All Aussie Related Stuff (excluding the old age pension)

[Will27]

7 hours ago, stud858 said:

I think the opposite the way to you when I read the rules.  I feel it's pretty hard for ato to reclassify an Aussie as a NR. But the ato will end up Deciding if they need to.  Otherwise,  that's what is so cool,  we can decide ourselves with no ato interventions. Those who have a lot of tax implications have more to worry about.  Luckily,  I'm  a poor penniless person. A ppp.

 

It's pretty easy to classify someone as a non-resident if you're audited TBH.

 

There's pretty much 3 ways to get audited IMO.

 

You get audited by occupation.

Audited if they have a dob-in that has some merit and

a random audit.

 

Best to try and fly under the radar if you can.

[4MyEgo]

Just on the topic of Medicare for those of us that are Non Residents for tax purposes and have never been sure how long it takes before Medicare gives us the flick, it appears The Department of Human Services have updated their website to make it a little clearer on where we stand on Medicare as Non Residents:

 

If you’re an Australian citizen and you live overseas

If you’ve moved overseas, you continue to be eligible for Medicare for 5 years. The 5 years starts from the date you first left Australia.

You can’t access Medicare services from outside of Australia. If we have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with the country you’re in, you may get access to medically necessary care. You’ll need a Medicare card to do this.

If you live overseas for more than 5 years you’ll no longer be eligible for Medicare. You will need to re-enrol in Medicare when you move back to Australia to live.

 

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/medicare/medicare-card/eligibility/who-can-get-it?__s=tjo8j3w8sceupngxunst&utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018+Tax+Update%2FRefresher&utm_content=Week+3%3A+Am+I+entitled+to+use+Medicare+when+I+return+home+to+visit+Australia%3F

 

[blackhorse]

Just on the topic of Medicare for those of us that are Non Residents for tax purposes and have never been sure how long it takes before Medicare gives us the flick, it appears The Department of Human Services have updated their website to make it a little clearer on where we stand on Medicare as Non Residents:
 

If you’re an Australian citizen and you live overseas

If you’ve moved overseas, you continue to be eligible for Medicare for 5 years. The 5 years starts from the date you first left Australia.

You can’t access Medicare services from outside of Australia. If we have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with the country you’re in, you may get access to medically necessary care. You’ll need a Medicare card to do this.

If you live overseas for more than 5 years you’ll no longer be eligible for Medicare. You will need to re-enrol in Medicare when you move back to Australia to live.

 

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/medicare/medicare-card/eligibility/who-can-get-it?__s=tjo8j3w8sceupngxunst&utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018+Tax+Update%2FRefresher&utm_content=Week+3%3A+Am+I+entitled+to+use+Medicare+when+I+return+home+to+visit+Australia%3F

 

I went back a few months ago and still had 12 months left on Medicare. I got the card and thought it would reset the 5 years but she wrote in my profile I had 12 months left.
Should of clarified it but It only occurred to me after I left the office

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

I went back a few months ago and still had 12 months left on Medicare. I got the card and thought it would reset the 5 years but she wrote in my profile I had 12 months left.
Should of clarified it but It only occurred to me after I left the office

Sorry to hear about your ad luck as I am told as long as you keep renewing the card your in.

 

I have been away for 3 years, my card was due to expire next year i.e. August 2019 and I was going to do what you did, i.e. go into Medicare and request a new card early as I will be there this month, they would probably say why, oh, I live overseas and probably would have done the same as they did to you, thankfully I looked into the profile section of Medicare and saw that you could order "lost cards" on-site, so I gave it a go, and as I have an address (mates) and PO Box in Oz, they sent me a new one to my PO Box where my mate collects my mail, took a snapshot of it and sent to me, it expires in 5 years, i.e. 8/2023 you little beauty, just checked the profile section again now and it's still the same, but the numbers on the Medicare card have change.

 

Going back in a few weeks and no doubt it will work because I am at 8 months off what the expiry date was on the old card, but will be using the new card, as I mentioned the numbers have changed on the card, so they probably cancelled the "lost card", however I always have a plan B and took out travel insurance for the family out as non residents visiting Australia just in case of an emergency and Medicare didn't cover us, worth the $120 outlay for the week, as the Irish say, "to be sure to be sure ????

 

I would like to suggest that you try this, go to your MyGov account if you have one and sign in, then go to Medicare and sign in, once in go to the lost card section and order a new card, naturally you will need an Oz address to get it sent too, that might reset the time to 5 years as my new card did, wish you the best of luck, and if it works let us know in a PM

[blackhorse]

Sorry to hear about your ad luck as I am told as long as you keep renewing the card your in.
 
