During 2019, Victoria declared six bushfire disasters, culminating in the devastating Black Summer fires, which affected almost a quarter of Victoria’s Local Government Areas.  Victorian emergency agencies and others are warning of a heightened risk of bushfires in Victoria in the summer of 2023/2024. 

At SSRV, we have identified a relationship between bushfires and social security legal issues.  Our previous articles talked about the reasons why people in regional areas are more likely to experience bushfire-related social security legal issues; provided some examples of these sorts of issues from our work; and provided some tips for community lawyers and other helping professionals regarding disaster-related social security legal issues. 

In this article we’ve listed some steps people can take to reduce their risk of experiencing bushfire-related Centrelink problems.

1: Assess bushfire risk

Victoria’s Country Fire Authority has published a guide to a person’s level of bushfire risk. People living in regional areas can make a personal assessment of the likelihood that their home or community will be impacted by bushfire. 

2: Current social security arrangements 

We recommend including in any bushfire preparedness kit, Customer Reference numbers (CRN), payslips (if not in electronic copies) and identification documents. Identification documents will often be needed to access new payments available after a bushfire. Maintaining records of payslips is also important to avoid inaccurate income reporting to Centrelink and subsequent overpayments and debts.

3: Accessing Centrelink and MyGov

We recommend Centrelink recipients consider how they might access Centrelink and MyGov following a disaster. Many people rely upon saved phone passwords and 2-factor authentication to access important financial information. Phones may be lost in the urgency of a disaster. Keeping these details securely in a bushfire preparedness kit can make accessing Centrelink and finances following a disaster an easier process. Following a disaster Centrelink will often set up access hubs in local affected areas, but these hubs will need to be able to identify a person to assist them.

4:  After being impacted by bushfire

Taking these steps following a disaster can help prevent social security issues arising:

• Informing Centrelink as soon as possible of:

• any changes to postal addresses;
• any changes to living arrangements, including leaving the principal home;
• any changes to parenting arrangements;
• any changes to employment and income.

• If leaving the principal home due to a natural disaster, ensuring Centrelink is aware of this and has exempted the principal home from the assets test.
• Consider whether mutual obligations have been paused by Centrelink for the affected region. If not, consider requesting an individual pause on mutual obligations to allow time to respond and recover. 
• Consider eligibility for Disaster Recovery Payment, Disaster Recovery Allowance, Crisis Payment, or any other Centrelink disaster assistance.
• Consider emergency payments released by the State Government by checking www.emergency.vic.gov.au
• If affected by Centrelink debts or compensation preclusion periods, consider seeking help with these when possible.

Usually, Centrelink is the best first contact point. Look out for local Centrelink access hubs following a disaster, and dedicated disaster-related Centrelink phone lines.

SSRV can discuss and advise upon options, rights and next steps if any issues or questions arise relating to disasters and social security.

Other organisations that provide expertise in aspects of bushfire and disaster preparation

Victorian Government	VicEmergency	www.emergency.vic.gov.au
	Vic.gov.au	www.vic.gov.au/plan-and-prepare www.vic.gov.au/emergency-recovery-victoria
	Country Fire Authority	www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare
	Department of Health	www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/bushfire-preparation-advice
	Local Government (example) Many local governments publish bushfire preparation guidance.	www.knox.vic.gov.au/whats-happening/news/preparing-bushfire-season  Find your local council here: https://www.vic.gov.au/know-your-council
Commonwealth Government	Services Australia (Centrelink)	www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/natural-disaster-support
Insurance industry	Insurance Council of Australia	www.insurancecouncil.com.au/resource/preparing-for-bushfire-season/
Water Industry	Greater Western Water	www.gww.com.au/faults-works/maintenance-advice/prepare-bushfire-season

At SSRV, we see how natural disasters can lead to and impact social security legal issues. Below are some client examples of how disasters impacted their social security issue and how SSRV was able to assist.

Finding Mutual Obligations hard after being affected by a disaster?

Jen* had been affected by the floods and Lena* had been affected by bushfires. They were both struggling to keep up with their Mutual Obligation (MO) requirements as they dealt with insurance and repair issues.  SSRV helped them understand their rights to pause their MO requirements and how they could request this. This helped to alleviate the stress they were experiencing in the aftermath of the disaster.

