Ringwood Centrelink staff send clients to Costco after no toilet access

A woman in her 60s says she was almost forced to urinate in the street because of a lack of public toilets at the Ringwood Centrelink office. And a solution to use a nearby Costco’s facilities was also futile.

Ringwood’s Centrelink office does not have any public toilets. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Centrelink employees are being forced to share their staff toilets with busting customers in offices without public bathrooms.

Warrandyte’s Mary Frost, 65, feared she’d have to urinate in the street when she visited Ringwood’s Centrelink office last month.

Staff told her the nearest public toilet was across the road at Costco — but Ms Frost did not have a membership card for access.

She was then escorted to the staff toilets after telling staff of her potentially “humiliating” situation.

“These people are under the pump, there is a queue out the door, they’re trying to solve problems and next minute they are escorting people to the toilets,” Ms Frost said.

It is the second time in three years Ringwood’s Centrelink office has copped a public spray for its lack of toilets.

In January 2017, a woman told Maroondah Leader she and her elderly disabled friend were told there was none on site and to go to Costco or Eastland.

The office is in a building on Bond St and has a public toilet in its foyer.

But Ms Frost said it was off limits after it was trashed by drug users, and office management had told her it was often “broken, vandalised and not usable”.

The entrance to Ringwood’s Centrelink office. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The toilet has a combination lock on its front door and was left open when Maroondah Leader visited the building recently.

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Department of Human Services general manager Hank Jongen said the foyer toilet was privately managed by the building’s landlord.

Mr Jongen said any visitors to Ringwood’s Centrelink office with “an urgent medical or personal need” could use the staff toilets by notifying a team member and there were signs advising this.
He did not say how many Centrelink offices across Australia did not have dedicated toilets for customers.

“Our aim, wherever possible, is to provide public access to toilet facilities in our service centres,” Mr Jongen said.

“Anyone who attends a service centre and needs to use the bathroom should speak with a staff member, who will direct them to facilities onsite if available, or to the nearest available public toilet.”

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