I have been away for 3 years, my card was due to expire next year i.e. August 2019 and I was going to do what you did, i.e. go into Medicare and request a new card early as I will be there this month, they would probably say why, oh, I live overseas and probably would have done the same as they did to you, thankfully I looked into the profile section of Medicare and saw that you could order "lost cards" on-site, so I gave it a go, and as I have an address (mates) and PO Box in Oz, they sent me a new one to my PO Box where my mate collects my mail, took a snapshot of it and sent to me, it expires in 5 years, i.e. 8/2023 you little beauty, just checked the profile section again now and it's still the same, but the numbers on the Medicare card have change.
 
Going back in a few weeks and no doubt it will work because I am at 8 months off what the expiry date was on the old card, but will be using the new card, as I mentioned the numbers have changed on the card, so they probably cancelled the "lost card", however I always have a plan B and took out travel insurance for the family out as non residents visiting Australia just in case of an emergency and Medicare didn't cover us, worth the $120 outlay for the week, as the Irish say, "to be sure to be sure [emoji33]
 
I would like to suggest that you try this, go to your MyGov account if you have one and sign in, then go to Medicare and sign in, once in go to the lost card section and order a new card, naturally you will need an Oz address to get it sent too, that might reset the time to 5 years as my new card did, wish you the best of luck, and if it works let us know in a PM

Good advice. I will try my gov as I do have an oz address I can use

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

5 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Sorry to hear about your ad luck as I am told as long as you keep renewing the card your in.
 
I have been away for 3 years, my card was due to expire next year i.e. August 2019 and I was going to do what you did, i.e. go into Medicare and request a new card early as I will be there this month, they would probably say why, oh, I live overseas and probably would have done the same as they did to you, thankfully I looked into the profile section of Medicare and saw that you could order "lost cards" on-site, so I gave it a go, and as I have an address (mates) and PO Box in Oz, they sent me a new one to my PO Box where my mate collects my mail, took a snapshot of it and sent to me, it expires in 5 years, i.e. 8/2023 you little beauty, just checked the profile section again now and it's still the same, but the numbers on the Medicare card have change.
 
Going back in a few weeks and no doubt it will work because I am at 8 months off what the expiry date was on the old card, but will be using the new card, as I mentioned the numbers have changed on the card, so they probably cancelled the "lost card", however I always have a plan B and took out travel insurance for the family out as non residents visiting Australia just in case of an emergency and Medicare didn't cover us, worth the $120 outlay for the week, as the Irish say, "to be sure to be sure 
 
I would like to suggest that you try this, go to your MyGov account if you have one and sign in, then go to Medicare and sign in, once in go to the lost card section and order a new card, naturally you will need an Oz address to get it sent too, that might reset the time to 5 years as my new card did, wish you the best of luck, and if it works let us know in a PM

Good advice. I will try my gov as I do have an oz address I can use

Fingers crossed, if the new order for the card goes through, check your Medicare profile through MyGov again when you get notice that your card has arrived, hopefully it will say 5 years on it.

 

Edit: Then keep repeating the exercise every 5 years ????????

Edited October 9, 2018 by 4MyEgo

[stud858]

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

Just on the topic of Medicare for those of us that are Non Residents for tax purposes and have never been sure how long it takes before Medicare gives us the flick, it appears The Department of Human Services have updated their website to make it a little clearer on where we stand on Medicare as Non Residents:

 

If you’re an Australian citizen and you live overseas

If you’ve moved overseas, you continue to be eligible for Medicare for 5 years. The 5 years starts from the date you first left Australia.

You can’t access Medicare services from outside of Australia. If we have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with the country you’re in, you may get access to medically necessary care. You’ll need a Medicare card to do this.

If you live overseas for more than 5 years you’ll no longer be eligible for Medicare. You will need to re-enrol in Medicare when you move back to Australia to live.

 

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/medicare/medicare-card/eligibility/who-can-get-it?__s=tjo8j3w8sceupngxunst&utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018+Tax+Update%2FRefresher&utm_content=Week+3%3A+Am+I+entitled+to+use+Medicare+when+I+return+home+to+visit+Australia%3F

 

"moving overseas" 

And "living overseas"

Are these terms strictly defined on the Medicare website? 

Could mean quite a few different things to different people. 

 

[Will27]

3 hours ago, stud858 said:

"moving overseas" 

And "living overseas"

Are these terms strictly defined on the Medicare website? 

Could mean quite a few different things to different people. 

 

Yep, I wonder if Medicare have a definition of resident.

 

Some on here have said they go back to Oz once a year to stock up

on the medicines using their health care card.

 

If you keep renewing you card you will probably be OK.

It's a bit like the ATO residency/non-residency issue I guess.

You'll be OK until you come to their attention.

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, Will27 said:

Yep, I wonder if Medicare have a definition of resident.

 

Some on here have said they go back to Oz once a year to stock up

on the medicines using their health care card.

 

If you keep renewing you card you will probably be OK.

