Got five (5) letters from Centrelink in my MyGov Inbox: Nov 2016, Dec 2016, Jan 2017, Feb 2017.
Although I registered to be apprised of such correspondence by SMS, I received no such notifications for letters one (1) to four (4), and the SMS apprising me of the arrival of letter five (5) arrived FOUR (4) DAYS afterwards.
When I read the first letter accusing me - without proof - that I owed the Commonwealth of Australia nearly four thousand dollars, I was shocked. Researching my tax returns and financial records, I was certain that I did NOT owe the people of Australia such an amount. Centrelink and the ATO were clearly mistaken.
Perplexed, I wrote to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services, Ms Kathryn Campbell, to complain about its aggressive, unprofessional, rude correspondence, incompetence, and utter disregard for the principles of natural justice which are purportedly extant in a civilised, civil society such as ours.
About one week later, I received a call from someone called Emma (no surname offered, nor title, merely that she was 'looking into the matter for the Secretary') who needed forty-five (45) minutes to tell me that yes, I was right, I did not owe the Commonwealth anything and that the matter would be resolved.
Imagine my distress then, when, upon receiving an SMS apprising me that I had a 'letter in my MyGov Inbox' to discover that my Newstart Allowance had been cancelled and I was without any means of support. What was I supposed to do? Not once had Centrelink tried to contact me by phone, or AusPost. That is, the mighty Commonwealth, with all its janissaries, could not find the wherewithal to make a phone call to a citizen taxpayer, herself a former APS employee (erstwhile Senior Customs Officer), to discuss what the hell was going on and why. WHY NOT? What's wrong with these people? Are they afraid to speak with someone, with a fellow human being? And the reason for sundering me from my only source of income right now? 'We were unable to reach you via mail.' 'Eh? When, for the past two (2) years, every single letter from Centrelink has been delivered safely to my letter-box. I have lived here for 13 years.
Poorly.
Not as it should have and easily could have.
What sort of fools do they employ to write the software to permit two Commonwealth Government Departments to interface with one another? Clearly, epsilon semi-morons.
Forgive me, I am so wroth with the Commonwealth I find it difficult to remain civil.
I am 54, studying full-time, in a new field to start yet another new career, having been evicted from my APS role @ 45, and subsequently rejected by Australian employers as far too aged and decrepit to every work again. I also support my elderly CALD mother, and work part-time pro-bono as a patient advocate. I'm trying desperately to do what I can to be useful and productive. And to be treated with such contempt by the very regime to whom I gave 10+ years service is insulting and painful.