New hotline set up by NSW community legal sector will help get information to individuals as quickly as possible

New South Wales community legal services are banding together to cope with the sheer number of Centrelink debt cases, as the state’s welfare rights body adds its voice to calls for the “robo debt” system to be scrapped.

Vulnerable people who believe they have been wrongly targeted by the federal government’s campaign to claw back millions in alleged welfare debts are turning for help to state legal aid services and community legal centres, which are already struggling to deal with federal funding cuts.

In an effort to cope with the weight of Centrelink debt cases, Legal Aid NSW, LawAccess NSW, the Welfare Rights Centre and the Illawarra Legal Centre are creating a streamlined service for those wanting advice.

The new service will fast-track Centrelink debt cases and create a single point of contact – the LawAccess NSW legal hotline. Once the hotline receives a Centrelink debt query, lawyers will respond to cases within 48 hours.

The truth about Centrelink's telephone wait times Read more

The Legal Aid NSW civil law executive director, Monique Hitter, said the initiative would draw on the shared resources of the sector to get information to individuals as quickly as possible. Those hit with a welfare debt under the automated system are given 28 days to appeal, with the possibility of extensions.

“We want people to understand their options if they get a debt notice they don’t agree with,” Hitter said. “In many cases, people who have been told they owe a debt only have a short window in which to respond. So it’s important that anyone in this situation is able to access legal advice quickly.”

The Welfare Rights Centre has added its voice to calls for the automated system to be scrapped. Its co-ordinator and principal solicitor, Katherine Boyle, said individuals with Centrelink debts were now the centre’s second biggest group of clients. Boyle said only two of the state’s 32 community legal centres were currently funded to deal with Centrelink debt cases.

“It’s a huge problem, we’re not able to respond to the demand,” she told Guardian Australia. “What we’ve had to do is very highly triage our clients so that only very desperate people get through. I’m estimating that we’re turning away 20 to 30% of people who contact us.

“This is a particular problem for debts, because you really need to get advice, and the reason for that is that it’s not always a good idea to appeal.”

The intensity of the media focus on the automated debt recovery system has waned in recent weeks. But Boyle said there had been no let-up in the demand for help.

“No I wouldn’t say so, not at all,” she said. “We’ve just got high demand all the time.”

The Senate inquiry into the robo debt system is continuing to receive submissions and the deadline has been extended from 22 March to 19 April. The inquiry has received damning submissions from individuals who said they were left feeling powerless, afraid and confused after receiving debt notices they believed were false, but struggled to disprove.

Fiona the Unemployed Bettong visits Centrelink to discuss her debt notice | First Dog on the Moon Read more

The Community and Public Sector Union’s submission said Centrelink staff had warned the department the system was flawed before its rollout. The union said experienced compliance staff were stripped of responsibility for the automated system, and replaced by junior casual workers who had minimal knowledge of past checks and balances.

The CPSU said the impact of the system on the most vulnerable sections of society would only get worse. Other submissions have spoken of the significant impact on people with a disability, some of whom were left with Centrelink debts of $10,000.

The Greens senator Rachel Siewert, who chairs the committee conducting the inquiry, said the extension of the deadline for submissions was “vitally important”.

“Those that were initially fearful of coming forward to talk about their experience with the automated debt recovery system, I urge you to please make a submission to the inquiry,” Siewert said. “I have previously expressed concern that the government’s release of the personal details of people that speak out might stop recipients from speaking up,” she said.

“As committee chair I hope I have communicated clearly enough that recipients are protected by parliamentary privilege if they give evidence to the inquiry. I hope this encourages more submissions.”