Disasters can contribute to Centrelink debts being incurred; they can also be a ‘special circumstance’ to seek waiver of a debt

Over recent years, Sandy’s* small rural diary farm had been severely affected by drought, flooding and bushfires and as a result was no longer making a profit. Grappling with the financial status of the farm, Sandy applied for Farm Household Allowance (FHA) from Centrelink. Shortly after his payments started, he visited ill family in the UK and was locked out of Australia due to COVID-19 border closures. A year later Centrelink told him he owed $24,000 for overpayment of FHA. SSRV represented Sandy at the Tribunal and obtained a waiver of his entire $24,000 debt.

Disagree with Centrelink’s valuation of your disaster affected property?

Grant*lived on a property in a flood affected area.  He was receiving JobSeeker Payment when Centrelink decided to undertake an assets review.  The Centrelink valuation of his property, which was a modest house surrounded by extensive land, resulted in his JobSeeker Payment being cancelled for exceeding the assets limit.  This left Grant with no income and unable to easily liquidate his assets due to the nature of the property.  We provided Grant with extensive advice about his legal position, his appeal rights and how to ask Centrelink for an Authorised Review Officer (ARO) Review.  We encouraged Grant to contact us again for further advice once he receives his ARO decision.

It’s clear that the aftermath of natural disasters can result in complex and traumatic circumstances for already vulnerable people.

Here is some guidance for community lawyers and community workers supporting vulnerable clients at risk of being affected by disasters. 

1: Identification documents are generally required to apply for new Centrelink payments. Where a person loses their identity documents due to a disaster, an Alternative Identity Form can be used to temporarily establish identity for the purpose of receiving payments. 
 

2: Centrelink recipients must update Centrelink within 14 days of any change in circumstances that might affect their payment. This includes relocation and changes in care of children. Updating Centrelink about changes in circumstances decreases the risk of overpayments and future debts. 
 

3: Centrelink will sometimes send important notices and correspondence via post, particularly where legislation requires. Centrelink recipients should update their postal address with Centrelink if necessary. Many post offices allow post to be sent to their care. 

4: Centrelink recipients who relocate from their principal home due to a disaster, can seek to have their home be exempted from the assets test under ‘temporary vacation of property’ provisions for up to 24 months. These exemptions are not automatic and usually need to be requested. There are also provisions which allow insurance payouts to be exempted from the assets test.
 

5: Suspension of Mutual Obligation requirements and debt repayments can be requested by contacting Centrelink and explaining the impact of the disaster on the client’s circumstances. 
 

6: Experiencing a disaster may be considered a ‘special circumstance’ for the purpose of a Compensation Preclusion Period reduction or waiver of a debt. We are available to speak with you about how this may apply to specific circumstances. 
 

7: Most Centrelink decisions can be appealed – first internally by a Centrelink Authorised Review Officer, and subsequently through two tiers of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 

SSRV services 

Please call us to discuss how SSRV can help with your Centrelink issue, or your client’s Centrelink issue.

SSRV Worker Help Line	Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm	03 9481 0655
SSRV Legal Assistance Line	Monday to Thursday, 10am – 1pm, 2pm – 4pm	03 9481 0355
Rural Callers		1800 094 164

*Names have been changed.

SSRV offers assistance to Victorians experiencing Centrelink issues and community workers who assist them, and this was no more evident than in November, when we travelled to regional Victoria to hold a series of workshops and information sessions. 

The schedule of road trips kicked off on 9 November when SSRV Community Lawyers, Veronica and Aylin, headed to Central Rural Highlands Health in Daylesford, to deliver a training session on the Disability Support Pension.  

We were so pleased to see the passion and enthusiasm of the health workers, committed to helping people collect medical evidence to support applications and appeals. 

Afterwards, Veronica and Aylin headed across to Ballarat to pay a visit to our colleagues at Ballarat and Grampians Community Legal Service, and share information about our Disaster Preparedness and Response work. 

Then, on 22 November, Veronica hit the road again, this time with Mark, an SSRV project worker. Their destination was the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC) and the function they were attending was Community Justice Day. 

Community Justice Day was organised by the Consumer Action Law Centre and BDAC, and was an opportunity for community members to engage with organisations that could offer support and advice. It was wonderful to meet some of the people we and others help, as well as connect with workers. 

Then it was off to the Bendigo offices of ARC Justice, where we provided an overview of SSRV’s services to lawyers and workers, including our disaster preparedness and response work. 

The geographic region covered by ARC Justice was had hit by flooding in late 2022 and supporting the community has been a major focus of ARC Justice and our disaster work over the past year.

 It was a great opportunity for both organisations to better understand how we can work together to achieve justice for clients. 

