Shadow Minister for Human Services Senator Doug Cameron says young Tasmanians are struggling to make ends meet, after extended delays in processing their Youth Allowance applications.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“These young people have waited weeks and months for their applications to be processed. The Minister has been hiding behind the excuse that ‘it’s a peak period’ since December. It’s unacceptable,” he said.
Senator Cameron met with Devonport students on Saturday.
Devonport student Nireece Harvey said she waited two months for payments, and relied on Centrelink payments to get by.
“I’ve also had issues with Mobilink…they wouldn’t give me a bus pass because I’m a Year 13 student which made it difficult to get to school,” she said.
Senator Cameron said Labor supported Centrelink reform, which included greater authority for managers to address long phone call waiting times and an electronic citizen’s charter.
Braddon Liberal MHA Brett Whiteley said the government would be looking at ways to speed up processing times in the future. “Students will be able to quickly check their eligibility prior to submitting a formal claim, and they’ll be able to more easily check their documentation,” he said.
He said over 250,000 people had applied for support, causing a system backlog. Mr Whiteley said the system should be returned to normal within two weeks.