Media Release
21 May 2024
Welfare Rights Centre forced to reduce services for First Nations people needing access to income support.
The outcome of the 2024-25 Federal Budget means that Welfare Rights Centre has had to take stock of the desperate funding situation affecting all Community Legal Centres and begin winding down services to vulnerable people in NSW who need help to access Centrelink payments and resolve unfair debts.
Due to not receiving adequate funding in the Federal Budget, Welfare Rights Centre will be forced to reduce its services and the first service to be cut will be its First Nations Access Program, which has received no government support for the past 18 months.
Many First Nations people face significant barriers to accessing their Centrelink entitlements. Issues with providing identification and other documents, misunderstandings about care arrangements for children and the overall complexity of the social security system result in rejections or cancellations of payments and unfair debts.
The First Nations Access Program develops culturally safe community engagement programs that include workshops, targeted resources, and employs a First Nations Access Officer, which is critical to the success of the program. WRC recently visited Dubbo and Nyngan to raise awareness of Welfare Rights Centre’s services and deliver training with one of the Centre’s social security specialist solicitors.
Allienttia Weldon-Oti, who has been with Welfare Rights Centre for 2 years, said that “Working at Welfare Rights Centre means that I can support Aboriginal community services and individuals to access legal advice and Centrelink. First Nations community workers have told us they do not understand how the social security system works and that they have difficulty assisting their clients navigate Centrelink, particularly when it is critical to access these financial resources.”
WRC Board Director Thom Calma stated “I am proud that WRC employs an Aboriginal person as the First Nations Access officer. A person with lived experience who understands the issues faced by mob, such as intergenerational trauma, a mistrust of government and disproportionate gaps in health, education, employment, and justice. We have seen, firsthand, the impact that the First Nations Access Officer can have for individuals and community. WRC invests in the First Nations Access officer because it recognizes the unique complexities faced by First Nations people and the importance of this role in achieving fair and just outcomes for mob. Without the First Nations Access officer, WRC will not be able to achieve these outcomes, this is a serious setback for the Centre.”
Katherine Boyle CEO Welfare Rights Centre said “There are whole families in Western NSW surviving on just one Centrelink payment because carers have given up trying to get Carers Payment, young people have given up trying to get Youth Allowance, people with disability have given up trying to get Disability Support Pension. These people are entitled to Centrelink payments but they have given up because the social security system is too difficult to navigate”.
“Following the defeat of The Voice referendum, and in the wake of the Robodebt Royal Commission, and in the midst of a cost of living crisis, it’s just so disappointing that the Federal Government has not invested more in social security advocacy services that are seeking to make a difference to the levels of poverty experienced by First Nations people in NSW”.
“Without a First Nations Access Officer, Welfare Rights Centre will struggle to reach communities that desperately need help with Centrelink problems. Without additional funding to replace the years of temporary funding, most of which expires in weeks, Welfare Rights Centre will be forced to reduce its legal services, impacting First Nations people needing legal help with Centrelink problems” says Katherine Boyle
Allienttia is also a law student and will soon graduate. She and Welfare Rights Centre had hoped she would continue her work with the Centre while she undertook her Practical Legal Training and started her career as a lawyer. Welfare Rights Centre’s commitment to First Nations justice includes supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law students to complete their studies while they work to connect the Centre with First Nations communities throughout NSW.
For more information contact:
Katherine Boyle
[email protected].
0430 306 823
| 
