Young Tasmanians “infuriated” by Centrelink delays on site and online

The cracks are showing as desperate young people become fed up with Centrelink.

The cracks are showing as desperate young people become fed up with Centrelink.

Local TAFE student and retail worker Matt Griffiths said his Centrelink claim was “tied up in snags”, leaving him with three hours of work a week to cover bills and rent.

The adventure tour guiding student returned from a field trip to discover his practical outdoor studies were moved online indefinitely.

The news came soon after his laptop had broken.

He said a Centrelink claim he lodged about eight weeks ago — well before the COVID-19 unemployment wave swept through Tasmania — was pending approval after an “IT error” cut off his fortnightly payments.

He said he was told he would be back-paid, but his recent service experience paired with “crazy” Centrelink inundation raised doubts.

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“The second woman I called moved the case on to someone else,” he said.

“I think it moved (my claim) further down the queue.”

Mr Griffiths then lodged a new claim, which was rejected two hours later.

He said he was avoiding joining the queues on site, adding he was saving as much as possible for daily expenses, and for a laptop.

“It creates sadness not knowing what’s going to happen next,” he said.

Hobart local Anna Mitsakis, 19, said despite her and her partner losing their hospitality jobs, they decided to “not even bother” lodging a claim during Centrelink’s website crashes and enormous queues.

She said it was “infuriating”, but wisest to wait until the mayhem subsided.

“We’re buying the bare minimum and becoming hermits to save as much as we can for bills,” she said.

“Because I’m under a certain age, they might still class me as a dependent anyway.”

Service Australia lists anyone younger than 22, like Miss Mitsakis, as a dependent.

Exceptions include people supporting themselves through work, married or in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months, with a dependent child, with parents who cannot look after them, or in state care.

Other exempt applicants are job seekers unable to work for more than 30 hours a week, people unable to live at home due to extreme circumstances, refugees with parents outside of Australia, or orphans with no legal guardian.