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Major Centrelink changes over Christmas

Eliza Bavin
·Personal Finance Editor
·2-min read
People line up outside a Centrelink office.
Centrelink recipients have been reminded about holiday closures. (Source: Getty)

Centrelink recipients have been reminded by Services Australia that operating hours will differ over the Christmas period, impacting phone lines and reporting dates.

Services Australia said local service centres and more phone lines would be closed over the Christmas holidays from December 26 to December 28, and for the New Year’s Day holiday on January 2.

“You can still use your Centrelink online account through myGov and the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app to report and check your payments,” Services Australia said in a Facebook post.

“We may also take a little longer to reply to your questions here on social media. Thanks for your patience.”

Official closures over the Christmas/New Year’s holidays are:

  • Monday December 26, 2022

  • Tuesday December 27, 2022

  • Wednesday December 28, 2022

  • Monday January 2, 2023

Self Service will remain active

You can use your Centrelink online account through myGov to do any of the following:

You can also use the Express Plus mobile apps and phone self service.

“You can still report your income to us, even when we’re closed. However, if you do this on a public holiday, we’ll pay you after the public holiday,” Services Australia said.

Reporting and payment dates may change

Reporting dates to Services Australia will change due to the public holidays.

“If you report early during your assessment period, you’ll need to include what you expect to be paid for your full period,” Services Australia said.

“You must also do this for any other changes that may affect your payment. If you make a mistake, you can correct your report within 14 days, or when you next report.If you report after your assessment period, we’ll pay you after you report to us. You may want to do this so you can be sure of your employment income or changes to your circumstances.”

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