Centrelink weathering financial storm- says GM

Centrelink's general manager says there is no evidence that the welfare agency is struggling under the burden of the global economic crisis, and that it is financially sound.

Unions and welfare groups are questioning whether Centrelink will be able to cope if unemployment starts to rise as predicted in the face of the global financial crisis.

They say Centrelink is not managing now and needs an urgent boost in resources to survive.

But general manager Hank Jongen has told ABC Radio National's Breakfast program that it is business as usual at Centrelink, and that the agency is not straining under the weight of the economic downturn.

"We've been at the centre of the Government's economic response at very short notice," he said.

"We will be delivering $8.9 billion worth of payments, on top of that we're dealing with aged pensioners.

"We are well-equipped to deal with these situations, it's our normal business.

"There's no evidence to show we are struggling or under pressure at this time."

He dismissed talk of Centrelink branches being too short-staffed to cope with an increasing workload, including rising customer numbers and an income management trial in Western Australia.

"It is true that we've had increased [output] as a result of the economic situation, certainly in the aged pension space there's been increased activities," he said.

"Our queue times have been steadily reducing and you need to look at our history in response to these situations."

Mr Jongen says the agency's funding increases and decreases in line with fluctuations in customer numbers, rejecting Public Sector Union claims that the already-increasing demand was hurting Centrelink.

"Centrelink is actually going through staff reductions over recent times because of the strength of the economy," he said.

"We're now in a position where customer numbers are increasing, and as a result of that we're preparing for increased numbers."

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Wed 19th November 2008 - 06:15pm