Paid Parental Leave Rant

[FrogsnSnails]

I would just like to find out if anyone else has been messed around by Centrelink with regards to Paid Parental Leave. I filled in the form after bubs was born, he is now 3.5 months old and I still haven't received a cent. I have been liasing with Centrelink for months now, constantly being told incorrect information ie: they will get in touch with my employer (initially I elected for the pay to come from the FAO so that my employer did not have to be bothered with it, however they decided to change this to not make it an option). Two weeks ago I went into Medicare as I was sick of constantly being put on hold or getting the engaged signal everytime I phoned Centrelink. I spoke to a lady from Centrelink who told me that they had 'done everything their end, and were waiting for my employer to confirm that I work for them'. I was so angry I nearly flipped out right there in the Medicare office with my screaming newborn and bored toddler nagging at me. So I spoke to my employer after being told that someone would contact her THAT DAY and of course they didn't, and she said she knew nothing about it and she had filled in everything they had asked of her online. In the end it turned out to be a 'manual glitch' in their system meaning my employer had to simply sign a form THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE PROVIDED WEEKS AGO! I am still waiting to receive my pay!

Why is it so easy for 'some people' to recieve benefits so easily, and for me, someone who has worked since I was 14 and never claimed anything I have to jump through hoops? The system is ridiculous. Apologies for my rant but I feel a bit better now :laughing:

[mummykitty]

:hugs: glad you feel better now :)

[AM]

There is nothing like a faceless beauracracy to raise the blood pressure! I hear ya!! :freakingout:Hope they pull finger and get it sorted soon.

[WaitingToPop]

I had almost the exact same thing happen. It was held up by my employer, but they had not been supplied all the info by centrelink. I was finally paid at 15 weeks after my DD birth. Which then meant a lot of it went to tax because of being paid in a lump sum for the back pay. Lucky we didn't need the money to get by :( it was my first dealings with centrelink , and they certainly lived up to their reputation

[happygirl1982]

Yup happened to a girl I work with and is bound to happen to me :(

[kw123]

It's silly that it's administered by employers anyway. The FAO should do it as its not an employer benefit! So inefficient for the FAO to pay the employer and the employer to pay the employee.

[Mopoke]

yeah i konw someone who is in that situation her LO is about 3 months old and she is still waiting. sucks esp if you dont have enough savings to last you a few months

[DesperatelySeekingSleep]

oh my gosh! dont get me started on centrelink! Not quitethe same thing but in short I called up to say I am no longer a single parent as I have moved in with my partner. sure sounds easy enough right! well they send out paperwork to fill out to see if we are entitled to any benefits etc.. and book an appointment to finalise everything a couple weeks later. I fill the paperwork out and attend the appointment only for them to tell me that "oh no you need to call us up instead, we cant do any of that here", right... long story short, my DP earns $70 a week too much to qualify for anything, yet they send me out a SINGLE PARENTING PENSION CARD with DP's name on it!!!! AND they still keep trying to make me attend apointments with a job search provider even though I already have a job and do not meet the requirements to receive any benefits!!! I call up to rectify it and get asked quite rudely why I think I dont need to attend appointments for job networks. I tell her just as politely "well I dont receive benefits to make it compulsary" And the excuse?? Oh sorry, its a glitch in the system we cant seem to fix!!! I showed the job ntwork provider proof I dont need to attend appoinments and they agreed with me and were gobsmacked. They couldnt do anythng either because centrelink need to remove me from the system and they cant/wont. All they can do is make appoinments for a months time and cancel them and reschedule a month later.

So I sincerely wish you the very best of luck in your dealings with "the system". I understand exactly how you feel.

PS. It is my understanding that they have recently undergone some changes in how everything works some time around mid september.

[FrogsnSnails]

Thank you everyone for your replies. lw1981- That must have been so frustrating for you, especially as you were doing the right thing by letting them know your change in circumstance. Clearly the 'glitches in the system' are caused by poorly trained staff. Lets hope you are right about Centrelink undergoing changes.

[Jane Citizen]

Yep! I filled out the online form asked if I needed to do anything else and was told no, only to find out I needed to fill in the hard copy form and provide a birth certificate, once filled in was told it would take two weeks to be paid, two weeks went by no money, called up again and was told 28 days, 28 days went and passed and was told another month. Called up the complaints line and the money was in my account two days later (back dated as well) maybe call the complaints line and be firm but not rude

[mim1]

It took me 5 weeks to get my first payment from Centrelink for my PPL, so that was 8 weeks after my dd was born (I lodged the forms when she was 3 weeks old - seriously, so they need to make the forms so long & complex when you already do the online bit prior??!!!). It was my first interaction with Centrelink & I was VERY unimpressed. Thankfully I'm self-employed so I don't have the extra layer of complexity with a workplace like some of you, but still it's pretty poor form!

