Updated
Federal Labor and the main public service union have
warned Centrelink staff are "desperately overstretched" and struggling
to cope with the public backlash over a flawed debt recovery scheme.
Key points:
- Public servants struggling to deal with public backlash, union says
- Staff referring some clients on social media to crisis support hotlines, counselling services
- Union says service standards have dropped "to unacceptable levels" due to job cuts
The automated scheme has produced nearly 170,000 notices of potential overpayments since July, with thousands of Australians incorrectly told they have outstanding debts.
Coalition ministers and the Department of Human Services have defended the system, which cross-references employment data from the Australian Tax Office and Centrelink.
Labor's human services spokeswoman Linda Burney said Centrelink's workforce was "casualised and demoralised" after years of job cuts.
"Centrelink is at breaking point and, I reiterate, I do not hold the people who work in Centrelink responsible," she said.
"They are caring, compassionate people, who are working under enormous stress."
Community and Public Sector Union assistant national secretary Michael Tull said public servants were facing "a perfect storm" and were struggling to deal with public backlash against the scheme.
"There's a perfect storm of work coming, with this debt recovery scheme likely to be just part of the problem," he said.Centrelink staff have been referring some concerned clients on social media to crisis support hotlines and counselling services.
On Monday, the Commonwealth Ombudsman confirmed an independent inquiry had been launched to determine "systemic" failings.
Millions of calls go unanswered each year
Mr Tull said the debt recovery scheme was making the public frustrated and angry with public servants at one of the busiest times of year."This scheme is an absolute nightmare for thousands of Centrelink customers who've done absolutely nothing wrong and the staff who are bearing the brunt of this mess," he said.
"They've been struggling in a system that's been in crisis for years now."
Some students were forced to wait up to four months for welfare payments to start after their application was lodged, as the agency struggled to deal with demand.
"Thousands of jobs have been cut in the Department of Human Services and that's why service standards have dropped to unacceptable levels, including 36 million missed calls to DHS just last year alone," Mr Tull said.
The number of unanswered calls at Centrelink increased by 61 per cent to 22 million calls a year in 2015, with bureaucrats saying smartphone dialling apps may be to blame.
Paul Shetler, the former head of the Digital Transformation Agency, has called on the Government to put consumer interests first and retrain the bureaucracy.
"We need to have radical, radical upskilling of the public service so it can feel comfortable with 21st-century technology," he said.
"Governments should be able to use state-of-the-art technology; it is outrageous that we can't."
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie referred the Centrelink scheme to the Commonwealth Ombudsman late last year after being contacted with complaints from constituents.
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