u/FuIImetaI

This is a bit long-winded so if you think any information is missing in order for it to make sense, let me know please. I've tried my best to cram 3 months of an application into a bit of a highlight reel.

In May of this year, I returned from living overseas for many years, so I decided to apply for Job Seeker while I hunted for a job. My partner came with me on a tourist visa, which we planned on transitioning to a partner visa, however the tourist visa (3 months long) needed to elapse first.

After I applied for Job Seeker, I had to book a time for Centrelink to call me. I thought this call would be finalising my application, however it was the start of a 3 month long wait time for my application to eventually get rejected.

In the call, the service officer checked my details and she was not satisfied with the documents/information I provided and gave me a checklist of about 5 things to do, one of them being to create a Workforce Australia account and punch in my details while my application was being processed. This will be relevant, as it's the reason they refused my application.

From May until July, it was a cycle of me being told to upload a document and call back, I would do so almost instantly as I was unemployed and had a lot of free time, I'd call back and then a different operator would take a look at my application and find something they didn't like, sometimes even opposing what the previous operator telling me (for example, being told my partner didn't need a TFN and then the next time I called, they said she definitely needed a TFN) making me upload or change a document, call back, rinse and repeat for 3 months until I finally got declined.

The reason for my refusal was that I didn't meet my job provider's "job plan". During the whole 3 months, I didn't hear a peep from Workforce Australia. No emails, nothing on MyGov or Centrelink inboxes, in fact my Workforce inbox is empty.

Unsatisfied with this reason, I submitted a complaint and asked to have my application looked at again on the basis that I was never contacted about any sort of "job plan".

I got a call from Centrelink in regards to my complaint, and the guy was saying that I had 28 days to accept a job plan from a job provider. I told him I never received any sort of contact from Workforce Australia in regards to going on a job plan and meeting obligations. The operator practically called me a liar and said that I would have definitely gotten some sort of contact from Workforce and I should have met my expectations. At this point I was fuming. I stood my ground and I told him, I assure you I didn't get anything. I was unemployed and was checking every single app and inbox in my free time waiting for a response. He said that it was my responsibility to chase that up with the job provider and there is nothing they can do once they decline an application.

I was told that in the original phone call appointment I booked in May, I would have been told that I had 28 days to meet my obligations to the job provider, which wasn't the case at all. That call was 99% the operator going through with me how to correctly fix my documents, and then she mentioned that I just needed to create a Workforce account and input my details. Absolutely nothing was mentioned about having 28 days, nor was I contacted about it.

I brought up that if I had 28 days, why was my application cancelled 3 months into it? He told me that don't have to cancel my application by 28 days, so they just had me running around with my thumb in my arse for 3 months just for the fun of it I guess.

At this point, I don't even care about my application, as I found a job a few weeks ago, I would just like something to be done about this. I would like someone in a higher position to hear my situation.

In my eyes, I wasted hours of my life chasing up this application, sitting on hold for 2 to 3 hours every day, Centerlink making me go around a wild goose chase and having me collect and pay for documents of my partner, getting them translated, signed by a JP etc. all while I'm bleeding money from being unemployed and using all of our savings to move back to Australia.

If I wrote up a proper timeline and eliminated the emotional language and sent it off to an MP, would it even be worth it? This post barely scratches the surface of all the shit I had to do to satisfy the operators.

If you read all of this, thank you and I look forward to any constructive responses or personal experiences.

Before I start, I understand bureaucracy is slow and things take time. Centrelink might be understaffed, have a huge backlog of applications, etc. I understand, I truly do, and I know everyone has some sort of bone to pick with Centrelink. But this is just unacceptable.

My jobseeker application has taken over 2.5 months. That's 2.5 months of zero income. Every time I mention that to an operator, they agree that is way too long.

I've called up the job seeker line over 20 times in the past 2 months, and each time the staff assure me there is no need to call them and my application is being worked on, yet I will go weeks without any sort of update and when I call again, they somehow find something for me to submit. They keep changing the goal posts. I've submitted documents 15 times. Every time I call up, it's a new operator and I need to explain my never-ending situation to a new person, and they all have their own opinion on what should be done. Too many chefs in the kitchen...

I've been into the physical location twice, and the only advice they can give it to call the job seeker line because they don't have anyone in the location who can process my claim. While I was there, I witnessed a woman who had breast cancer begging the staff to help her with something but they just didn't give a fuck.

I let them know on Monday I had $500 in my bank account and they assured me my claim would be processed and I would get a call in 1-2 days. It's Wednesday, no call and I checked my Centrelink account, my claim was put on hold with ZERO information as to why. Not the first time, actually more like the tenth, so I called up again as usual and I had the exact same conversation as I did on Monday and the other 19 times with the exact same result. Wait 3 more days and you will receive a call.

If I didn't waste so many hours chasing up this claim, I probably could've found a job by now. But now Centrelink has to back pay me at least $4000, so I'm determined to see this through.

Any advice on what to do?? I feel like I'm chasing a carrot on a stick.