Centrelink registration for COVID-19 support

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
7 weeks without Centrelink. Rang them up and they escalated it to their special division as it shouldn't have taken this long.
 

nathanm

Eats Squid
7 weeks without Centrelink. Rang them up and they escalated it to their special division as it shouldn't have taken this long.
not to say I told you so, but I told you so.

you absolutely cannot rely on "the system". Claims are not looked after by a single dept/person, they are chopped up into pieces and sent around several areas and if one person, most likely undertrained on a temporary contract forgets to put a simple "keyword" in, your claim will simply sit there forever.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
not to say I told you so, but I told you so.

you absolutely cannot rely on "the system". Claims are not looked after by a single dept/person, they are chopped up into pieces and sent around several areas and if one person, most likely undertrained on a temporary contract forgets to put a simple "keyword" in, your claim will simply sit there forever.
It is after all the public service. Personally I think the system and the process doesn't match the vibe that the PM sold the Australian people. A new (short term and project specific) process should have been devised to rapidly deliver emergency support to people. Something very simple like proof of loss of employment, TFN, bank deets, family situation, and some proof of ID to get people enlisted and back above drowning. Balance it all out with their tax return at the end of financial year.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
not to say I told you so, but I told you so.

you absolutely cannot rely on "the system". Claims are not looked after by a single dept/person, they are chopped up into pieces and sent around several areas and if one person, most likely undertrained on a temporary contract forgets to put a simple "keyword" in, your claim will simply sit there forever.
Yeh I know, but when you are told 1000 times not to call and to be patient...
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Yeh I know, but when you are told 1000 times not to call and to be patient...
It's hard to do the right thing, knowing that in all likelihood they've fucked up. That's when I made the resolution to be prepared to drop in at any time going past and there was no line
 

nathanm

Eats Squid
Yeh I know, but when you are told 1000 times not to call and to be patient...
yeah mate I know unfortunately and I also know its BS as you found out. more importantly I hope it's getting sorted for you, but don't be scared to ring the complaints line every single day.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
yeah mate I know unfortunately and I also know its BS as you found out. more importantly I hope it's getting sorted for you, but don't be scared to ring the complaints line every single day.
I know they will be busier than usual but the delays affect others in a big way. Hopefully sorted soon for those waiting.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
First day in the Centrelink line up today. Arrived 8:32 with 12 people in front outside. Man there were a lot of weird people there. Home by 10am.

I then had to call them which took an hour and got some answer. I then had to call back for another hour to get more answers. It's also the 4th time I have had to setup my voice password with them too which was fun...

Then I went for a ride and had a phone interview so we will see how it goes!
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
I will receive a small amount of money from them. I am relieved to have finally navigated their minefield. It does seem they have overlooked my initial application date, so I will need to pursue them for back dating.

Stick with it @mas2 and one day you too many receive scraps from their table.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I will receive a small amount of money from them. I am relieved to have finally navigated their minefield. It does seem they have overlooked my initial application date, so I will need to pursue them for back dating.

Stick with it @mas2 and one day you too many receive scraps from their table.
Yep I found it impossible to tell if they paid the right dates. I remember clicking the first thing which was "register your intent to claim" but the actual claim couldnt happen until 4 days later when they activated it.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
It seemed to me that Centrelink had done me wrong with the payments I did/didn't receive. So I dropped in to see them today and after a bit of digging they have decided they do owe me some back pay.

If you are receiving payments and it doesn't seem right, it may not hurt to ask them to double check their figures.

The bad news for me was that I'm not eligible for a concession card. I was looking forward to getting those discount train fares!
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
It seemed to me that Centrelink had done me wrong with the payments I did/didn't receive. So I dropped in to see them today and after a bit of digging they have decided they do owe me some back pay.

If you are receiving payments and it doesn't seem right, it may not hurt to ask them to double check their figures.

The bad news for me was that I'm not eligible for a concession card. I was looking forward to getting those discount train fares!
I had the opposite and got paid a lot more than I thought so we will see how that works out later. My wife is self-employed on jobkeeper and I need to report her income for my benefits but even though centrelink online asks me to report it fortnightly I only need to do it every 3 months. It is so vague on how to do it and talking it through with anyone to get what I need to do confirmed ends up going to their supervisor. As another positive though I have found getting through to talk to someone lately has been super quick, .
 
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