Fed: Centrelink on defensive after claim it is mistake-prone

AAP General News (Australia)
02-15-2004
Fed: Centrelink on defensive after claim it is mistake-prone

Centrelink has defended itself from charges it is a mistake-prone organisation, with
claims of 1.13 million errors in the past four months.

The Weekend Australian newspaper says a report shows Centrelink as an organisation
intimidated by hostile customers and riddled by bureaucratic inefficiencies.

It mentions poor training, staff laziness and poor accountability.

The report by Melbourne consultants DBM shows more than 700,000 Centrelink customers
were hit by mistakes last year.

The federal opposition says the report is the latest of many which have found major
problems in Centrelink.

But Centrelink spokesman HANK JONGEN says the report misrepresents the sample taken
and that it was biased towards people who had reported errors in the past.

AAP RTV dep/swe/wz/jas

KEYWORD: CENTRELINK (CANBERRA)

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.