Missing out

However, the incentive for the government to make claiming welfare assistance is not so attractive. There is money to be paid out at the end.

Centrelink forms are every bit as long and complicated as a tax return form and in many instances as much if not more evidence of income and assets is required. Yet, there is no provision of partially completed forms online, or even online claiming for that matter. If the government was serious about providing the levels of assistance it offers then this is one option it could consider implementing.

The possibility of using an accountant to complete a form, as you can with your tax, is not promoted by Centrelink on the Parenting Payment claim form but is on the Private Company form. This option carries a level of risk though, because if your claim is not approved you are still stuck with the accountant’s bill.

All of this is superfluous though if an individual is not informed about the range of available assistance or how to go about accessing information about assistance and how to claim.

Data-matching between government departments and agencies is currently being used to find those people whose changing circumstances result in them no longer qualifying for assistance. There is no reason this function could not be applied to identify people who are missing out.

While the government facilitates the payment of taxes it appears happy to keep what they can from many who qualify for assistance. The government has the way, but lacks the will to ensure all Australians receive the assistance the government itself deems them to need.