[LINK] web: Parliamentary committee hears Centrelink is moving clients away from its of ...

[David Boxall]

On 21/08/2015 11:10 AM, Jan Whitaker wrote:
> check out the bit about MyGov, as well as the comments for real experiences.
>
>       http://www.theage.com.au/national/public-service/parliamentary-committee-hears-centrelink-is-moving-clients-away-from-its-offices-20150820-gj3k4c.html
> ...
I'm helping a neigbour apply for age pension. They tried to apply at the 
local Centrelink office, but were sent away with a "linking code" and 
details of their Centrelink account. We managed to link their Centrelink 
account with myGov OK, but the site is either very heavy or under-resourced.

Answers to many of the questions in the online application are blind 
guesses. Attempts to contact Centrelink by 'phone for guidance were 
"answered" by a busy tone.

They live on a rural property. The online application demands details of 
every "building" on the property. The application makes no provision for 
unlined metal-walled structures. The obvious inference is that such 
structures are not "buildings" for the purposes of the application.

They partly own an urban investment property. Among other things, the 
application seeks details of the land area. It has provision for the 
area in whole acres or hectares (no decimals).

They have investments. The online application demands that originals of 
associated documents be delivered to the local Centrelink office. The 
original documents are electronic.

The paper application, which was no doubt developed over many decades, 
is flexible enough to handle most such variations. I wonder why they 
didn't use it as a foundation for the online version.

I'd laugh, but the waste evident in the online system isn't funny. I 
wonder, how many people will be disadvantaged simply because they can't 
navigate the complexities and inadequacies of the system?

-- 
David Boxall                    |  I have seen the past
                                |  And it worked.
http://david.boxall.id.au       |               --TJ Hooker