Woman loses everything to Centrelink error: ‘I don’t know how much more I can handle’
- Replies 34
Disclaimer: Names with an asterisk (*) beside them have been changed to protect the identity of the person.
Many rely on various government services to support their well-being, especially when they move beyond the workforce into retirement.
One such service, Centrelink, provides crucial financial support to those in need, including aged pensioners, people with disabilities and full-time carers.
But what happens when the very system designed to safeguard and assist a vulnerablecommunity malfunctions in a most distressing way?
In a shocking case of bureaucratic bungle, a 74-year-old Australian woman named Eve* was declared deceased by Services Australia, leading to a cascade of distressing consequences.
This included the closure of her bank accounts, the loss of her pension, and the withdrawal of her energy concessions.
Eve*, a carer for her 81-year-old husband, who suffers from dementia, first noticed something was amiss when an extra $3,000 from Centrelink appeared in her husband's account.
Concerned about a potential overpayment, she reached out to Services Australia.
After calling a few times, someone from Service Australia called her back to check her account history.
‘As far as we are concerned, you are deceased,’ the officer said.
The $3,000 was a bereavement payment made to her husband.
In the weeks that followed, Eve's* life was turned upside down. Her bank accounts were shut down, her energy concessions from the Gold Coast council were withdrawn, and she could not even book an Uber.
Despite confirming her living status with Births and Marriages, the bureaucratic nightmare continued.
Nali Wardill, a lawyer from Basic Rights Queensland (BRQ) who worked on Eve's* case, highlighted the distressing impact of the situation.
'She’s the carer for her husband, who has dementia and is nonverbal,' Wardill said.
‘She tried to get on to her Centrelink account, but she couldn’t get through. She could see on her husband’s account, his myGov, she could log on there, but she couldn’t log on to hers.’
‘There’s no correspondence in her husband’s myGov account inbox either. So she thought this was an IT glitch.’
After calling Centrelink, it said it would resolve the issue and restore her records.
‘She hadn’t received her usual carer pension,’ Wardill added.
'Because Centrelink thought she’s now dead. So it’s had a financial impact on them.'
After BRQ contacted Centrelink, it made a manual payment to Eve*, and she was later transferred to the debt recovery team to organise the $3,000 repayment bereavement fund.
The situation worsened when, despite assurances from Centrelink that the issue would be resolved, Eve's* bank accounts were frozen again in June.
All remaining funds were transferred into an estate management account. Eve* and her husband were left in a precarious financial situation, unable to access their own money and reliant on the goodwill of their local chemist to defer payment for necessary medications.
Eve* wrote to BRQ, saying, ‘After reassuring me that everything was amended and payment reinstated, imagine my distress when the bank closed my accounts on Friday.’
‘I had to go into a branch to try and sort out to be told once again that I am deceased and everything has been moved to estate management and will need to go through the process of proving who I am.’
‘I have had to try and work around no access to funds. [My] Family couldn’t transfer money as they had nowhere to send it, and direct debits due won’t go.’
The ordeal took a significant toll on Eve's* mental health.
'I don’t know how much more I can handle,' she wrote.
'Being told that I have died again and not knowing if it is ever going to stop happening is taking its toll.'
The automation of letters to Eve’s* bank and council had caused distress. The letters sent by Centrelink to Eve’s* bank and the council on 9 May 2023 were not corrected until BRQ raised a complaint with them in June.
‘She told me she was very distressed,’ Wardill said.
‘She hadn’t slept, and it was exacerbating her anxiety, which is very typical of our vulnerable clients.’
‘It’s particularly difficult when you’re not able to advocate on your behalf, or even if you are able to advocate on your behalf, you’re not able to get through to Centrelink because everything is now based on your customer reference number.’
The banks moved to reinstate Eve’s* accounts after she reiterated that she was not deceased. And after Centrelink sent a statement of regret over the situation, she elevated the case to the council to get her concession put back on.
Kate Allingham, the Chief Executive of Economic Justice Australia, highlighted the devastating consequences of automation in this case.
'In this nightmarish case, the consequences of automation were devastating and profound,' Allingham said.
'This woman’s payments were stopped, her bank account frozen, and funds withdrawn. She could not access her money to buy food or medicine. It took months and the intervention of a lawyer for Centrelink to resolve.'
‘Robodebt is gone, but the ongoing and unchecked use of automation in government services continues to hurt people.’
‘Robodebt demonstrated that Centrelink’s decisions and actions can ruin people’s lives. As the agency moves to introduce safeguards, it’s imperative that people and the complexity of their lives are not lost in a digital one-size-fits-all automated system,’ she explained.
Economic Justice Australia is now researching automation at Centrelink and will make recommendations to the government about how it can be used safely, transparently, and responsibly.
'There should always be human oversight of automation at Centrelink,' Allingham added.
Meanwhile, a Services Australia spokesperson said that it would not comment on this case as Eve* wanted to remain anonymous.
‘We don’t have the details of this case to investigate the specific circumstances, but recording a customer’s death is undertaken with a number of service officer checks in place,’ they said.
‘We sincerely apologise for the distress and inconvenience caused by this error. We work hard to support people sensitively when they are experiencing bereavement, so we are especially disappointed this mistake placed an unnecessary burden on this couple.’
‘If a human error occurs, we have processes in place to take steps to prevent them from happening again. This includes feedback and training for individuals.’
While Centrelink plays a critical role in supporting millions of Australians, many are still left struggling without the help they need due to its skyrocketing waiting times and delays.
It was reported that all Centrelink departments experience ballooning wait times, with an average wait time of almost an hour. Read more about this story here.
