How the holidays will affect services

WITH Christmas and New Year’s holidays a time of respite for many, services and organisations in the region will be closed or have affected operating times during the period.

Medicare, Centrelink, and the Commonwealth Government’s Child Support services centres as well as most phone lines will be closed from Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 December and again on Monday 1 January.

Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said customer reports or payments may arrive earlier than usual depending on the holidays but they’ll arrive nonetheless.

“If your regular reporting or payment date falls on a public holiday, it will be changed to the day beforehand,” he said.

“It’s important to remember this is not an extra payment, it’s your regular payment made early. You may need to budget carefully so this payment lasts until your next payment is due.”

Self-service options via online Centrelink and myGov accounts will continue to be accessible during the holidays.

“You can check if your reporting or payment date has changed using your Centrelink online account through myGov, or through the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app,” Mr Jongen said.

“The myGov app, Express Plus app, and our phone self-service lines will be available 24/7, so customers can still do what they need whenever it suits them”.

Critical Medicare services like PBS authorities and the Australian Organ Donor Register will also remain active during the holiday break.

The majority of City of Ballarat services will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The municipality’s customer service will be shut until Tuesday 2 January though the after-hours service will remain open.

No waste collections will take place on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, with the service to instead be carried out one day later than usual for the beginning of that week including a Saturday collection.

A full list of the municipal services’ holiday operating hours can be found at the City of Ballarat website.