Community legal centres located in rural and regional areas are often at the frontline when bushfires, floods or other disasters occur. SSRV recognises and applauds their work in responding to these events and their aftermath.

We take the ‘Victoria’ in Social Security Rights Victoria very seriously and will continue to engage with regional legal centres and community organisations in 2024. 

Financial counselling services across Victoria are reporting unacceptable wait times as demand for assistance during this cost-of-living crisis, and SSRV is supporting a call by community organisations for increased resources to meet the demand.

In an open letter signed by 36 community organisations, Financial Counselling Victoria explains to the Victorian Government that the current situation puts vulnerable people at risk.

In the first six months of this year, phone calls to the National Debt Helpline in Victoria increased by 47 per cent compared to last year. This is due to high demand resulting from unmanageable living costs, including interest rate rises, unaffordable rentals, soaring energy prices, and increased grocery bills.

Centrelink issues are often accompanied by more complex financial situations and behaviours, and at SSRV, we see how access to financial counselling services can assist those with Centrelink issues to manage their current challenges and safeguard them against being repeated.

Financial counsellors are now seeing more and more middle-income earners who, for the first time, simply can’t afford to pay their bills

Financial counsellors are uniquely qualified professionals, specially trained to deal with complex financial matters such as rent stress, energy hardship, financial abuse arising from family violence, gambling-related harm, and arrangements for fines.

“These challenges disproportionately impact low-income families, single mother families, older women, and people from migrant backgrounds.” said SSRV financial counsellor Graeme Parsons. 

The Financial Counselling Victoria open letter urges the Victorian Government to:

• Immediately uplift financial counsellor workforce numbers;
• Resource the expansion of the workforce; and
• Commit to further grow the financial counselling workforce over the next three years.

“When a family is in financial hardship or is experiencing an issue they feel unable to resolve, it needs to be addressed quickly,” says Graeme Parsons. “They simply can’t be put onto month-long waiting lists. It’s not just their financial welfare that’s put at risk, it’s their mental and physical health as well.

SSRV’s CEO, Gillian Wilks, says that, “SSRV supports the sector in urging the government to address this problem as a matter of priority.”

SSRV staff regularly engage with clients who are experiencing a multiple, inter-connected and compounding difficulties. That is why we created the Integrated Service Project, where SSRV’s community lawyers and in-house financial counsellor work together to improve client outcomes.

Recently, team members Graeme Parsons (financial counsellor) and Eloise Cox (community lawyer) sat down to give us an insight into their important work. 

1. What led you to a career in social security rights work?

Graeme: I’m a financial counsellor with a generalist background, and I hadn’t thought about a specialist role, but was aware of Social Security Rights Victoria and intrigued by the Integrated Services Project. As practitioners, we are frequently drawn into the orbit of other services and often tempted to get involved.

Eloise: I always wanted to use my law degree to help disadvantaged people achieve positive outcomes to their lives and to their community. I have volunteered at community legal centres and worked previously as a community lawyer in family violence, tenancy and employment law. SSRV has a vision for a fair and just society in which all people receive guaranteed adequate income in order to enjoy a decent standard of living, and this is a vision that I share.

2. Describe the area you work in

Graeme: My role tends to focus on how we can best support a client who has already engaged with SSRV. This might be in supporting a claim for review or appeal, requesting practical assistance from Centrelink in information or in repayments, as well as in simply reviewing how they are placed beyond the scope of their Centrelink issue. There is also an opportunity to look at the broader scope of a client’s circumstances and provide guidance about how to create a sustainable life.

Eloise: The objective of the ISP project is to design, implement and evaluate a service that brings together social security law experts and financial counsellors to provide a holistic service to clients. I work closely with the financial counsellor at SSRV, Graeme Parsons, and I often work with other financial counsellors who work externally to SSRV. This cross-discipline approach is unique and allows our service to achieve better outcomes for clients.

3. What is a positive change you’ve seen occur recently?

Graeme: The community lawyers in our team see professional development in other disciplines as a special opportunity to inform and extend knowledge. We see the value of client experiences in fleshing out the law and providing and understanding of the real-life impacts and applications. Knowing that this then prompts a fresh awareness of our service, and use of the Worker Help Line service ensures that both services build their abilities to perform their roles to best effect.

Eloise: I think there is a greater focus on integrated service delivery across the community legal sector at large. It is more common now for all practitioners to consider what referrals both internal to their organisation and external may be appropriate, and how they can assist the client holistically.

