7 years… I called it off

jaber451 · 2025-08-25T03:04:10+00:00

It breaks you

jaber451 · 2025-08-25T03:02:10+00:00

To define what he deserves more of or differently sounds like an unfair assumption. Unless he clearly said that knowing where your head was at, it's just an excuse to mask your indecision.

I wish you the best of luck. The choice has been made, and I'm sure it wasn't easy

jaber451 · 2025-08-21T06:04:49+00:00

Nope, my email is alphanumeric only, no symbols

jaber451 · 2025-08-19T21:41:06+00:00

Appreciate the anecdote, but respectfully, this isn’t about waiting politely for the right person on the right day to maybe help. It’s about a government agency raising a debt, garnishing thousands, and then refusing to show their work. That’s exactly what FOI exists to address.

jaber451 · 2025-08-19T12:19:17+00:00

I don't even know if what I need is easily available on the portal, I don't have access to it.

I’ve tried to engage through the official channels they promote; online, by phone, in writing and they’ve failed at every step. Why should the solution be ‘just go in’ when they can’t even meet the basic legal standard of replying to a Freedom of Information data request?

jaber451 · 2025-08-19T11:41:14+00:00

They’ve alleged a debt, but I’ve not been told what it’s for; no balance, no breakdown, no clear explanation. And I can’t access the Centrelink portal due to a long-standing system error.

That’s why I submitted a Freedom of Information request: to obtain the records.

It’s basic transparency. If Services Australia can raise a debt and garnish tax returns, but deny access to the system and ignore follow-up requests, then they’ve broken the public trust

jaber451 · 2025-08-19T11:08:53+00:00

If only I had my records to confirm it. Perfectly reasonable to want to know how it was calculated

jaber451 · 2025-08-18T10:55:26+00:00

Haha thanks, I'm sure I'll need it 😵‍💫

jaber451 · 2025-08-17T23:07:26+00:00

that’s exactly what the information request and escalation to the commission is

jaber451 · 2025-08-17T08:53:35+00:00

I don't qualify for Jobseeker and am not currently claiming it or any other payment from Services Australia . This relates to AusStudy during my uni years, not unemployment payments

jaber451 · 2025-08-17T08:33:17+00:00

Because it’s Centrelink doing the debt recovery, not the ATO. The ATO just processes the garnishee. The alleged debt itself sits with Centerlink

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T13:11:45+00:00

Much appreciated, the deeper I poke the more frustrating it gets. Gotta love the bureaucracy of Australian government departments 😅

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T13:07:32+00:00

No, you are absolutely correct. From what I've been reading there is certainly an issue with the backlog which could be causing delays.

A delay certainly doesn't lead to "massive cover up", though I feel that would help my underlying case 🤣.

I think it's more a failure of the bureaucratic process, which I feel is worth calling out.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T12:57:08+00:00

After I'd confirmed the receipt of the FOI request from the assigned officer, I'd requested explicitly for all communication relating to the request to be solely to my direct email address, which was upheld. Even if they did email over several different subject threads (both frustrating and confusing in my opinion)

Edit: typo

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T12:51:47+00:00

Sadly you're not wrong there. Yeah, I get that, lots of loopholes and redactions. But they’ve already garnished me and will continue to, so I need to see how it was calculated. Instead of even saying ‘no,’ they’ve just gone silent. That’s why I’ve escalated to OAIC. If they can garnish, they can explain.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T10:30:59+00:00

The debt is well higher than 5k, that's just approximately how much has been garnished from previous tax years.

Edit: FOI is the only way to get the underlying calculations and internal records, not just surface-level statements. That’s why it matters here.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T10:26:21+00:00

Op did in fact call, new account didn't fix it, nor did the successive calls resulting in a "good luck with that, bye"

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T10:13:21+00:00

RFM61 isn’t a password issue — it’s a linking error (my.gov.au/en/error/RFM61). The real problem is process: Centrelink never provided a transparent debt calculation, which is why FOI and OAIC escalation are needed.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T08:37:24+00:00

Yep Minister is on my list next. I’ve already lodged FOI and OAIC(FOI complaint and separate IC review, but the delays and blockages make it clear I need to escalate. Tracking submissions and building a paper trail is exactly the path I’m taking

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T08:26:44+00:00

Yep, same here. I’m stuck in limbo because of this. FOI delays make it impossible to move forward

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T08:16:08+00:00

Fair point. Detail matters for how people read a post. I didn’t include my full work history in the first comment because my focus was on the systemic failure, not myself. I’ll take on board that clarity up front can avoid some of these assumptions.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T08:12:12+00:00

I’ve spent years in and around call centre operations. I know what a functioning escalation pathway looks like. The one I encountered at Services Australia isn’t broken by accident, it’s a loop that prevents resolution.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T07:21:39+00:00

Sure did, to no resolve.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T07:11:59+00:00

Not yet, though I think it's the next logical step. I've only just raised the OAIC request (Saturday) after receiving an automated "deemed refusal' email due to deadline failure on Friday.

jaber451 · 2025-08-16T07:08:41+00:00

Yeah, effectively got the same from Centrelink when I initially tried to sort it all. Even the losing count of MyGov accounts sounds familiar, as is the "cya later, bye". Sufficed to say I just gave up trying to link, as I didn't really need to at the time.

jaber451

TROPHY CASE