The Meekatharra community will have a new way of accessing Medicare and Centrelink services with the opening of a new Services Australia Agent later this year.
Services Australia General Manager Hank Jongen said a full-time Agent service would replace the existing Meekatharra Centrelink Service Centre.
'The Agent service will provide the Meekatharra community with a consistent and daily face-to-face service,' Mr Jongen said.
'The current Meekatharra Centrelink Service Centre is often closed unexpectedly as the size of the community and remoteness of the site has meant we're sometimes unable to rapidly deploy relief staff.
'Face-to-face visits to the office are also declining, so we are adapting our service offering to one that suits the size and needs of the local community.
'Remote Servicing Teams will also visit the Meekatharra community as needed to provide more targeted, supported assistance to local Indigenous customers.
'These teams provide support to individuals, families and communities to connect with our payments, services and programs.'
Services Australia has a network of some 350 agents across rural and regional Australia that help people access the services they needed.
Agents offer access to services such as phones, printing and free internet enabled computers, and staff assist customers to register for and use digital self-serve channels, including myGov.
Agents receive extensive training and ongoing support to assist with access to self-service facilities, certifying Proof of Identity documents and accessing general information.