It's a bit like the ATO residency/non-residency issue I guess.

You'll be OK until you come to their attention.

I received an email today part of my subscription which actually discussed Medicare today, a copy and pasted section below which is of some interest.

I've heard that if I claim Medicare benefits whilst I am a non-resident, this may affect my residency status. Is that true?

As much as I'd truly love to give a definitive answer, the only answer that I can give is "possibly"! 

Unfortunately, residency is a very complex topic that hinges around the facts and circumstances of a your life, along with constantly evolving principles laid down in precedential court cases, court ruling and ATO tax rulings. So unfortunately the answer is not as easy as it seems. 

But, let me try and answer it this way.

Non-residents who claim Medicare benefits whilst visiting Australia, will show a stronger connection, or durability of association with Australia than those that don't.  The durability that a person has with Australia is a key factor in determining a person's residency status and so claiming Medicare benefits will be an indicator for residency.  However, it should be noted that this factor alone will not mean that you are a resident for Australian taxation purposes.  Combined with a bunch of other factors that also support lean towards the residency side of the equation, claiming Medicare benefits could tip you over the edge, in which case you could be found to be a resident of Australia. 

However, just because you've claimed Medicare benefits whilst in Australia it doesn't necessarily mean that you will lose your non-residency status.  

 

[kevvy]

Aussie aussie aussie..

check this out ... Going back to Queensland next year so will be having some fun here ..

 

 

[gkroo]

Kevvy, that reminds me of "where,s Yeppoon ? , next to your knife & fork !!! 555

[4MyEgo]

On 10/9/2018 at 10:56 PM, Will27 said:

Yep, I wonder if Medicare have a definition of resident.

 

Some on here have said they go back to Oz once a year to stock up

on the medicines using their health care card.

 

If you keep renewing you card you will probably be OK.

It's a bit like the ATO residency/non-residency issue I guess.

You'll be OK until you come to their attention.

Just returned from Oz and the strangest thing happened, and I don't know how long has been going on for as I was there 18 months prior as well.

 

The strange thing that happened was that you no longer fill out a departure card, i.e. they don't ask you if your returning, how much money your taking with you, nothing, just have to give them your passport and boarding pass and away you go, so I suppose all of that information, i.e. your departure date gets fed to all the relevant government departments, like the ATO, Centrelink etc etc, as far as Medicare goes, used my card and it worked fine as a (non resident) 3 years now, although I am told after 5 years it ceases, but like you said, keep renewing it and see what gives.

 

Not filling in forms anymore when departure might have an impact on those who stay for more than 183 days as it will be up to them to fill in their tax returns and I suppose the ATO will look at them if ever audited in the future. 

[Will27]

9 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Just returned from Oz and the strangest thing happened, and I don't know how long has been going on for as I was there 18 months prior as well.

 

The strange thing that happened was that you no longer fill out a departure card, i.e. they don't ask you if your returning, how much money your taking with you, nothing, just have to give them your passport and boarding pass and away you go, so I suppose all of that information, i.e. your departure date gets fed to all the relevant government departments, like the ATO, Centrelink etc etc, as far as Medicare goes, used my card and it worked fine as a (non resident) 3 years now, although I am told after 5 years it ceases, but like you said, keep renewing it and see what gives.

 

Not filling in forms anymore when departure might have an impact on those who stay for more than 183 days as it will be up to them to fill in their tax returns and I suppose the ATO will look at them if ever audited in the future. 

I doubt that the ATO will look at departure cards TBH, as people can always say they changed their minds about the duration of their stay. I guess it all depends on how long away they've been.

 

In many instances, reckon some people haven't gone back to Australia for years.

Try explaining that one.

 

Some people on here have said that they always tick on their departure card that they're returning thinking

this will help them in an audit

Edited November 1, 2018 by Will27

[moojar]

^ I watched a TV show a while back, one of those 'true crime' shows.  Some wanted mafia-type managed to flee Australia by putting a wrong birthdate on his departure card, bypassed the 'detain' order as simple as that.  Balls - some people have 'em!  ????  But government systems have gotten a lot more sophisticated since then.   

 

Now there's something in the travel industry called the 'passenger name record' (PNR).  It contains all your travel info - read about it here if interested:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_name_record .  In Australia, and I assume most places, this gets sent electronically to the government.  Before you travel, when you check in, when you travel.  And within the government this information is distributed to all the departments that need / want it. 

 

So they all have the information.  Maybe not in their 'operational' systems, but stored away somewhere in their 'data warehouse' at the least.  And with cross-referencing getting more and more sophisticated you won't have to wait for a random audit IMO - if what you think you are hiding from them is worthwhile them pursuing, they will get around to it.  

