Australia had provided support deploying more than 20 mobile support teams into dozens of hard-to-reach communities, and delivered millions of dollars via thousands of disaster payments to fire-affected residents. He noted Services Australia also successfully trialed facial verification technology to provide support to those who had lost identity documents. Government Services Response to COVID-19 Pandemic As Minister for Government Services Minister Robert led Services Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020 the National Cabinet closed large sections of the Australian economy driving a high demand for social supports and saw thousands of people queue outside Centrelinks to apply for government payments. Following a surge of 12,000 staff drawn from across the Australian Public Service and service partners Services Australia processed as many JobSeeker claims within roughly 50 days as it normally would in two years. Thanks to help from staff from across the Australian Public Service, the agency has granted financial assistance to over 800,000 Australians who have lost their jobs. On Sunday 7 February 2021 Minister Robert announced Services Australia would ensure Australians would be able to tap and display COVID-19 “proof of vaccination” certificates on their phones or carry hard copies with them. Future of Government Services In December 2020 Minister Robert announced a refurbished Services Australia Service Centre in Western Australia would be used to trial a “new era” of government service delivery. The Perth City Service Centre would offer a new “welcoming environment” that has been designed specifically to help older Australians who need additional support. Minister Robert said the new centre would offer upgraded self-service facilities and digital support, appointment-based services, and specialist services made available through video chat. Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business In March 2021 Robert was promoted to the role of Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business. He also retained responsibility for whole-of-government technology through the Digital Transformation Agency. Previous Policy stances Robert is a member of the Centre-Right faction of the Liberal Party,and is an advocate of reforming the indexation rules surrounding military superannuation in both the Defence Force Retirements Benefits scheme and the Defence Force Retirement & Death Benefits scheme. He has spoken in Parliament on a number of occasions to argue that indexation rules should reflect the "unique nature of military service". He has also stated that such service deserves a superannuation scheme with fair indexation that is "indexed in the same