Senator for New South Wales Jim Molan and the Morrison Government know that many people in the Eden-Monaro electorate are still doing it tough. To continue to help after a very difficult year, the Morrison Government is still providing a vast array of support through a diverse range of Government services. The government understands that those in rural and regional areas need services similar to those available in the cities.
“We recognise that particularly for people in regional and rural Australia, these services need to be localised. Available services can be found at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/ but for additional assistance, we have six Services Centres throughout the Eden-Monaro region in Bega, Cooma, Narooma, Queanbeyan, Tumut and Yass”, said Senator Molan.
“These service centres have been very busy in 2020, servicing 95,545 customers face-to-face, assisting them to undertake Centrelink and Medicare matters, and supporting digital services. As well, specialist staff in Eden-Monaro such as social workers, community engagement officers, indigenous service officers and financial information services officers offer targeted, supported assistance.”
In addition, Services Australia has six Access Points in Eden-Monaro: Batlow, Bermagui, Bombala, Braidwood, Delegate, and Talbingo, and five Agents: Eden, Jindabyne, Merimbula, Wallaga Lake, and Tumbarumba.
The specific location of these Access Points and Agents are available at https://findus.servicesaustralia.gov.au/ and all can provide advice and access to services. For more advice on specific locations, please feel free to contact Senator Molan’s office on 02 6277 3695.
These Access Points and Agents help people in rural, regional and remote communities to access services, providing free self-service facilities for customers to conduct their business. Customers can access computers and printers, upload documents to their customer record, make calls using self-service phones, and access free Wi-Fi to use on their own devices. Agents also provide a face-to-face information service, identity document certification, and assist customers to use self-service.
Services Australia has deployed Mobile Service Centres with full facilities for access, information and advice on routine visits or to help in disaster situations, all at the local level, which travels to rural and regional communities to ensure that those communities have access to the same range of services that are available at any other service centre in Australia.
“As well, we also send out Mobile Servicing Teams, which are small teams with specialist staff and access located in state-run recovery centres, co-located with partner agencies and which also participated in out-servicing led by partner agencies, for example, a Services NSW Mobile Service Centre”, said Senator Molan.
“Following the 2020 Black Summer Bushfires these teams provided more than 122 visits to bushfire affected communities in our region.”
“During 2020, the Mobile Service Centres undertook 47 days of servicing within the Eden-Monaro electorate – 29 days during the bushfires in addition to the 18 days of usual servicing.”
Where a community is isolated geographically and isolation is compounded by telecommunications outages, Services Australia may transport staff, mobile devices, pop-up service points and if necessary, generator power for short-term servicing. This approach was deployed in a range of locations in Eden-Monaro, often in partnership with the Australian Defence Force.
“Most of these services continue to exist now”, said Senator Molan.
“I encourage you to make use of them or please feel free to call my office for assistance”.
As well as current support, the Morrison Government has supported Eden-Monaro residents through the difficult year that was 2020. From providing emergency relief for residents impacted by the Black Summer bushfires throughout Eden-Monaro, to supporting businesses and individuals facing economic strain as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Morrison Government has delivered supports right across the electorate.
In Eden-Monaro, over $33 million in Disaster Recovery Payments and almost $5 million in Disaster Recovery Allowance was paid to residents impacted by the Black Summer Bushfires. The Morrison Government supported over 17,800 Aged Pensioners, 6,900 JobSeekers and 3,200 Carers with payments in 2020. A summary description of each of these support payments are attached.
The Morrison Government also supported Eden-Monaro residents’ weather the height of the coronavirus pandemic with residents receiving over $65 million paid in Economic Support Payments to pensioners, veterans, and carers alongside over $58 million in Coronavirus Supplement Support payments.
Senator Molan said Services Australia, the Federal Government’s service delivery agency, provided much needed support to Eden-Monaro through its network of Service Centres, Mobile Service Centres, Mobile Service Teams, Access Points and Agents as well as through enhanced digital channels and hotlines.
“We’ve had a bloody tough year in Eden-Monaro with the fires and the virus hitting our communities hard, I know I speak for a lot of people when I say thank you to Centrelink and Services Australia for giving so many a hand’ Senator Molan said.
“We should not forget that there are many routine services that are delivered to Eden-Monaro region residents in addition to general support following disasters. A list of these is attached and to get a fair picture, I encourage you to spend a minute reading them.”
“I have been fighting hard as part of the Morrison Government to make sure rural and regional Australians do not get left behind and they get the support they need.”
Eden-Monaro customers can contact Services Australia through its phone services, delivered through smart centres, which form an Australia-wide network. As part of its phone network, the agency has specific phone services for Multilingual, International, Rural and Remote and Child Support Customers, Health Providers for Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Aged Care and a range of other health programs. Wait times for phone services are currently low as additional staff have been employed to support people through the current pandemic.
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Media contact: Senator Molan’s Office I Hayley Morris I 0435 930 217
Services Australia: Emergency Information Line I 180 22 66
Centrelink Employment Services Line I 132 850
Other Government Payment Recipients in Eden-Monaro
Age Pension: 17,888
Pension Concession Card: 29,226
Disability Support Pension: 5,138
Family Tax Benefit A: 7,432
Family Tax Benefit B: 5,806
Family Tax Benefit PART A Children: 14,388
JobSeeker Payment: 6,940
Commonwealth Rent Assistance: 8,719
Youth Allowance: 1,266
Carer Allowance: 3,241
Austudy: 143
Coronavirus Support Payments in Eden-Monaro
Economic Support Payment One: $32,576,250
Economic Support Payment Two: $24,470,000
Economic Support Payment Three: $8,114,250
Coronavirus Supplement: $58,618,200
| Bushfire Supports paid to Eden-Monaro Residents in 2019/20 | ||
| Payment type | Granted | Amount Paid |
| Disaster Recovery Allowance | 1,184 | $ 4,876,305 |
| Disaster Recovery Payment | 29,453 | $33,510,400 |
17,888 Aged Pensioners:
Four one-off Economic Support Payments
- First payment – $750 on 12th March 2020
- Second payment – $750 on 10th July 2020
- Third payment – $250 on 27th November 2020
- Fourth payment – $250 available on 26 February 2021
6,940 JobSeekers
Received standard $565.70 JobSeeker Payment as well as Coronavirus supplement:
- $550 through 27 Apr 20 – 24 Sep 20
- $250 through 25 Sep 20 – 31 Dec 20
- $150 through 1 Jan 21 – 31 Mar 21
Received one-off Economic Support Payment of $750 in April/June 2020
3,241 Carers
Four one-off Economic Support Payments
- First payment – $750 on 12th March 2020
- Second payment – $750 on 10th July 2020
- Third payment – $250 on 27th November 2020
- Fourth payment – $250 available on 26 February 2021
5,138 on Disability Support Pension
Four one-off Economic Support Payments
- First payment – $750 on 12th March 2020
- Second payment – $750 on 10th July 2020
- Third payment – $250 on 27th November 2020
- Fourth payment – $250 available on 26 February 2021
1,266 on Youth Allowance
Received one-off Economic Support Payment of $750 in April/June 2020