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by moojar

[Will27]

16 minutes ago, moojar said:

^ I watched a TV show a while back, one of those 'true crime' shows.  Some wanted mafia-type managed to flee Australia by putting a wrong birthdate on his departure card, bypassed the 'detain' order as simple as that.  Balls - some people have 'em!  ????  But government systems have gotten a lot more sophisticated since then.   

 

Now there's something in the travel industry called the 'passenger name record' (PNR).  It contains all your travel info - read about it here if interested:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_name_record .  In Australia, and I assume most places, this gets sent electronically to the government.  Before you travel, when you check in, when you travel.  And within the government this information is distributed to all the departments that need / want it. 

 

So they all have the information.  Maybe not in their 'operational' systems, but stored away somewhere in their 'data warehouse' at the least.  And with cross-referencing getting more and more sophisticated you won't have to wait for a random audit IMO - if what you think you are hiding from them is worthwhile them pursuing, they will get around to it.  

 

That's pretty much the key word.

 

The ATO wouldn't generally target low income earners on pensions etc as there is not much upside.

Would also be a public outcry which the government wouldn't want.

 

Unless they had a dob-in which they thought was warranted to check out, or it was just a random

audit, you will probably be pretty safe.

 

I've also heard of people living here claiming some dodgy deductions and getting refunds

which is really pushing the envelope.

[Goinghomesoon]

I think that renewing the card for a further five years and assuming you will automatically remain eligible is incorrect.   Medicare can be cancelled at any time (and so can the card) if they data-match with Immigration records and determine you are a non-resident.   

 

If you don’t log into your MyGov account, or receive a hard copy letter (for whatever reason) you will be none the wiser. Until you try to use your card in the future.  

 

My best friend (non res) has just been through the drama of re-enrolling her eldest kid who is starting uni in Australia next year. 

[Richard70au]

Telstra TV box.

Not sure this is the right place for this post but will ask anyway, has anyone taken a Telstra TV box to Thailand and been able to use it? Essentially it is a Telstra branded ROKU box.

Cheers

[moojar]

9 hours ago, Richard70au said:

Telstra TV box.

Not sure this is the right place for this post but will ask anyway, has anyone taken a Telstra TV box to Thailand and been able to use it? Essentially it is a Telstra branded ROKU box.

Cheers

Hey hey, I have no idea, but while you're asking, has anyone taken the Optus version - 'Fetch' DVR - to Thailand and does it work? 

 

I bought my Fetch outright to replace the TiVo that has been allowed to die out in Australia.  The Fetch is brilliant for watching the Netflix and Stan streaming services with, saves all that stuffing around with Chromecast and similar.   

[Mickmick]

20 hours ago, Richard70au said:

Telstra TV box.

Not sure this is the right place for this post but will ask anyway, has anyone taken a Telstra TV box to Thailand and been able to use it? Essentially it is a Telstra branded ROKU box.

Cheers

Do you mean permanently, or just while on holiday ? Either way, don't they only work through Telstra broadband ? I know you need a Telstra broadband account to get one. Guess the way to find out would be to try it on a friend's Optus or other connection ?

[Nemises]

Has anyone else noticed the presence of plain clothes officials at BKK Qantas flights departure gates?(they stand immediately next to the final boarding pass/passport computer)

I’ve often wondered who they are and what they’re doing. This may explain...




This article is from the November 11 issue of The Daily Telegraph Digital Edition.

RECORD NUMBER OF CRIMINALS STOPPED FROM FLYING TO AUSTRALIA


THE number of criminals, illegal immigrants and suspected terrorists kicked off flights bound for Australia has skyrocketed by 300 per cent.

A whopping 555 individuals were booted off flights in 2017-18 , up from the 136 people “offloaded” from planes to Australia the year before.

Some of the passengers taken off flights because they posed a “risk to the border” included individuals trying to enter the country illegally to work or live, as well as suspected criminals and others who were a national security concern, The Sunday Telegraph understands.

In most cases, Australian Border Force officials have worked with airlines such as Qantas and Emirates to keep these undesirables out.

Hundreds of other passengers with fraudulent documents have also been stopped before they could board flights. It’s estimated taxpayers would have been forced to fork out $15 million for authorities to detain and eventually deport the 205 people with fraudulent documents if they hadn’t been stopped from entering Australia.

Another 4584 travellers were stopped at airports and refused entry when they reached Australia in 2017-18 .

The ABF attributes the massive increase in the number of passengers booted off flights to Airline Liaison Officers working more closely with airlines, resulting in more awareness among airline staff of potential threats. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said ALOs were “crucial” to protecting Australia’s borders.

ABF Strategic Border Command Assistant Commissioner Erin Dale agreed ALOs played a critical role in keeping “unscrupulous individuals” out of Australia.

ALOs are stationed in 19 airports.


Copyright [emoji767] 2018 News Pty Limited

[Bagwain]

10 hours ago, Nemises said:

Has anyone else noticed the presence of plain clothes officials at BKK Qantas flights departure gates?(they stand immediately next to the final boarding pass/passport computer)

I’ve often wondered who they are and what they’re doing. This may explain...




