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Welfare Rights Centre is a member of the National Association of Community Legal Centres™
Media Release
9 November 2009
Centrelink errors found in 1 in 2 cases
More than 1 in 2 Centrelink decisions were changed because the agency got its facts
wrong or did not understand the legislation underpinning entitlements worth $66.3
billion, said the Director Maree O’Halloran, Welfare Rights Centre, today.
Commenting on the data from the 2008-09 Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT)
Annual Report Ms O’Halloran said: “Nine out of every 10 decisions changed involved
situations where Centrelink made an error of fact (33.1%), incorrectly applied the
legislation (14.7%) or the tribunal uncovered new information and Centrelink failed to
interpret the facts and properly collect and assess relevant information about a
person’s circumstances (43.9%).
“These figures are truly disturbing and call into question the reliability of Centrelink’s
administrative and investigatory processes. This does not seem to be a fair process
of review but is more like rough justice. Centrelink is the most complained about
Government agency in the country. In 2008-09 the Commonwealth Ombudsman
received 7,224 complaints about Centrelink. Each year there are hundreds of
thousands of Centrelink decisions which unfavourably affect a person’s entitlements.
Approximately 30 per cent of these decisions are overturned on appeal.
“Appeals to the SSAT have doubled since 2007. In 2008-09 16,288 decisions were
reviewed, resulting in 34.2% of finalised reviews being changed. Very few people
ever seek review of a Centrelink decision and today’s revelation suggests that many
may be suffering in silence, and paying the price for it.
“Centrelink handles most of its data correctly, with $229 million outbound
transactions processed annually and 9.87 million entitlements, with a payment
correctness rate of 96.6%. But too often it makes the wrong decisions about the facts
which have a bearing on a person’s eligibility for payment.
“These results highlight the critical importance of the independent review processes
of the SSAT. However, the increase in reviews is placing a massive strain on the
system. Each year thousands of people contact Welfare Rights for assistance. The
main issues involving reviews are about the existence of a debt, the rate of recovery
or a rejection of a claim for payment. Inconsistent information and advice is a major
source of frustration for many. What is needed are better resourcing for appeals,
improved training for Centrelink staff, more care when making decisions and a
substantial increase in welfare rights advocates to help people deal with Centrelink
problems. Centrelink staff work in a very challenging and complex environment.
Centrelink has been a problem for whoever is in charge in Canberra. The issue of the
accuracy of Centrelink’s decision making needs a bi-partisan approach to investigate
the problem and come up with workable solutions.”
For comment: Maree O’Halloran, Director, Welfare Rights Centre: 0417 672 104
or Gerard Thomas, Policy and Media Officer: 0425 296 882.
NEWS 