[soccer mum]

Mine didnt take that long, but I did have to get onto them straight away. And agree, its a bit dumb that you have to fill out the form, then go through everything again when you are in that state of sleepnessless having a new bub.

If you havent had to deal with centrelink ever before you are quite Lucky. They have improved A LOT!

[chrisy124]

My employer was constantly chasing Centrelink for paperwork and then when they received it, my boss was advised that they had 'misplaced the paperwork.

I noticed that there was a lot of information that was not given at the beginning. Poorly set up in my opinion.

3 month is a long time without cash flow. I had to wait only 4 weeks for my payments to come through - that was tough for us. I hope everyone that is waiting for their payments that it comes through soon.:fingerscrossed:

[mummabear11]

They do recommend that you get all the paperwork in before the baby is born to allow more processing time, then you just have to show them proof that the baby has been born. I had no problems with them (which was a pleasant surprise) and they paid me without even seeing the birth certificate.

[Penny88]

I like to call them Cr@ppylink. They're the epitome of frustrating! It happened to me although it was resolved a bit faster as I had to go in to claim my Parenting Payment as well. They said that they hadn't received my proof of birth but it was just sitting in one of their trays! They found it and fixed it for me on the spot. Just keep calling or going in - you're bound to get someone who knows what they're doing eventually...

[lozza09]

ahh centrelink are so hopeless! hope its worked out ok for u now :)

[Luvmydogs]

When I went into medicare to provide them with a copy of my citizenship certificate, for them to pass it onto centrelink, the very nice lady there told me that after I have the baby I should bring the PPL forms back into medicare again instead of going to centrelink as they process them straight away, but if I went to centrelink it would take up to 6 weeks for processing :)
Very nice lady to tell me that, I will certainly do that :)

[bribaby]

I filled out my paper work online a month ago (i stil have 2mths til bub is born) i am crossing my fingers that since we are already in the system for our daughter that it will be just a matter of taking in bubs birth certificate once we have received it and adding bubs onto our account.. but we shall see...

i have heard alot of bad stories about centrelink and the PPL being processed...
i haven't had any problems with them so far (touch wood) as we have been dealing with them for the past 5 years now..

[mim1]

When I went into medicare to provide them with a copy of my citizenship certificate, for them to pass it onto centrelink, the very nice lady there told me that after I have the baby I should bring the PPL forms back into medicare again instead of going to centrelink as they process them straight away, but if I went to centrelink it would take up to 6 weeks for processing :)
Very nice lady to tell me that, I will certainly do that :)

I took my forms into Medicare and it took 5 weeks and apparently that was standard at the time. So, don't assume that it will be much quicker going through Medicare.

[mim1]

I filled out my paper work online a month ago (i stil have 2mths til bub is born) i am crossing my fingers that since we are already in the system for our daughter that it will be just a matter of taking in bubs birth certificate once we have received it and adding bubs onto our account.. but we shall see...

Yes, it is just a matter of bubs being added to your account, but that's the process that seriously holds things up. So, I'd expect a 4 week delay from when you lodge your forms til your first payment at a minimum.

[mim1]

They do recommend that you get all the paperwork in before the baby is born to allow more processing time, then you just have to show them proof that the baby has been born. I had no problems with them (which was a pleasant surprise) and they paid me without even seeing the birth certificate.

Was this for paid parental leave? I'd be surprised if it's the case. I filled in heaps of information online months before my dd was born and then I still had to fill in a 40-something page form AFTER she was born that was signed by the hospital on the back page. Without that signature/etc and all the details on the form they wouldn't process anything. Filling in stuff online just meant I could skip a few pages on the huge form.

[Bel0v3d]

I'm so thankfull that my employer will pay me my ppl even if centre link haven't given it to them yet, if we had to wait 3 months for it we would be in huge trouble.

[kw123]

I'm so thankfull that my employer will pay me my ppl even if centre link haven't given it to them yet, if we had to wait 3 months for it we would be in huge trouble.

Really? Is this on top of any company policy parental leave pay?? I am amazed - very generous of them!!

[Bel0v3d]

Really? Is this on top of any company policy parental leave pay?? I am amazed - very generous of them!!

It's a small company and it currently has some excess funds to do so. A few years ago they wouldn't be able to have done it but right now they can. They don't provide paid maternity leave.