This article is from the November 11 issue of The Daily Telegraph Digital Edition.

RECORD NUMBER OF CRIMINALS STOPPED FROM FLYING TO AUSTRALIA


THE number of criminals, illegal immigrants and suspected terrorists kicked off flights bound for Australia has skyrocketed by 300 per cent.

A whopping 555 individuals were booted off flights in 2017-18 , up from the 136 people “offloaded” from planes to Australia the year before.

Some of the passengers taken off flights because they posed a “risk to the border” included individuals trying to enter the country illegally to work or live, as well as suspected criminals and others who were a national security concern, The Sunday Telegraph understands.

In most cases, Australian Border Force officials have worked with airlines such as Qantas and Emirates to keep these undesirables out.

Hundreds of other passengers with fraudulent documents have also been stopped before they could board flights. It’s estimated taxpayers would have been forced to fork out $15 million for authorities to detain and eventually deport the 205 people with fraudulent documents if they hadn’t been stopped from entering Australia.

Another 4584 travellers were stopped at airports and refused entry when they reached Australia in 2017-18 .

The ABF attributes the massive increase in the number of passengers booted off flights to Airline Liaison Officers working more closely with airlines, resulting in more awareness among airline staff of potential threats. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said ALOs were “crucial” to protecting Australia’s borders.

ABF Strategic Border Command Assistant Commissioner Erin Dale agreed ALOs played a critical role in keeping “unscrupulous individuals” out of Australia.

ALOs are stationed in 19 airports.


Copyright 2018 News Pty Limited

But lets just import some people from Africa & get some cultural enrichment. 

[Will27]

This didn't come as a big surprise.

 

In their own words: Centrelink staff reveal contractor woes

 

Outsourced call centre workers are telling Centrelink customers incorrect information, transferring calls unnecessarily and making errors, according to a union survey of Human Services workers.

As more privatised call centres for Centrelink open around the country, the Community and Public Sector Union has published a report on the effects of privatisation at the agency, including results of a survey of nearly 1300 workers at the Department of Human Services.

The government has funded 2750 call centre jobs through private companies since 2017, as well as other contractors working in the compliance area.

Last month Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said a report from KPMG showed contractors performed as well as or better than full-time public servants on many measures. But the report itself, and any other findings have been kept under wraps.

Human Services secretary Renée Leon told Senate estimates last month that the use of labour hire was necessary to keep up service standards due to the average staffing level cap.

The union opposes the use of contractors in the call centres and has opposed the staffing level cap.

 

According to the survey, 85 per cent of respondents say private call providers are having a negative impact on service standards. They report the private call centre staff don't have the training they need, and clients are waiting longer to have their issues resolved because their issues can't always be fixed by the private contractors.

The report also found 85 per cent of Human Services staff surveyed said they had to fix issues that had been caused by the calls to private call centre staff.

The survey allowed staff to describe the effects of the private call centre workers, with staff detailing how their work was effected, including customers being aggressive or annoyed when they eventually spoke to a public servant.

"Customers often want more detailed information and these call centres cannot provide it so the customers are put through to normal DHS call centre staff and have to wait a long time anyway for their enquiries to be satisfactorily completed," one respondent said.

"Often, they are even more annoyed once they get through for having to wait twice and speaking to two different people to get their answers which does not make our organisation look very good at all. The only difference is that it is making the numbers of unanswered calls and timeliness figures look a lot better, which isn't the real story at all."

Staff also describe customers being given incorrect information that leads to missed payments, or increased contact with the agency.

"They often advise customers that they will be able to access something – eg advance/urgent payment etc and handoff for customers to DHS staff only to be told not eligible. This has led to an increase in customer aggression/dissatisfaction," one respondent said.

"Private call centre staff are advising customers that they cannot ask for a review of a decision unless they provide additional evidence. This is blatantly incorrect and denying the customer their right to review a claim that was incorrectly allocated by a private call centre. This meant that a customer's claim took an extra five months to be completed," said another.

Human Services staff believe that while waiting times to get calls answered initially is going down, the number is skewed because customers must wait while their call is transferred - sometimes multiple times.

"Yes the customer's call may be answered quickly initially, but then they wait longer because they are transferred two or three times to speak to the right person," one respondent said.

Staff also said Centrelink clients are ending up with debts, or without payments, due to mistakes.

"A common occurrence to have to take over a case started by a contract worker who has provided misinformation and completed a customer’s income review incorrectly causing an incorrect debt outcome for the customers," a respondent said.

Staff also reported that more people were attending service centres and saying they had been advised to do so over the phone, even though their issue could have been dealt with over the phone.

The Community and Public Sector Union has signalled that the use of contractors at the department will be a major focus of its campaigning in the lead up to the next election.

