He had claimed earlier a "distributed denial of service attack" on the site from an unknown party had used up its capacity and insisted it had not "crashed". Mr Robert said 95,000 people tried to access MyGov on Monday morning, compared to about 6500 people on a usual day. "The system had been designed for 55,000 concurrent users, so [it] was overloaded," he said. Huge lines at Marrickville Centrelink after the website crashed. Credit:Nick Moir At a time when Australians are being encouraged to take social distancing measures, hundreds waited outside the Marrickville office in the city's inner west.

Mr Robert said there was no need to queue for the payments, with Australians able to register their intent to apply for a payment online when service resumes under new rules, and payments backdated. Identity documents will still need to be verified over the phone or in person for new Centrelink applicants, however. Loading Centrelink previously required people to register for their payments in person. On Sunday, Mr Morrison said those on a range of existing welfare payments will get a $550 supplementary payment for the next six months, but the change will only come into effect from April 27. "We will be focusing on those in the front line, those who will be feeling the first blows of the economic impact of the coronavirus," Mr Morrison said on Sunday.

In Melbourne, Lilli McDonald was supposed to be working the first shift of a new job. Instead, she was at the end of line spilling out the Abbotsford Centrelink door and at least 150 metres up Victoria Street. Lilli McDonald was supposed to start a new job on Monday. Instead she was lining up with hundreds of others outside Centrelink. Credit:Chris Hopkins Many were, like Ms McDonald, calling on the help of Centrelink for the first time in their lives, the flow-on effect from enforced business closures on Monday with the likelihood of even harsher measures to come. "I don't know what I'm feeling," she said from the line, in which she had moved about 15 metres in half an hour. "It's overwhelming and I'm in a bit of shock. It's scary with everything so uncertain." On July 13, the government will also make a $750 cash payment to about 5 million people on social security and veteran income support. Another $750 payment previously announced by the government will be paid on March 31.

Mr Robert said current Centrelink recipients do not need to do anything to receive the economic support payment or coronavirus supplement. "These will be paid automatically to you if you are on an eligible payment," he said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Up to 5000 staff members will be recruited by Services Australia, which runs Centrelink, to handle the surge in demand, Mr Morrison said on Sunday. But Mr Robert also admitted Centrelink has fewer shopfront staff than usual as a result of social distancing measures, which limit the number of people allowed in an indoor area.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese criticised the government for doing too little to clarify which workers were eligible for the new payments. "I watched that media conference last night and I thought it was as clear as mud," Mr Albanese told ABC Radio. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said any worker whose income had fallen below $1075 a fortnight would be eligible for the coronavirus supplement payment of $550 a fortnight. He said a worker who had been stood down — like tens of thousands of Qantas workers — would also be able to get normal welfare payments if they had exhausted all of their leave.

"What we've tried to do is get the sole trader ... casual access to this payment," Mr Frydenberg said on ABC Radio. Loading The payments will not have a waiting time, besides the time that it takes for a person to register for Centrelink. Even before the current crisis, registering for Newstart, now known as JobSeeker, took an average of 15 days in 2018-19, according to data provided to Senate estimates by Services Australia. Asked whether those whose partner's income remained above the earning threshold would still be able to access the new payments, Mr Frydenberg said, "It's based on the income of the person who is actually seeking this payment". The Australian Council of Trade Unions lashed the government's decision to make the payments available only from April 27.