05 Sep Form filling assistance
The Hotline regularly receives calls from people who need help with filling out forms or understanding documents. So, we are always delighted to hear about places that offer this type of support.
Read Write Now in cooperation with the City of Cockburn’s Success Library is now offering a form filling service once a week. Read Write Now is based in Western Australia and provides free tutoring for adults wanting to learn and improve their reading, writing, maths, study or digital skills. They are one of the Hotline’s valued partners.
As more government and non-government services move online the need for face-to-face assistance to access these services has become more vital. In 2020, the Hotline partnered with the NSW Council of Social Service to produce the Helping Clients fill in forms report which can be found on our website. The research included a survey of 70 community organisations from across NSW and eight libraries in the City of Sydney library network; a focus group and follow-up interviews with six survey respondents; and two case studies which included interviews with clients, volunteers and staff.
The survey found that community organisations play an important role in assisting people with literacy needs in the community. A role that is often not visible but is certainly resource intensive.
The research results highlight that people may need assistance to:
- understand the purpose of the form
- interpret the instructions
- complete all fields accurately
- access supporting material
- scan and upload supporting documentation.
The forms and related service areas that survey respondents identified as those for which clients most frequently required assistance were, in order:
- Access to social housing and related processes
- Disability support services, coordination plans and support plans through NDIS services
- Personal identity forms
- Centrelink forms and processes
- Medical services.