Hours on hold, repeated calls, months of delay: Maryanne’s struggle to get urgent jobseeker payments

Maryanne Watts found it difficult to get her jobseeker application processed by Centrelink – even when she was about to run out of money. Composite: Guardian Australia

When Maryanne Watts applied for jobseeker earlier this year, she knew it wouldn’t be a smooth process. She had been a Centrelink worker in the 1990s and had received income support in recent years.

But even she was shocked at how difficult it was to get her application processed – even when she was about to run out of money.