Turnbull Government job cuts to Centrelink are taking their toll in our community.
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Phones are taking longer to be answered, and an increasing number of people are complaining that they can’t get through at all.
Others say when they go into a Centrelink office they can’t find a person who is able to help them or answer their questions.
My office has received more than 1000 requests for help in Centrelink matters in the past 18 months – from calls going unanswered to age pensions and disability support pensions taking months and months to be approved.
When we do try to help, we find the staff at Centrelink helpful.
But they can only do so much in a system that is under-funded, under-resourced, and, quite frankly, broken.
The Government slashed 1200 jobs from the Department of Human Services at the budget last year, and then announced in October it was outsourcing 200 jobs to a call centre to manage the backlog in missed calls and lengthy call wait times.
It announced last week that phone calls to Centrelink were now taking an average of 15 minutes and 44 seconds to be answered, but callers everywhere suggest it is more like 45 minutes.
“15 minutes! That’s an outright lie,” wrote one Facebook commenter. “I suggest that’s the average amount of time people wait before hanging up.”
“Nope, not even close,” said another. “I was told by several Centrelink employees that if you’re not on hold by midday, you won’t get through that day.”
People in our community don’t call Centrelink for fun – they need help. And even the most tech-savvy among us can run up against problems trying to navigate online and automated phone systems.
This terrible situation will not improve until the Turnbull Government accepts it is real, and employs more permanent, full-time staff who are qualified and familiar with the complex system of income support Australia provides.
Instead of giving jobs to informed and well-trained Australians, Centrelink is pointing people towards an increasingly unfriendly web of online and automated services.
My staff members have built good working relationships with people who work for Centrelink, and we have great empathy for the demands they face. But that does not change the fact that their employer, the Turnbull Government and its Department of Human Services, is failing many Australians – young people, students, families, people without work, people unable to work, people caring for others and, most importantly, our valued senior citizens.
More and more my office is forced to direct people in crisis towards charitable organisations who can provide emergency food relief, shelter and domestic violence support. Clearly, the workers who are left at Centrelink are doing their best, but the system is broken. The Turnbull Government must urgently provide more trained, full-time staff. It’s a sad situation when so many constituents are feeling ignored and abandoned, that their experience with Centrelink is humiliating and dehumanising.
We don’t need to make a bad situation worse by leaving people hanging on the line.
If you are having problems with Centrelink or any Federal Government issues please be in touch via email: meryl.swanson.mp@aph.gov.au.