4. What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your work right now?

Graeme: The nature of client engagement with Services Australia remains one largely characterised by confrontation, where the complexities and vulnerabilities of clients are too often ignored or understated. This is a contrast to relations between many commercial creditors and financial counsellors, where such challenges are acknowledged and parties are more able to find their way towards fair solutions.

Eloise: A current challenge is our ability to effectively communicate with Centrelink when we are advocating for our clients. Clients often report that they are unable to reach Centrelink over the phone at practical times in the day, that they find speaking to Centrelink exacerbates their stress or mental health conditions, or that they are unclear about what to discuss with Centrelink.

I believe establishing a phone line that is specifically for advocates to use for vulnerable clients will be of great benefit to both our clients and Services Australia as it can assist to clarify the issues in contention and achieve more streamlined outcomes, which in turn helps to avoid lengthy and protracted dealings with Centrelink.

5. What’s one important piece of information you would like to share

Eloise: One thing to always remember is that if a client receives a decision from Centrelink to cancel, suspend, reject or otherwise change their payment, they have 13 weeks to seek a review in order to preserve their right to backpay.

If they are outside of this 13-week period they can still lodge a review, however they will only be able to claim back payment from the date they lodged their application for review and not the date that Centrelink made the original decision.

The SSRV Worker Helpline offers free specialist information on social security law and Centrelink to workers, including financial counsellors. You can call the worker helpline on 0419 793 652 for support when you are working with a client, or to enquiry about making a referral.

This article first appeared in the November 2023 issue of Devil’s Advocate, the magazine of Financial Counselling Victoria, and has been reproduced with permission.

From 11-13 October 2023 SSRV financial counsellor Graeme Parsons and community lawyer Eloise Cox attended the FCVic Conference, which was held in Lorne. Graeme and Eloise were excited about the opportunity to meet and engage with the financial counselling sector in person, and found it refreshing to be able to do so.

The theme of the conference was ‘Rock the Boat’ with a focus on inspiring positive reform and challenging the status-quo. It was three days of professional development, information sharing, networking and cross-sector collaboration.

One highlight of the conference includes Graeme speaking in The Great Debate. The topic of the debate was ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’ and it was MCed and judged by friend of SSRV John Berrill. John is a volunteer for SSRV, and law firm Berill & Watson continues to contribute valuable pro-bono assistance to SSRV. 

Graeme was on the affirmative team – and he had his work cut out for him. During the debate the crowd cheered and gave support for both the affirmative and the negative, and in the end, John called the debate an equal draw.

We would like to thank everyone who visited our stall and contributed to conversations. Over 300 people, from metro and rural Victoria, attended the conference. It was at the same time gratifying and humbling to hear from financial counsellors about their positive experiences using the SSRV Worker Helpline and attending SSRV community legal education seminars. 

Graeme and Eloise were also excited to meet financial counsellors who had not heard of our service before and to build new relationships with new services.

We look forward to working closely with our financial counselling colleagues in the future and for further opportunities for cross-sector collaboration.

During 2019, Victoria declared six bushfire disasters, culminating in the devastating Black Summer fires, which affected almost a quarter of Victoria’s Local Government Areas. Victorian emergency agencies and others are warning of a heightened risk of bushfires in Victoria in the summer of 2023/2024 and sadly, that risk is already becoming a reality, with bushfires already being experienced in parts of Gippsland.

At SSRV, we see the relationship between disasters and social security legal issues. That’s why between now and January we’ll be publishing a series of articles to help workers supporting clients who may be at risk of experiencing bushfire-related social security problems.

The first step is to raise awareness about the link between bushfires and social security issues.

It’s well-known that bushfires are more likely to occur in regional areas. In Victoria, our regions are often densely populated with trees, grass and other bushfire fuels.

It’s also well-known that regional areas across Australia often have lower socio-economic indicators than metropolitan areas. In regional areas, dependence on social security is higher, incomes are lower, and community services are already stretched.

This creates an unwelcome but tangible relationship between people dependent on social security and the risk of bushfires. This is also true of other disasters such as floods and storms.

This relationship is often deepened in the aftermath of a declared disaster when new government payments are offered, such as Disaster Recovery Allowance or Disaster Recovery Payment. 

When more people are dependent on social security, more legal issues are likely to arise.

