‘Cried real tears that day’: How Centrelink’s poor service unfairly impact women

The latest figures show Services Australia including Centrelink and Medicare have unacceptable levels of unanswered calls, call wait times and back logs of claims adding to the long list of stressors families face on a daily basis. Women, who are more likely to manage the household, are often the ones accessing welfare and health services.

Inefficient social services have a significant impact on women living in regional, rural and remote Australia because they experience greater health and social adversities, such as unemployment, poorer health, disability, and poorer access to health, aged care and early learning and care services. For women in these locations, sometimes the phone is the only way to access these agencies due to the unavailability of stable internet connection and distance to Service Centres.

Indigenous women also experience other barriers such as paternalism, and biased and racist systems and practices. Many government services are yet to implement cultural safety measures to improve access.