The Gosford Medicare and Centrelink offices in Watt St will close on May 30, with staff to be relocated to a new Gosford Service Centre in the ATO building in Mann St.
State Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch has raised concerns the move could result in job losses, but Federal Member for Robertson, Lucy Wicks, said not one job would be sacrificed to the move.
Tesch said the move would further restrict residents’ access to essential services an, create parking chaos along the Gosford waterfront as well as putting jobs at risk.
The new location will make it harder for Coasties to get the support they need, she said.
“This decision by the Federal Government will put up even more barriers for people with a disability, pensioners, and vulnerable welfare recipients to get the services they need,” Tesch said.
“This will be in addition to those people seeking assistance due to the recent flood disaster relief.
“We need to make it easy for people to access assistance, especially people living with disabilities and seniors – not harder.”
Tesch said merging Centrelink and Medicare with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), already located in the building, was of great concern given reports of long wait times for those needing life-changing equipment.
Incorporating it into the new service centre is bound to make the NDIA service less efficient, she said.
“Merging three essential services into the one office space, with a reduced capacity for staff and a higher demand for the services, is a recipe for disaster and a mistake we will all have to pay the price for,” she said.
“This move could potentially mean a downsizing which has sparked concern for local jobs.”
Labor Candidate for the Federal seat of Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid, also condemned the move, saying it was unacceptable given the closure of the Ettalong Service Centre last year.
“Last year the Federal Government cut access for people on the Peninsula by closing the Ettalong Centrelink and replacing it with a digital kiosk,” he said.
“This move was especially callous given the Peninsula has the highest number of people aged over 65 on the Central Coast and many seniors are not always digitally literate.”
Tesch said a lack of parking at the new site was also a concern.
“The current Centrelink office has a number of parking spaces for people to use especially for people with disabilities,” she said.
“The new location does not have enough spaces for the current employees of the ATO let alone the incoming Centrelink staff and users who need to park close to access the service.
“It is hard enough as it is to get a park at Gosford waterfront and this is of particular concern for those who need access to the service.
“The proposed solution to park under the Brian McGowan Bridge is simply an out of touch sentiment.
“Whichever way you want to side-step the issue, the point is people with disabilities are going to be pushed further away from necessary services.”
Tesch said the new Gosford Service Centre will also run on an appointment only model, with only those who are distressed and vulnerable granted impromptu appointments.
“The model is clearly moving away from delivering in person services to downsizing in office space and moving to online avenues for services, which is only going to cause more distress for those who are visiting service centres for help,” she said.
But Wicks said the concerns raised by Labor were nothing but a “scare campaign”.
“This will be a relocation with no loss of jobs,” she said.
“The Gosford Services Australia Service Centre will … continue to provide essential services including Centrelink, Medicare, NDIS and other government services in a modernised and easy-to-access facility.
“The relocation of the Gosford Centrelink and its subsequent name change to Gosford Service Centre does not result in any loss of staff or any reduced services for the Central Coast community.
“There will be no impact to service delivery during the relocation.”
Wicks said customers at the Gosford Service Centre will experience a consistent service delivery approach tailored for their individual circumstances.
“They will be offered a range of options, including support to access digital channels, appointment-based servicing, face-to-face customer interviews and referral to specialists or other government agencies,” she said.
Wicks said she had been advised by Services Australia that the Watt St site is no longer suitable and the new centre will feature a contemporary environment, new customer service experiences, branding, colour palette and upgraded self-service facilities
“In relation to parking, I have also been advised by Services Australia that there will be suitable disability parking available for customers,” she said.
Terry Collins