"DHS workers know the inside story on why the services they provide to the community have declined under this government, with our survey providing damning statistics particularly on the use of labour hire and privately run call centres. Workers have seen the impact of massive job cuts and now they’re also seeing the flow-on impacts from farming work out to corporate interests focussed on profits not people," the union's deputy secretary Melissa Donnelly said.

 

[moojar]

^ Take that with a grain of salt.   

 

I work in I.T., and have worked for outsourcer/s on more than one Federal Govt. account (Dept.).  To say many of the APS staff are resentful of the arrangement is like saying many Italians are Catholic.  Too right they are!  You would not believe the amount of effort some staff put into trying to white-ant the "interlopers".  When they are not down the road having a coffee that is, or taking the day off on 'flex time'.     

 

So, these privatised call centre staff have my empathy.  I'll bet they are given shoddy documentation and little help from the 'in house' staff, all while being cold shouldered and peppered with unrealistic requests for service. 

[Nemises]

Couldn’t agree more!
Aussies back home do not understand mai pen rai. I feel sorry for them.

Thank you Thailand for not having the aggressive Australian way of life.

[emoji177] [emoji1242] [emoji177]


This article is from the November 17 issue of The Daily Telegraph Digital Edition. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/.




AUSSIES ARE BECOMING MORE AGGRO

GOOD manners are on the decline as Australians become angrier and more aggressive, a wellbeing study suggests.

Busy lifestyles, impatience and less focus on politeness are being blamed for people increasingly getting hot under the collar.

Almost three in four adults polled believed our society was becoming more short-tempered .

Changing values and social norms were among the biggest reasons identified in the National Australia Bank research, along with drugs, alcohol,and money worries.

NAB head of behavioural economics Dean Pearson said traditional politeness and respect did not appear to be as keenly valued as in the past.

“We do not seem to be treating ourselves as politely in how we speak to each other, whether it be speaking to a child or someone serving us in a shop,” he said.

“We’re in a big hurry, so there’s intolerance and an expectation of not having things get in our way.”

The rise of social media also seemed to have added to rudeness.

Job stress, family breakdown, soft penalties for criminals and traffic congestion were other causes for society becoming angrier and more aggressive, according to the survey of 2000 Australians.


Copyright [emoji767] 2018 News Pty Limited

[moojar]

^ There was a 'click bait' article in the fairfax media late in the week - "Boomers, your privileged, tax-deducted time is up: Millennials have arrived":

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/boomers-your-privileged-tax-deducted-time-is-up-millennials-have-arrived-20181104-p50dxj.html

 

The title says it all, piece of crap article, but it was near open warfare in the comments section.  And I think this is part of the problem - social media.  It allows us to say things we'd never say face to face, and that is flowing over into real life as the Daily Terror article of Nemises' illustrates. 

 

Read the SMH comments over a coffee if you have a spare little while.  And then wonder if there's any relationship between "Millennial' population numbers, their anger, their sense of entitlement, their social-media-savvy whining, and your pension access etc. being whittled away.  ????

 

[Old Croc]

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 9:28 AM, moojar said:

^ There was a 'click bait' article in the fairfax media late in the week - "Boomers, your privileged, tax-deducted time is up: Millennials have arrived":

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/boomers-your-privileged-tax-deducted-time-is-up-millennials-have-arrived-20181104-p50dxj.html

 

The title says it all, piece of crap article, but it was near open warfare in the comments section.  And I think this is part of the problem - social media.  It allows us to say things we'd never say face to face, and that is flowing over into real life as the Daily Terror article of Nemises' illustrates. 

 

Read the SMH comments over a coffee if you have a spare little while.  And then wonder if there's any relationship between "Millennial' population numbers, their anger, their sense of entitlement, their social-media-savvy whining, and your pension access etc. being whittled away.  ????

 

I read that article the other day and it certainly got my anger levels up.

Boomers never went to war, Vietnam and conscription doesn't count?

These empty headed morons basically want Boomers to hand over their easily obtained houses(!) to them so they can afford to keep buying the latest electronic toys, fashions, boutique beard grooming and their avocado toast.

[Old Croc]

The other day I chose to opt out of the new all-encompassing "My Health Record" scheme.  Fairly simple process.

Apart from having concerns about privacy (I'm sure ATO or CL would delve into it if they felt the need), it wouldn't be an up to date record unless they had a way of including overseas medical records.

Any thoughts?

[moojar]

On 11/18/2018 at 4:36 PM, Old Croc said:

The other day I chose to opt out of the new all-encompassing "My Health Record" scheme.  Fairly simple process.

Apart from having concerns about privacy (I'm sure ATO or CL would delve into it if they felt the need), it wouldn't be an up to date record unless they had a way of including overseas medical records.

Any thoughts?

