Seeing the number of times that people are told to ring first because the office cant do much, or will just send you to a phone anyway reminds me of how often I have called the FAO and gotten a busy signal or been on hold for over an hour. Does anyone else find this a deterrent from claiming what they are entitled through from the government? Is there anything we can do to get the service we need when the need arises?

I try to postpone calls like this until nap time so that I can actually hear the person on the other end of the phone, but often I can't get through or am on hold so long that the kids wake up before I get a person to speak to. Kind of puts me off claiming but I know we cant afford to live if I don't