They came carrying letters from former employers stating their skills were no longer needed. They were embarrassed, desperate and confused.
Some came in the uniforms they had expected to wear to work on Monday but instead were lined up in a Centrelink queue.
For many this was the first time they had ever sought unemployment benefits – they did not know what assistance might be available, how to ask for it or when the dollars would start to come through.
Tens of thousands of Australians, including workers who thought their jobs would be safe until as recently as Sunday, waited for hours to be told what to do next.
The scene was the same outside Centrelink offices around the country as workers in industries destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic faced their first day of being unemployed.
The scene was similar at Centrelink offices around the country on Monday as workers in industries destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic faced their first day of being unemployed. A crowd is pictured outside the Centrelink office in Melbourne’s Abbotsford
Felicity Gurney waiting in line outside Centrelink in Frankston on Monday. She had operated a hairdressing business at a nursing home
This man lined up at the Burwood Centrelink office on Monday in his Qantas uniform
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Sunday night that pubs, clubs, restaurants, gyms and other businesses where large crowds gather would be closed from Monday afternoon.
On Monday morning he warned the COVID-19 pandemic would send Australians into the worst economic crisis they had faced in almost 100 years.
‘Together, and with the rest of the world, we face this unprecedented challenge,’ he told Parliament. ‘A once-in-a-hundred-year event.’
‘A global health pandemic that has fast become an economic crisis, the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression.
‘Life is changing in Australia for every Australian. Life is going to continue to change. For many, young and old, 2020 will be the toughest year of our lives.
‘Across Australia today many thousands of Australians will lose their jobs. They are lining up at Centrelink offices as we speak.
Coffee run: Tens of thousands of Australians queued to register for unemployment benefits and emergency allowances as the global economic shockwaves of COVID-19 hit home. A crowd is pictured waiting outside a Centrelink office in Sydney
A man is pictured gesticulating as he waits with others at the Southport Centrelink office on the Gold Coast on Monday
Matthew Ward sits outside the Frankston Centrelink. He had hoped his trade would keep him off the dole queue, but coronavirus has changed the rules
‘Something unimaginable at this scale only weeks ago. They have lost their jobs, many, and we know many more will.’
Nine News reported 88,000 Australians had lost jobs in the hospitality industry in the past few days and 200,000 more positions would go in the next 12 weeks.
Families stood in the rain four hours on the footpath outside Centrelink offices in Melbourne. At Frankston, in the city’s south-east, they waited well into the afternoon.
Many had been being unable to log onto the MyGov website, which has struggled under the coronavirus chaos sending workers onto the dole queue.
Members of one young family who had waited for up to four hours to be served were too proud to provide their names because they had never been forced to apply for unemployment benefits previously.
‘We couldn’t even register for it,’ the mother said. ‘We didn’t know what to do or how to go about it.
‘And the computer kept crashing so we had to come down and wait.’
While early reports said crowds at Frankston had begun to lose their patience, Daily Mail Australia observed a patient group trying to observe social distancing despite not having enough shelter to avoid the rain.
A woman carries rolls or toilet paper as she joins hundreds of people queuing outside a Centrelink office in Melbourne on Monday
Thousands of Australians are already losing their jobs as cafes, pubs, and shops of all kinds are empty as many people avoid going out, Pictured: People are seen lining up at Centrelink in Bondi Junction, Sydney
Felicity Gurney had joined the queue after being forced to close her hairdressing business.
‘It’s in a nursing home and because of the virus it’s been shut down,’ she said.
‘Because it’s my own business, I don’t get holiday pay or sick pay. I don’t have super – none of that – so I’m here trying to do what everyone else is doing.’
Ms Gurney said she had braced herself for a long wait before she arrived at the office.
‘It’s really not a surprise,’ she said. ‘I’ve sort of been expecting this to happen all week, but it’s really crazy that they knew this was going to happen and they weren’t better prepared for it. And of course the system crashes every time.’
While many in the line did not wish to discuss their personal circumstances, young tradesman Matthew Ward was prepared to speak up about the crisis and what had happened to him.
‘I was on the NBN and then that finished,’ he said. ‘I’ve always been a tradesman, I did my qualification and have always been able to fall back on it.
‘My old man always told me you get out of school and you’ll always have a trade to fall back on.
