Centrelink

Ive been trying for four months to add my baby to my medicare card. First i go onto medicare thinking it’s obvious their thing to do but they say that i need to go onto centerlink to add my baby to the card. So i go onto centerlink they have lowered my pay because my baby isnt on medicare and need me to add him for my pay to go up as im a stay at home mum to look at how to add him and it says that its medicares job to do it. How do it do it then!!?? My baby has gotten his four month vax and 6 week vax and now their is no proof. Ive never been so angry

Lady on reception was very warm, friendly and helpful as well as one of the team members helping me re-enroll. The online process seems to always have glitches & causes more delays.

I was surprised with their friendly staff and professional service. I expected it would be time consuming work to hand over my pre-filled medicare application. The lady helping us was quick and super helpful. Love the way they handle individual cases and there are transtors available if you need help with your language difficulties. Only issue that I identified was there were not enough parking spaces. The ones available over the road are paid parking and make sure to bring some coins with you.

If knowing could have booked online for appointment, in the end after arriving at 11am and told to come back at 1.45PM or wait for service. So had lunch with granddaughter the best part and went back later, passed the interview.

Very quick service. Friendly, professional and helpful staff

Always get the answering service that doesn't understand what you say and then hangs up.

I dropped in to the Toowoomba office late in the afternoon frustrated with an issue, and was treated with respect, courtesy and efficiency by the staff. While sitting at a service officer's desk I noticed staff around me working hard and helping people everywhere as best they could. Full credit to staff here for doing a great job in difficult times.

I avoid attending this office due to the parking issues for disabled people and the long waits to do anything there. However, when I do have to attend, staff are mostly courteous and respectful. Considering what they have to deal with day in and day out, I think they are champions at maintaining a courteous and respectful attitude. The system is the problem, not the employees trying to manage it for everyone. What I don't understand about the system is why it has been made so frustratingly difficult for anyone to achieve their goals when making contact. I consider myself to be a basically well adjusted individual and the system has reduced me to a blithering mess on more than one occasion. The telephone system is the absolute worst. How on earth do gentle old pensioners who have worked hard all their lives, cope with the whole system? Many of them are unable to get their head around computers and the online system, and are too old and tired to make their way to an office, so they would be wanting to use the telephone system. I use the online system myself, whenever I can, but there are times when I am required by Centrelink and the system to call them. So yesterday after returning from our two week holiday to celebrate 5 years of marriage, we were required to report my husband's income. But because we left the country the system suspends payments. Staff warned me that our first report when we return, may not work online and that we would need to call Centrelink. So, I check online. I can't find a way to report. So I try to ring. Amazingly, I am connected straight away to the automated system. However, the automated system just will not allow you to speak to an actual person no matter what you say. If you mention report earnings it gives you a spiel about other ways to do this and hangs up. Even when I did manage to get the automated system to acknowledge that I wanted to speak to an operator it would then tell me that all operators were busy and hang up. So I tried the Disability and Carers line after about seven attempts on the other line. It just dialled engaged the whole time. I ended up giving up on the telephone and went online again. There were no new messages in my inbox. I explored online for a while and actually managed to locate the report income option hidden away. I clicked on it and it told me that I could not report at this time, that I was supposed to have reported on the 27th March and that I would have to contact Centrelink!!!!!! Seriously???? It was the 27th March I was trying to do this on, and it was telling me I had failed to report on the 27th and telling me to contact them!! Ay, ay, ay!! So I am now completely stressed out and decide to leave it until today. I now cannot attend the office because it is the local show holiday, so I only have the option of the telephone. I ring up and I get through to the automated system straight away. It gives me a spiel about other options and hangs up. I try again. I get it to acknowledge my request for an operator. Then it tells me that the operators are all busy at this time and hangs up. So I try the Disability line again. Hooray! It isn't busy and it answers. After several frustrating minutes trying to get it to acknowledge that I want an operator it puts me on hold for approximately 40 minutes. At least it didn't hang up on me this time! Then I hear the spiel while on hold about how they want to treat us with dignity and respect and I just lose it and start crying. What is dignifying or respectful about my experience so far? Nothing! I can't even get to speak with a real flesh and blood person. Then after I come off hold I get to speak to somebody who is indeed, respectful. If you can actually get through to speak to a person they are always respectful, helpful and caring. But the system strips you of all dignity before you ever get 2 speak 2 that person, IF you ever get 2 speak 2 that person. Please, please, please, can somebody with the power to do so, do something about the system to give us our dignity back & prevent us from all going crazy with stress?

Very friendly staff with great service. I thought it would take at least an hour or two but it only took me half an hour for the Medicare card application. I printed and filled the form at home first.

Just recently moved from NSW to Toowoomba and having read all the negative and nasty comments about Centrelink, we went there with trepidation. But to our pleasant surprise, the receptionist was very friendly and helpful. We did not have to wait long at all to be attended to by a lady called Paula who was exceptionally friendly and helpful in a very professional manner. All round a very good experience!

Directions to Centrelink with public transportation

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