The Hawera and Stratford Work and Income Service Centres are being upgraded to help make them work better for people who visit and people who work there.

At each site, the changes will see a more welcoming office, clients will have more privacy when they talk with a case manager and there will be added security for clients, visitors and staff.

Taranaki King Country Whanganui MSD Regional Commissioner Gloria Campbell says the changes have been rolled out in other parts of the country, including in Waitara and Taihape.

“At these two sites, staff are working in different ways and we are pleased with the increased flexibility and freshening up of our centres. It’s great to see this investment in the regions.”

To ensure the work is completed on time, the service centres will temporarily close at different times.

Stratford Service Centre in Miranda St closed on Monday June 28 with plans for it to reopen to the public on Tuesday July 13.

Hawera Service Centre in Union St will be temporarily closed from Monday 19 July until reopening on Tuesday 10 August.

Gloria Campbell says people will continue to receive help. “The centre is closed but all services continue regardless. We found during lockdown that many people adjusted to accessing our services remotely and options such as the 0800 number and MyMSD give them greater flexibility.”

People can receive help and stay in touch by:

• going to the Work and Income website
• logging into MyMSD
• calling 0800 559 009 for Work and Income
• calling 0800 552 002 for Senior Services

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