Examples of bushfire related social security legal problems we’ve seen at SSRV include:

· People who have had their social security entitlements re-assessed by Centrelink after changing their living arrangements because a house has burnt down

· People whose social security entitlements have been impacted by Centrelink sending letters to an unoccupied, fire-damaged house

Research and experience has shown the high likelihood of people experiencing trauma when exposed to an environmental or other disaster, and this reality places a special obligation upon government service providers to engage in trauma-informed practice. Unfortunately, within current systems, trauma is often unrecognised, unacknowledged, and unaddressed. Many of those affected have been inadvertently re-traumatised in systems of care lacking the requisite knowledge and training around the particular sensitivities, vulnerabilities and triggers of trauma survivors.

Over the next few months, SSRV News will be running a series of articles to assist workers supporting people in bushfire prone areas in preparing their clients for the bushfire season, and provide information on how to best help them in the advent of disaster.

Read more about SSRV’s Disaster Preparedness and Response Project.

In May 2023, changes were made to the Social Security Guide to require Centrelink decision-makers to take into account the presence of family and domestic violence when making assessments about whether a person is a ‘member of a couple’ for social security purposes. The Social Security Guide is an online policy document published by Services Australia that provides guidance to decision-makers (including Centrelink officers and Tribunal Members) on how to apply and administer social security legislation.

These are important changes, aimed at better supporting people escaping family violence.

The Guide now explicitly provides that the presence of family violence in a relationship may indicate that two people should not be defined as being a ‘member of a couple’ under section 4 the Social Security Act 1991. 

It also provides that decision-makers should consider family violence as a special reason to treat someone as not being a member of a couple under section 24 of the Social Security Act 1991.

The changes are critical because they enable family violence to be properly considered; supporting more victim-survivors to access the ‘single’ rate of payment which is unaffected by their partner’s income and assets. 

Key changes to the Social Security Guide

Here are some of the significant changes that have been made to the Social Security Guide. You can read the full guide here.

1: Determining member of a couple relationships

The presence of family violence, may indicate that a person is not a member of a couple and needs to be considered when assessing each of the five factors. Evidence may be required to support the presence of the family violence.

Family violence includes, but is not limited to physical, sexual, financial, emotional and psychological abuse. All types of family violence should be considered, together with the five factors.

• Financial aspects of the relationship: The presence of financial abuse may indicate a person is not a member of a couple. A person experiencing financial abuse may be subject to coercion and threats, which has led to their existing financial arrangements.

• Nature of the household: Due to the presence of family violence, the nature of the household may present in a way that does not reflect the realities of the relationship and needs to be considered in the overall assessment.

• Social aspects of the relationship: Family violence may lead a person to falsely present themselves as a member of a couple to family and friends. Therefore, merely presenting in public as a couple is not necessarily indicative that two people are members of a couple.

• Any sexual relationship: As the nature of a person’s sexual relationship may be a sensitive subject, care should be exercised with inquiries into its existence, considering the person’s particular circumstances, such as the presence of family violence.

• A coercive or non-consensual sexual relationship may be regarded as family and/or domestic violence and indicate a member of a couple relationship does not exist.

• Nature of commitment: The presence of family violence may indicate there is no genuine commitment in the relationship and that the person is not a member of a couple. In cases where the person presents themselves as a member couple, consideration should be a given to whether this is a result of coercion.

2: Discretion to treat a person as not being a member of a couple for a special reason

The presence of family violence in a relationship may indicate that a person is not a member of a couple under the five factors. However, there may be situations where section 24 should be applied due to a person’s particular circumstances.

In general, the application of section 24 should only be considered in circumstances where:

• the person who is experiencing family identifies as partnered, or
• a member of a couple assessment has resulted in finding the 2 people are a couple, but due to the existence of family violence both members of the couple should be treated as single.

When a person experiencing family violence is not subject to the partnered income and asset test and is paid a higher rate, it could enable them to leave a situation they would not have been able to otherwise.

Failure to advise of a change in circumstances: Where family violence exists, a person may be coerced into to providing false or misleading statements about their relationship out of duress or fear. The person’s full circumstances must be considered and a determination made about whether they are a member of a couple or if section 24 should be applied.

3: Determining separated under one roof

Separated under one-roof assessments are made under the same principles as determining if a member of a couple relationship exists.

When assessing separated under one roof, the decision-maker may interview both parties or ask them to provide additional information about their circumstances. Sensitivity is needed when gathering evidence and consideration should be given to the presence of family violence.

A person who has experienced family violence may be less able to financially support themselves. As a result, it is not uncommon for a person who has experienced family violence to remain living under the same roof as the alleged perpetrator, which should be considered in determining if a person is separated under one roof.

