Australians kept on hold for longer during cost of living crisis
Centrelink call wait times continue to skyrocket under the Albanese Labor Government, with new figures revealing Australians are often waiting more than 45 minutes to speak with someone amid a cost of living crisis.
Documents tabled by Services Australia during Senate Estimates reveal the welfare agency’s telephony performance has gotten dramatically worse since Labor took office.
For example, people who call the Families and Parenting line have seen call wait times more than double under Labor.
Shadow Minister for Government Services Paul Fletcher said the data further demonstrates the inability of Government Services Minister Bill Shorten to improve performance at this critical agency.
“Due to a blowout in processing times for key claims, Australians need to speak with Centrelink more than ever, but they are being kept on hold for far too long,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Families are struggling with the cost of living and they should be able to pick up a phone and speak with someone quickly. Instead they are waiting for an unacceptable amount of time, with many hanging up in frustration.
“Bill Shorten boasts about hiring extra employees to address these challenges, but his record speaks for itself – he chose to cut average staffing levels in the Budget from 28,560 in 2021-2022 to 26,692 in 2023-2024.”
The below table compares call wait times for different financial years. The average speed to answer figures are published as minutes and seconds.
|
Centrelink Line |
Average speed to answer |
Average speed to answer |
Average speed to answer |
|
Disabilities, sickness and carers |
20:59 |
32:22 |
48:31 |
|
Employment Services |
24:55 |
34:08 |
48:03 |
|
Families and Parenting |
24:45 |
34:37 |
52:46 |
|
Older Australians |
21:30 |
31:52 |
46:41 |
According to the same data, from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023, 2,342,464 Australians chose to terminate their call with Services Australia, rather than wait to speak with an agency staff member.
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