Welfare Website Crashes With Surge of Jobless in Australia Coronavirus Shutdown

The website for Australia’s social security service, Centrelink, buckled under increased demand for welfare claims on March 24 after hordes of workers found themselves jobless with the forced closure of non-essential businesses.

All Centrelink, Medicare and child support online accounts and apps “experienced intermittent issues” on March 24, an official government statement said.

Meanwhile, long queues of people were seen outside Centrelink offices around the country.

It was the second day of disruptions for people trying to access Centrelink services after the government announced a shutdown for non-essential businesses including bars, gyms, indoor sporting venues, casinos and night clubs in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

This footage shows a section of the Centrelink website frozen while attempting to load. Credit: Owen Innes via Storyful