Alisha is on the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and receives Family Tax Benefit (FTB). She also has significant consumer debt and, like so many on a low income, has struggled to find affordable accommodation. As a result, she shares a house with her ex-partner, while searching for a rental.

Centrelink made the decision that Alisha and her ex-partner were a member of a couple. This meant her rate of both Disability Support Pension and Family Tax Benefit were reduced from the single rate of payment to the couple rate, and her ex-partner’s income and assets affected her rate of payment.

In fact, Alisha and her ex-partner were not a couple. They were, however, living under the one roof.

Ex-partners continuing to live together in the same house is becoming increasingly common, and SSRV is sometimes contacted by people who are experiencing Centrelink issues because of this.

Victoria is currently experiencing a rental crisis which is seeing many people unable to afford to rent, and long waiting periods to access social and government housing. This means that ex-partners may need to continue living with one another after separation, this is often considered as ‘separated under one roof’.

If Centrelink decides an individual is a member of a couple, it is assumed they are pooling resources and sharing income. The assets and income of a partner are considered by Centrelink when determining eligibility for payments, and also results in a partnered rate of payment, which is lower than the single rate.

Centrelink is guided by five factors for consideration when making ‘member of a couple’ determinations, and can sometimes incorrectly classify people as being partnered. SSRV is able to provide legal advice on this point, and has successfully supported individuals to appeal these decisions.

When Centrelink decided that Alisha and her ex-partner were a member of a couple, Alisha sought an internal review by an Authorised Review Officer. The review officer affirmed the decision and found she was a member of a couple. Alisha lodged an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal). Alisha approached SSRV looking for advice and representation at the hearing date. She was very stressed as her disability meant she could not read the documents sent to her by Centrelink and the Tribunal, and her support workers were unsure how best to assist her.

The SSRV lawyer worked with Alisha to draft her statement and submissions for the hearing. SSRV contacted five of Alisha’s support workers and sought letters of support for the hearing. An SSRV lawyer attended the hearing with Alisha and provided oral submissions on her behalf. 

In the meantime, Alisha’s housing situation became worse, and she was forced to move into a caravan. Social workers intervened and moved Alisha in to an emergency motel where she lived with her children. The SSRV lawyer supported Alisha by working with her social worker, applying for the Centrelink Fleeing Family Violence Crisis Payment, and updating Centrelink as Alisha changed addresses multiple times.

Alisha was successful at the Tribunal hearing and was found to be single for the purposes of social security law. Alisha was granted $14,000 in back payments. Alisha’s application for government housing was also successful, and she and her children moved into stable long-term accommodation.

Integrated service delivery

Despite the win, Alisha still had significant personal debt, which was causing her financial hardship and stress.

The SSRV lawyer referred Alisha to the SSRV financial counsellor to create a plan for how to use the $14,000 of back payment to pay off some of the consumer debt and save a portion of the money for basics and essentials for her new government housing.

SSRV recognises that individuals who are unable to access adequate income support through Centrelink often have issues relating to housing stability, financial stability, safety, health and general welfare. For this reason, it is a priority for SSRV to deliver integrated services.

Alisha’s story is an example of how integrated services deliver holistic care to clients to achieve better outcomes.

Alisha was incredibly grateful for the assistance provided to her. She said she had found her experiences with Centrelink overwhelmingly stressful and often left her in tears because she did not understand what they wanted from her. Now, she says, she can see a pathway forward.

It was a scathing report on an illegal and damaging scheme that harmed some of the most vulnerable people in Australia, and when the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme released its comprehensive report last month, it was welcomed by many community legal centres, including SSRV, who supported condemnation of the scheme and calls for it to be scrapped.

The report details the many injustices involved in rollout of the Robodebt scheme. It also highlights areas in need of urgent reform. 

Key recommendations include:

• Designing and administering systems with users in mind, especially for people in the most vulnerable groups
• Addressing the continued stigma around social security as shameful
• Recognising the role of community legal centres, and enabling advocates access to Centrelink decision-makers though a national advocates line
• Establishing a body to monitor automated decision-making

This last point is particularly important. Many of the automation and service-delivery issues raised during the Royal Commission remain even now, resulting in unfair and non-transparent decision making. Without necessary safeguards in place, the risk of another devastating scheme like Robodebt remains real.

SSRV believe the implementation of the recommendations will achieve real systemic change to social security policy development and Centrelink service delivery.