Yes, I opted out a while back too. 

 

I think on the surface it's a good idea, all your health records in one place and accessible to any doctor you go to - valuable if you're in an accident or something for example.  But I don't trust the government / the bastards to keep the access to a true 'need to know' - there is already talk of private health funds having access to our online health records.  But mostly I don't trust anything stored online.  Remember all those celebrity nudes stolen from the cloud?    

 

This sort of article helped convince me to opt out: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/22/my-health-record-identical-to-failed-uk-scheme-privacy-expert-says

 

Quote

Australia’s impending My Health Record system has a privacy framework that is identical to a failed system in England that was cancelled after it was found to be selling patient data to drug and insurance companies, a British privacy expert has said.

 

[moojar]

On a lighter note, the government are promising to cut the immigration intake.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/enough-enough-enough-scott-morrison-says-he-will-cut-australia-s-migration-intake-20181119-p50h1e.html

 

Quote

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will cut the number of migrants coming to Australia, declaring the "roads are clogged" and buses, trains and schools in Sydney and Melbourne "are full".

 

There's an election in the first half of 2019 and the Libs are well behind in the polls, so this is grain of salt stuff.  But still, the conversation is starting.  

 

It's a funny situation - NSW politicians have been pleading for years to cut the intake. But VIC are all excited about Melbourne becoming the biggest city in 15 or 20 years and seem to want the tap to stay on.  But they are doing some spectacular navel gazing lately over the deranged "terrorist" with a knife in the Melbourne CBD a couple of weeks ago, they are now statistically the 'violent crime' capital, they have an 'African gang problem', and there's breaking news today re yet another 'terrorist cell' arrest down there.  Maybe they would like a slow down in immigration now too.   

[4MyEgo]

On 11/12/2018 at 1:03 PM, Will27 said:

This didn't come as a big surprise.

 

In their own words: Centrelink staff reveal contractor woes

 

Outsourced call centre workers are telling Centrelink customers incorrect information, transferring calls unnecessarily and making errors, according to a union survey of Human Services workers.

As more privatised call centres for Centrelink open around the country, the Community and Public Sector Union has published a report on the effects of privatisation at the agency, including results of a survey of nearly 1300 workers at the Department of Human Services.

The government has funded 2750 call centre jobs through private companies since 2017, as well as other contractors working in the compliance area.

Last month Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said a report from KPMG showed contractors performed as well as or better than full-time public servants on many measures. But the report itself, and any other findings have been kept under wraps.

Human Services secretary Renée Leon told Senate estimates last month that the use of labour hire was necessary to keep up service standards due to the average staffing level cap.

The union opposes the use of contractors in the call centres and has opposed the staffing level cap.

 

According to the survey, 85 per cent of respondents say private call providers are having a negative impact on service standards. They report the private call centre staff don't have the training they need, and clients are waiting longer to have their issues resolved because their issues can't always be fixed by the private contractors.

The report also found 85 per cent of Human Services staff surveyed said they had to fix issues that had been caused by the calls to private call centre staff.

The survey allowed staff to describe the effects of the private call centre workers, with staff detailing how their work was effected, including customers being aggressive or annoyed when they eventually spoke to a public servant.

"Customers often want more detailed information and these call centres cannot provide it so the customers are put through to normal DHS call centre staff and have to wait a long time anyway for their enquiries to be satisfactorily completed," one respondent said.

"Often, they are even more annoyed once they get through for having to wait twice and speaking to two different people to get their answers which does not make our organisation look very good at all. The only difference is that it is making the numbers of unanswered calls and timeliness figures look a lot better, which isn't the real story at all."

Staff also describe customers being given incorrect information that leads to missed payments, or increased contact with the agency.

"They often advise customers that they will be able to access something – eg advance/urgent payment etc and handoff for customers to DHS staff only to be told not eligible. This has led to an increase in customer aggression/dissatisfaction," one respondent said.

"Private call centre staff are advising customers that they cannot ask for a review of a decision unless they provide additional evidence. This is blatantly incorrect and denying the customer their right to review a claim that was incorrectly allocated by a private call centre. This meant that a customer's claim took an extra five months to be completed," said another.

Human Services staff believe that while waiting times to get calls answered initially is going down, the number is skewed because customers must wait while their call is transferred - sometimes multiple times.

"Yes the customer's call may be answered quickly initially, but then they wait longer because they are transferred two or three times to speak to the right person," one respondent said.

Staff also said Centrelink clients are ending up with debts, or without payments, due to mistakes.

"A common occurrence to have to take over a case started by a contract worker who has provided misinformation and completed a customer’s income review incorrectly causing an incorrect debt outcome for the customers," a respondent said.

Staff also reported that more people were attending service centres and saying they had been advised to do so over the phone, even though their issue could have been dealt with over the phone.