More than 300 people have lined the streets of Sydney on Monday morning, desperately waiting to get into Darlinghurst’s Centrelink office to claim unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic
Just days after losing her job, physiotherapist and practice manager Danielle Hocking (pictured) joined the almost queue outside Darlinghurst Centrelink on Monday
‘Now, every boss that I’ve rang just says, “Sorry mate we can’t take you on. There’s nothing”. It’s just too much of a risk.
‘It’s just a scary time. I’ve never been in this situation. It is what it is.’
At least 300 people were lined up outside the Centrelink office at Darlinghurst in Sydney to lodge claims before it opened at 8.30am.
First-time welfare recipients were told they could only get a customer reference number by applying in person.
One woman said her rent was so expensive she had no idea what to do now that she was out of work.
‘Everyone has their notice letters here to say they’re lost their jobs,’ she said.
‘They are giving half price Opal cards for anyone who has lost their job, but it’s very tense.’
Physiotherapist and practice manager Danielle Hocking lost her job just days ago and was was feeling ‘really s**t’ about receiving government assistance for the first time in her life.
‘I’m just trying to get any money I can really,’ Ms Hocking, 36, said.
‘I worked at a physiotherapist as practice manager and in client rehabilitation, I’d been there for seven years but my work wasn’t considered essential so I’ve now lost my job.
‘It’s the first time in my life I can’t get a job anywhere – even with qualifications.
‘I’ve got my own place too so I’m going to have to call the banks, I’ve got no way to pay at the minute.’
Many of those lined up at Centrelink on Monday were seeking unemployment benefits or emergency assistance for the first time. This images shows a queue in Southport on the Gold Coast
A crowd gathers outside the Centrelink office at Camberwell, one of Melbourne’s most affluent suburbs, on Monday
Swimming coach Nicole Giovenale spent two and a half hours in the Darlinghurst queue on Monday.
She said she and her partner would struggle to pay their rent without any government support.
‘I lost my job and my boyfriend is a waiter, but his restaurant is going to shut down,’ Ms Giovenale said.
‘We spoke with our house manager and he didn’t want to listen, he said: “If you don’t have money to pay, get out”.
‘We don’t know what we are eligible for, so we have to go home and get online and see what we can get.’
Student Nathan Marsh learnt out over the weekend his job at Sydney pub The Erko Hotel was gone and the 37-year-old said this was an ‘uncertain’ time.
‘I’m a student and I get Austudy payments, but I just lost my job and I don’t whether I’m eligible to get more money,’ Mr Marsh said.
‘It’s a really uncertain, scary time, but there’s some comfort in the fact that a lot of people are in the same position.
Services Australia says people applying for income support should start their claims online and defer identity checks until a later date. This woman is pictured at Southport Centrelink
Scenes like this outside the Centrelink office in Southport on the Gold Coast were repeated around Australia on Monday
‘It does seem the government is putting a really healthy stimulus package together, but the amount is really concerning.’
Another woman at Darlinghurst told Daily Mail Australia she had been queuing since 7.40am and by 9am still hadn’t reached the front of the line.
‘They are letting five people in at a time, and we’ve been told to prepare to wait to be seen,’ she said.
There were similar scenes outside the Centrelink building in Cairns, in far north Queensland, as hundreds lined the streets waiting to be seen.
At Frankston, Federal MP for the region Peta Murphy walked up the stairs to address the crowd but there was little she could do or say to comfort them.
Australia had 1,676 cases of coronavirus on Monday including seven deaths
This woman was lined up at Centrelink at Franskton on Monday. Local Federal MP for the region, Peta Murphy, said she believed things were going to get worse before they got better
At nearby Mornington, Centrelink staff had already been told the local office would close its doors, sending people to Rosebud and Frankston.
Ms Murphy said she believed about 800 people a week used the Mornington office before the coronavirus hit.
‘I’ve seen photographs today of how long the line is at Mornington and I’ve had emails from people saying Rosebud has huge lines,’ she said.
‘You’ve seen what it’s like here. This is calm compared to what it was like earlier.
‘The website is down, people are saying to me they can’t get on to phone – the waiting time is forever.
‘And there are people who currently get allowances but as we know there is going to be huge numbers of people needing to get onto allowances.’
Ms Murphy said she remained hopeful people would continue to keep their cool over the coming days as unemployment worsened.
‘It’s cold and it’s raining,’ she said. ‘I think the people are going to do their best.’
Centrelink outlets around Australia have been inundated with people attempting to register for benefits. This crowed lined up on the footpath in Melbourne