Centrelink – Mesrena Elyoum
The family of a 102-year-old woman has spoken up after she suddenly received a shocking message from Centrelink.
Centrelink has come under fire for threatening to withdraw welfare payments to a 102-year-old woman who was unable to provide proof of identity.
Anne Hawkins, bedridden, was suddenly ordered last month to provide proof of her identity to the government agency, in Punchbowl Circle, where personal documents must be submitted.
Due to Ms Hawkins’ age, she was unable to provide proof of identity other than her Australian citizenship certificate. When her family raised this with Centrelink, they were advised to obtain proof of NSW such as a driver’s licence.
To do so, Ms Hawkins’ daughter Mary Burns said, “she would have to be taken there by ambulance and wheeled to the centre in a hospital bed.”
Frank told Hawkins’ son he had spent hours on the phone trying to clear it up, but to no avail.
“They couldn’t really offer an alternative or options,” he said.
“It was very frustrating for me and my family. We protected the mother as much as possible by having a constructive dialogue with them, but our attempts were unsuccessful.
Mr Hawkins said he finally informed his mother of the situation after local Representative Tony Burke intervened.
When she was told, she joked that she should get a job.
But the family said concern remained that the government agency was willing to force the 102-year-old woman to leave her home during Sydney’s lockdown and delta-type exposure.
“We have been closed since the last week of June. This message arrived on July 30, during the lockdown.
“It’s unreasonable for Centrallink to ask people to come to a service centre in the middle of a lockdown,” Frank said.
Burns said it was still not clear what prompted the order from Centrelink.
Mr Burke said the government agency should justify what happened immediately.
“They wanted her to put herself at risk by leaving the house so she could jump through ridiculous bureaucratic hoops,” he added.
“The government is now saying that they will look at how this can happen – and that is fine. But why are they sending any threatening messages to retirees in exclusion zones now? It should not happen at all.”
Government Services Secretary Linda Reynolds said she had “sincerely apologized” for the inconvenience caused.
“I am also looking at the micro-events to determine exactly what happened and anything to make changes to the Australian services bureaucracy,” she said.
“The health and safety of customers and employees is a top priority for Australia’s services, and the agency strictly adheres to health orders placed by relevant state governments.”
“They have special arrangements in place to support customers who are unable to attend a service centre to prove their identity, and to inform customers of this.”