The Community and Public Sector Union has signalled that the use of contractors at the department will be a major focus of its campaigning in the lead up to the next election.

"DHS workers know the inside story on why the services they provide to the community have declined under this government, with our survey providing damning statistics particularly on the use of labour hire and privately run call centres. Workers have seen the impact of massive job cuts and now they’re also seeing the flow-on impacts from farming work out to corporate interests focussed on profits not people," the union's deputy secretary Melissa Donnelly said.

 

In my once only experience with a particular certain branch of Centrelink on a recent trip to Sydney, I would say get rid of the bastards.

 

When in Sydney for a week, I had to get mums affairs in order as she is now in a nursing home and too frail to come and live here with us, and has a few other medical issues which requires daily care by a nurse, that said, I had two documents certified by mums solicitor as he is also a JP, one was the power of attorney document which was done in 1990 making me her attorney, the other was a letter from the nursing facilities doctor stating that mum has dementia and cannot sign any legal documents or understand about any finances, so I then took these docs to her bank and Centerlink.

 

The bank was a piece of cake, but Centrelink was a nightmare, what a dreaded mob they are, regardless if they have to put up with all sorts of people, if your going to work with the public as I did for literally all of my life, you have to be pleasant, but then again it depends on your personality I suppose.

 

I enter, see this overweight lady standing in the middle of the room with a table in her hand, I look at the security guard and he points to her, so I approach and say good morning, didn't even look at me, so I started to explain the purpose of me being there and she cut me off and said, you need to get your mum to sign a form to get you to be her representative, I said I am her attorney, then you will need a copy of the power of attorney certified by a JP, got that I said, and you will need a letter from a doctor stating what you said, got that I said, and you will need it certified by a JP, got that I said, then she printed these forms out for me to fill in and walked off, I assumed the they were the ones at the printer she pointed to as she walked off, so I went over to the printer and filled them in, long of the short I returned to her and she told me to take a seat and would get someone to see me.

 

Forty five minutes later I get this guy of Indian/Pakistani descent who calls me over, so I explain to him the purpose of my visit, and he asks if I have the certified docs that the previous overweight lady said I required, and I replied yes, he looked at the doctors letter which was certified and put that aside, he then looked at the power of attorney doc that was also certified and said, I need a certified copy of the original, I said, that is the one you have in your hands, he said, no, this is a copy of a copy, and I said no, that is a certified copy of the original, he then leaned over to a female staff member and said does this look like a copy of the original and she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, I don't know, he then asked me where the original was and I said at mums solicitors office, he then said what I suggest is you go to your mums solicitor's office and get the original for me to sight, I said you have to be kidding me mate, I am a JP and I was just at mums solicitors office who certified two copies of each document in my presence, one each for the CBA who accepted their certified copies and I now have control of mums finances as her attorney and the other two certified copies are for Centrelink, he then proceeded to hand me back the documents and said, as I suggested sir, you are best to go and get the original and return. I said I tell you what, instead wanting to assert your dominance over me, why don't you ring the solicitors office and talk to the solicitor to confirm with you what he signed this morning in my presence and if what you are looking at is a copy of a copy or a certified copy of the original. He said I should do as he suggested and proceeded to hand me the documents again, of which I took, but not before losing it. 

 

I said, so you acknowledge that the letter from the doctor is a copy of the original which is certified by the solicitor who is also a JP don't you, yes, but that is besides the point, I said besides what point, it says mum cannot sign and legal documents, now is the document that you want to sign as her representative a legal document, yes, but that is beside the point sir, what point I said, the bank has accepted both certified copies but you cannot distinguish the difference between a copy of an original and a copy of a copy as you are suggesting, I have access to her bank accounts, but you will not allow me to be her representative for Centrelink because you can not distinguish the difference between the two, ok I get it I said, it's power trip day and you get off on putting all the needy people down and send them on their memory way to do errands to satisfy your ego, well let me tell you something mate, why don't you fark off back to the country you came from and stop giving me, a born and raised Australian a hard time, you have no understanding of documents and what frustrates me the most is the fact that my taxes, although I am thankfully retired now pays for your incompetence, the security guard who was probably from Africa weighed about 40kg then came towards me and I turned to him and said, mate, unless you want to get hurt, I would suggest you stop exactly where you are as I am leaving because I cannot get through this uneducated curry eaters head, and said this country has gone to the dogs and pointed at him, well I thought I would get my monies worth anyways, call me a racist, it would ba a fair call.

 

I then went to the next branch 30 minutes drive and handed them the same docs, explained to the indigenous lady what I was there for, 15 minutes later, job done, no questions asked, so you have to ask yourself who is incompetent Centelink or the contractors, reckon the unions are just trying to protect their own as they have a financial benefit from their members who are absolutely useless, excluding the indigenous lady who knew the difference between a certified copy and a copy of a copy.