Anglicare has released a report today finding that the Government’s digitisation and automation of Centrelink is making it more for Australians to access Centrelink.
Over the past year, the Government has attempted to shift more people to managing their Centrelink matters online.
But this transition has not been easy for older Australians and vulnerable Australians.
Many are finding Centrelink’s online platform difficult to navigate.
People are attending Centrelink in person or phoning Centrelink because the online platform is simply not easy to use.
But people who attend in person are being redirected online or redirected to the phones, and again forced to endure long wait times.
It’s a vicious cycle of vulnerable Australians being forced to the edge of their bank accounts while they wait for, or simply not receive their payments at all.
Labor welcomes the transition of services online, so long as it remains accessible for vulnerable Australians.
But it shouldn’t mean that we neglect in-person and phone services.
It should also involve providing vulnerable Australians with the support necessary to learn to navigate the online system.
The Turnbull Government has demonstrated time and again that it is only interested in making the claiming of income support so difficult and frightening in the hope people just give up.
This year, the number of busy signals for older Australians using the age pension phone line is projected to increase from 800,000 to 1.2 million.
Centrelink call wait times have blown out for older Australians, students, and families and parents.
The reality is these are just averages. We know of stories where people have had to wait for many hours just to speak to someone.
Age pension and carers payment median processing times by Centrelink have dramatically increased.
The median times data does not take into account instances when Centrelink requests further information, which can further delay the approval process.
In reality, pensioners are waiting for many more months for their age pension.