What are your thoughts on this issue, members? Have you or anyone you know experienced similar issues with automation in government services? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below.
Many rely on various government services to support their well-being, especially when they move beyond the workforce into retirement.
One such service, Centrelink, provides crucial financial support to those in need, including aged pensioners, people with disabilities and full-time carers.
But what happens when the very system designed to safeguard and assist a vulnerablecommunity malfunctions in a most distressing way?
In a shocking case of bureaucratic bungle, a 74-year-old Australian woman named Eve* was declared deceased by Services Australia, leading to a cascade of distressing consequences.
This included the closure of her bank accounts, the loss of her pension, and the withdrawal of her energy concessions.
Eve* was distressed to know about what Centrelink did to her records. Credit: Freepik
Eve*, a carer for her 81-year-old husband, who suffers from dementia, first noticed something was amiss when an extra $3,000 from Centrelink appeared in her husband's account.
Concerned about a potential overpayment, she reached out to Services Australia.
After calling a few times, someone from Service Australia called her back to check her account history.
‘As far as we are concerned, you are deceased,’ the officer said.
The $3,000 was a bereavement payment made to her husband.
In the weeks that followed, Eve's* life was turned upside down. Her bank accounts were shut down, her energy concessions from the Gold Coast council were withdrawn, and she could not even book an Uber.
Despite confirming her living status with Births and Marriages, the bureaucratic nightmare continued.
Nali Wardill, a lawyer from Basic Rights Queensland (BRQ) who worked on Eve's* case, highlighted the distressing impact of the situation.
'She’s the carer for her husband, who has dementia and is nonverbal,' Wardill said.
‘She tried to get on to her Centrelink account, but she couldn’t get through. She could see on her husband’s account, his myGov, she could log on there, but she couldn’t log on to hers.’
‘There’s no correspondence in her husband’s myGov account inbox either. So she thought this was an IT glitch.’
After calling Centrelink, it said it would resolve the issue and restore her records.
‘She hadn’t received her usual carer pension,’ Wardill added.
'Because Centrelink thought she’s now dead. So it’s had a financial impact on them.'
After BRQ contacted Centrelink, it made a manual payment to Eve*, and she was later transferred to the debt recovery team to organise the $3,000 repayment bereavement fund.
The situation worsened when, despite assurances from Centrelink that the issue would be resolved, Eve's* bank accounts were frozen again in June.
All remaining funds were transferred into an estate management account. Eve* and her husband were left in a precarious financial situation, unable to access their own money and reliant on the goodwill of their local chemist to defer payment for necessary medications.
Eve* wrote to BRQ, saying, ‘After reassuring me that everything was amended and payment reinstated, imagine my distress when the bank closed my accounts on Friday.’
‘I had to go into a branch to try and sort out to be told once again that I am deceased and everything has been moved to estate management and will need to go through the process of proving who I am.’
‘I have had to try and work around no access to funds. [My] Family couldn’t transfer money as they had nowhere to send it, and direct debits due won’t go.’
The ordeal took a significant toll on Eve's* mental health.
'I don’t know how much more I can handle,' she wrote.
The situation took a toll on Eve’s* mental health. Credit: Freepik
'Being told that I have died again and not knowing if it is ever going to stop happening is taking its toll.'
The automation of letters to Eve’s* bank and council had caused distress. The letters sent by Centrelink to Eve’s* bank and the council on 9 May 2023 were not corrected until BRQ raised a complaint with them in June.
‘She told me she was very distressed,’ Wardill said.
‘She hadn’t slept, and it was exacerbating her anxiety, which is very typical of our vulnerable clients.’
‘It’s particularly difficult when you’re not able to advocate on your behalf, or even if you are able to advocate on your behalf, you’re not able to get through to Centrelink because everything is now based on your customer reference number.’
The banks moved to reinstate Eve’s* accounts after she reiterated that she was not deceased. And after Centrelink sent a statement of regret over the situation, she elevated the case to the council to get her concession put back on.
Kate Allingham, the Chief Executive of Economic Justice Australia, highlighted the devastating consequences of automation in this case.
'In this nightmarish case, the consequences of automation were devastating and profound,' Allingham said.
'This woman’s payments were stopped, her bank account frozen, and funds withdrawn. She could not access her money to buy food or medicine. It took months and the intervention of a lawyer for Centrelink to resolve.'
‘Robodebt is gone, but the ongoing and unchecked use of automation in government services continues to hurt people.’
‘Robodebt demonstrated that Centrelink’s decisions and actions can ruin people’s lives. As the agency moves to introduce safeguards, it’s imperative that people and the complexity of their lives are not lost in a digital one-size-fits-all automated system,’ she explained.
Economic Justice Australia is now researching automation at Centrelink and will make recommendations to the government about how it can be used safely, transparently, and responsibly.
'There should always be human oversight of automation at Centrelink,' Allingham added.
Meanwhile, a Services Australia spokesperson said that it would not comment on this case as Eve* wanted to remain anonymous.
‘We don’t have the details of this case to investigate the specific circumstances, but recording a customer’s death is undertaken with a number of service officer checks in place,’ they said.
‘We sincerely apologise for the distress and inconvenience caused by this error. We work hard to support people sensitively when they are experiencing bereavement, so we are especially disappointed this mistake placed an unnecessary burden on this couple.’
‘If a human error occurs, we have processes in place to take steps to prevent them from happening again. This includes feedback and training for individuals.’
While Centrelink plays a critical role in supporting millions of Australians, many are still left struggling without the help they need due to its skyrocketing waiting times and delays.
It was reported that all Centrelink departments experience ballooning wait times, with an average wait time of almost an hour. Read more about this story here.
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