Locked down Australians struggling to access Covid payments
Jul 22, 2021 19:40:27 GMT 7
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Post by bear on Jul 22, 2021 19:40:27 GMT 7
‘Totally unacceptable’: locked down Australians struggling to access Covid payments
Services Australia says it has fixed a problem with myGov but admits backlog of 71,000 claims is causing delays
Locked down and out-of-work Australians struggling to access Covid disaster payments are waiting hours on the phone for assistance, and even longer in some branch queues, with Centrelink staff worried in-person identification checks risk spreading the virus.
Services Australia said on Wednesday it had resolved an online issue that had caused problems for people trying to link their myGov and Centrelink accounts. But the agency admitted that the 71,000 claims received on Tuesday alone continued to cause service delays even as wait times were being reduced.
People who have lost more than 20 hours of work a week because of a lockdown are eligible for $600 a week under the commonwealth’s Covid disaster payment scheme. Anyone who has lost between eight and 20 hours a week is entitled to $375.
But an estimated 1 million people across locked-down Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, who are already receiving existing income supports including jobseeker or youth allowance, have been barred from the payments, with the government so far rejecting calls to expand eligibility.
The Services Australia general manager, Hank Jongen, said about 93% of claims so far had been lodged online. But physical identification requirements and other people requiring in-person help continued to put pressure on Centrelink workers.
Jongen acknowledged there had been pressure at branches but he downplayed the queues. He suggested they were more visible due to Covid distancing and capacity requirements that limited how many staff and customers could be inside at once.
“This may result in a noticeable queue in some locations, however, this does not mean we’re dealing with increased demand in our service centres,” Jongen said.
The general manager said despite the increased demand for phone services, call wait times for the disaster payment had “improved over the week to about 20 minutes”.
The Community and Public Sector Union, which represents Centrelink workers, has blasted as “unacceptable” the criteria for the new disaster payments – as well as the continuation of strict rules for payments like jobseeker – that force some people into branches for identification checks.
The union wants the Morrison government to relax Centrelink application rules for all payments to avoid people unnecessarily gathering in Covid hotspots.
“The government cannot ignore the lines outside Centrelink while the health advice is to stay home and socially distance,” said the union’s national president, Alistair Waters. Members were “concerned about community safety with long queues and long waits outside Centrelink offices”.
“We are calling on the Morrison government to action every available option to limit community interaction and upgrade online access, just as they did last year,” Waters said.
Jongen insisted the health and safety of customers and staff was the agency’s highest priority.
Morrison offers microaggression and deflection, when all we want is an apology – and a solution
“We are strictly adhering to the health orders,” he said. “For those customers who do have to visit an office, we’re serving customers quickly and efficiently, while bound by these health orders.”
Service Australia’s claim that call wait times and queues were improving was met with frustration.
Kate Kelly lives in Sydney but manages the Centrelink support payments her severely disabled sister in Adelaide receives.
Kelly said the extra demand for Centrelink’s support services stemming from the new Covid disaster payments was affecting people needing help with regular payments.
She said Centrelink had unexpectedly scheduled a mandatory in-person appointment for her sister on Tuesday that showed up in her online account.
She attends most appointments for her sister. Given that both Sydney and Adelaide are in lockdown, she tried to call Centrelink to reschedule the appointment and check her sister’s payments wouldn’t be stopped.
“I have tried at least 10 times to call Centrelink … but every single time I end up with a message saying they have too many calls and to try again later,” Kelly said. “I don’t even get to wait in a phone queue. I just get cut off. It is totally unacceptable.
“It’s not just a matter of long wait times. It is a matter of having no safe way to contact Centrelink in a timely manner.”
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/22/totally-unacceptable-locked-down-australians-struggling-to-access-covid-payments
Services Australia says it has fixed a problem with myGov but admits backlog of 71,000 claims is causing delays
Locked down and out-of-work Australians struggling to access Covid disaster payments are waiting hours on the phone for assistance, and even longer in some branch queues, with Centrelink staff worried in-person identification checks risk spreading the virus.
Services Australia said on Wednesday it had resolved an online issue that had caused problems for people trying to link their myGov and Centrelink accounts. But the agency admitted that the 71,000 claims received on Tuesday alone continued to cause service delays even as wait times were being reduced.
People who have lost more than 20 hours of work a week because of a lockdown are eligible for $600 a week under the commonwealth’s Covid disaster payment scheme. Anyone who has lost between eight and 20 hours a week is entitled to $375.
But an estimated 1 million people across locked-down Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, who are already receiving existing income supports including jobseeker or youth allowance, have been barred from the payments, with the government so far rejecting calls to expand eligibility.
The Services Australia general manager, Hank Jongen, said about 93% of claims so far had been lodged online. But physical identification requirements and other people requiring in-person help continued to put pressure on Centrelink workers.
Jongen acknowledged there had been pressure at branches but he downplayed the queues. He suggested they were more visible due to Covid distancing and capacity requirements that limited how many staff and customers could be inside at once.
“This may result in a noticeable queue in some locations, however, this does not mean we’re dealing with increased demand in our service centres,” Jongen said.
The general manager said despite the increased demand for phone services, call wait times for the disaster payment had “improved over the week to about 20 minutes”.
The Community and Public Sector Union, which represents Centrelink workers, has blasted as “unacceptable” the criteria for the new disaster payments – as well as the continuation of strict rules for payments like jobseeker – that force some people into branches for identification checks.
The union wants the Morrison government to relax Centrelink application rules for all payments to avoid people unnecessarily gathering in Covid hotspots.
“The government cannot ignore the lines outside Centrelink while the health advice is to stay home and socially distance,” said the union’s national president, Alistair Waters. Members were “concerned about community safety with long queues and long waits outside Centrelink offices”.
“We are calling on the Morrison government to action every available option to limit community interaction and upgrade online access, just as they did last year,” Waters said.
Jongen insisted the health and safety of customers and staff was the agency’s highest priority.
Morrison offers microaggression and deflection, when all we want is an apology – and a solution
“We are strictly adhering to the health orders,” he said. “For those customers who do have to visit an office, we’re serving customers quickly and efficiently, while bound by these health orders.”
Service Australia’s claim that call wait times and queues were improving was met with frustration.
Kate Kelly lives in Sydney but manages the Centrelink support payments her severely disabled sister in Adelaide receives.
Kelly said the extra demand for Centrelink’s support services stemming from the new Covid disaster payments was affecting people needing help with regular payments.
She said Centrelink had unexpectedly scheduled a mandatory in-person appointment for her sister on Tuesday that showed up in her online account.
She attends most appointments for her sister. Given that both Sydney and Adelaide are in lockdown, she tried to call Centrelink to reschedule the appointment and check her sister’s payments wouldn’t be stopped.
“I have tried at least 10 times to call Centrelink … but every single time I end up with a message saying they have too many calls and to try again later,” Kelly said. “I don’t even get to wait in a phone queue. I just get cut off. It is totally unacceptable.
“It’s not just a matter of long wait times. It is a matter of having no safe way to contact Centrelink in a timely manner.”
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/22/totally-unacceptable-locked-down-australians-struggling-to-access-covid-payments
