Labor to Hire 3,000 New Public Servants for Centrelink and Medicare

The hiring spree will cost taxpayers $228 million.

Hundreds of people queue outside an Australian government welfare centre, Centrelink, in Melbourne on March 23, 2020, as jobless Australians flooded unemployment offices around the country after Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the coronavirus pandemic would cause an economic crisis akin to the Great Depression. - In scenes not seen in Australia for decades, queues stretched around the block at unemployment offices around the country as the forced closure of pubs, casinos, churches and gyms began at midday on March 23. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images

The federal Labor government will hire 3,000 new staff to “improve” Australia’s welfare and public health services, Centrelink and Medicare.

The government will inject $228 million of taxpayer funds into Services Australia to cover the new frontline and service delivery staff at the agencies.