’t stress or panic if you’re not sure what to do,“ the spokesperson said.

When contacted for comment, LaTrobe MP Jason Wood said that any resident who has issues with Centrelink can contact him or his office for support.