SSRV’s Worker Help Line has been an integral part our services since it was established in 2018. It operates Monday to Friday and provides workers who are supporting clients with a Centrelink issue an opportunity to speak with an SSRV lawyer to access information or secondary consultation and a warm referral pathway.
In the period July 2024 – December 2024, SSRV’s Worker Help Line received calls from 176 community workers across a range of organisations located throughout Victoria. These included financial counsellors, community lawyers, health workers, social workers, disability advocates and housing workers.
While the most common enquiries related to Disability Support Pension, Family Tax Benefit and Jobseeker payment, enquiries covered nearly all payments Centrelink administer under the Social Security and Family Assistance Legislation.
Workers contact us about a range of issues including residency requirements, eligibility criteria, rejections of claims, changes in rate of payment, overpayments, waiting periods, portability, income and assets, compensation preclusion periods, and cancellation or suspension of payments.
Examples of the different types of enquiries workers may seek information and secondary consultation about include:
· A client who has recently become an Australia permanent resident, does not have any income, has experienced family violence and is having difficulty accessing Centrelink payments.
· A New Zealand citizen who is trying to understand whether they have any eligibility for Jobseeker payment or Parenting payment based on their residency status.
· An Age Pensioner who has entered aged care and subsequently had their age pension cancelled due to the assets test.
· A client who has an overpayment of Family Tax Benefit based on their failure to lodge their tax return.
· A client who has an overpayment for failing to report income.
· A client who has applied multiple times for DSP but been rejected each time and doesn’t know what to do as Jobseeker payment is unsustainable long term.
· A client who is wanting to know if the debt can be waived based on the ‘special circumstances’ debt waiver provisions as they have experienced homelessness, family violence, disability and financial hardship.
· A client who was rejected for DSP, unsuccessful with their internal review of the rejection decision, and is wanting to know whether they should appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal.
· A worker who is helping their client apply for DSP and needing advice on the medical evidence requirements for the client’s specific conditions.
· A worker is looking to refer a client for representation at the Administrative Review Tribunal as they have been unsuccessful with an internal review.
We also run a regular series of online webinars on common social security issues, such as Debts, DSP eligibility criteria, Family Violence and social security, and appealing Centrelink decisions. For information about future webinars, make sure you’re signed up for our email newsletter or check our website.
