Centrelink threatened to withdraw 102-year-old woman’s pension

The family of a 102-year-old woman have spoken out after she suddenly received a shock letter from Centrelink.

Centrelink has come under fire for threatening to withdraw the welfare payments of a 102-year-old woman who was unable to provide proof-of-identity.

Anne Hawkins, who is bed bound, was last month suddenly ordered to provide proof of her identity to the government agency.

In a letter to the Punchbowl resident, Centrelink said the documents had to be provided in person.

Due to Ms Hawkins’ age, she was unable to provide proof of identity beyond her Australian Citizenship certificate. When her family raised this with Centrelink, they were advised to obtain a NSW proof of age card.

Mary Byrnes, Ms Hawkins’ daughter, said to do so, she would “need to be taken there by ambulance and wheeled into the Centre in a hospital bed”.

Ms Hawkins’ son Frank, told NCA Newswire he spent hours on the phone attempting to sort the mess, but to no avail.

Anne Hawkins, 102, was ordered to provide proof of identity to Centrelink despite being on the pension for more than 40 years. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

“They couldn’t really offer any alternative or options,” he said.

“It was extremely frustrating for me and my family. We protected mum from as much of the aggravation as possible. Telling her was worst case scenario.”

Mr Hawkins said he finally made his mother aware of the situation following the intervention of local MP Tony Burke.

When told, she joke that she’d have to get a job.

But the family said the concern still remained that the government agency was prepared to force the 102-year-old to leave her household during the Sydney lockdown and risk exposure to the Delta variant.

“We’ve been locked down since the last week of June. This letter arrived on the 30th of July. It arrived during lockdown. It is pretty unreasonable that Centrelink should be asking people to show up to a service centre in the middle of a lockdown,” Frank said.

Ms Byrnes said it was still not clear what may have prompted the request from Centrelink.

Mr Burke said the government agency should immediately explain itself.

“They actually wanted her to put herself at risk by leaving the house so she could jump through ridiculous bureaucratic hoops,” he told NCA Newswire.

Centrelink wanted Anne Hawkins to leave her home during the pandemic. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

“The government now says they’re going to look into how this happened – and that’s good. But why are they sending any threatening letters to pensioners in lockdown zones right now? It shouldn’t be happening at all.”

Government Services Minister Linda Reynolds told NCA Newswire she “sincerely apologised” for the inconvenience caused.

“I am also looking into the precise events to determine what exactly has occurred and any need for changes to the Services Australia’s procedures and communication,” she said.

“The health and safety of customers and staff is Services Australia’s highest priority, and the agency is strictly adhering to the health orders set down by the 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 advise customers of this.”