The frustrating reality of waiting endlessly on hold or in Centrelink lines is something many Australians seeking assistance from the government can relate to.

Yet, some savvy social media users have stumbled upon a simple trick to expedite issue resolution—sending an email directly to Centrelink spokesperson Hank Jongen!

As the General Manager of Services Australia, the government body overseeing Centrelink, Jongen is no stranger to controversy.

What's interesting is that Mr Jongen's email address has been public for some time. Notably, he shared it during the rollout of what is now known as 'robodebt', encouraging those who felt 'lost in the system' to contact him directly.

Aussies on social media have found a quick fix for their Centrelink issues. Credit: Shutterstock.

Now, his email address has resurfaced on the popular forum website Reddit, with users sharing their experiences about how quickly Jongen has fixed their Centrelink problems compared to traditional channels.

'I emailed last night, and they've sorted my claim out and are now connecting me to someone else for another issue I've been waiting to be resolved,' commented one user.

A second added: 'I emailed Hank this morning, and the claim was approved later that day. Thanks, mate!'

A third agreed and said, 'I emailed him this morning after seeing a pos, and my ftb was finally approved today!'

'I was sceptical, but after emailing on Wednesday night, I called Centrelink today and found out my claim from early June was marked as high priority yesterday,' shared a fourth.

Other commenters chimed in with similar positive experiences, getting issues like payment errors, reporting changes, and verification requests quickly resolved after emailing Jongen.

However, some questioned whether this 'Hank trick' was fair or ethical.

'I see a lot of people saying this is real, and it helps, but it feels very dodgy,' one user argued.

But most agreed that with call wait times blowing out to hours or even days, contacting Jongen directly yielded better results.

Naturally, this sparked curiosity during a recent Senate estimates hearing about why one man's inbox could resolve issues for some when millions waited almost indefinitely through normal channels.

Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic grilled officials on the apparent imbalance, asking: 'Why is this the case, and how is it even fair?'

Acting Centrelink Chief Chris Birrer claimed the email was just one of many 'paths' people could use to bring up their issues with the system.

Deputy Chief Jarrod Howard also clarified not all emails sent to Jongen resulted in accelerated handling, saying: 'It's a risk management approach that we take.'

'We have to make those assessments in the same way that we make assessments when an MP contacts us or when someone writes to the CEO or myself.'

This follows the news that senators called out Centrelink bosses in a hearing.

Despite receiving fewer calls this year, the agency's performance in answering calls and processing claims has 'deteriorated’.

Only 60 per cent of calls are answered within 15 minutes, with 9 million calls annually encountering a voicemail asking callers to try again later due to high demand.

In July and August of this year, the agency received 8 million calls. Of these, 2.8 million calls resulted in a congestion message, indicating the call queue was full. Among these calls, 1.8 million were successfully answered by a representative, while the customers themselves terminated 800,000.

Centrelink's workforce struggled to keep up with demand as millions of Aussies grappled with the cost-of-living crisis.

Recent figures reveal that the average wait time for all social security and welfare calls to Centrelink has 'skyrocketed' from 14 minutes and 14 seconds during the 2021-22 financial year to 20 minutes and 22 seconds this financial year.

However, Australians who rely on Centrelink services have reported even longer wait times, prompting many to express their frustration on social media.

Key Takeaways

• Emails sent to Services Australia's spokesman, Hank Jongen, have been deemed a quick way to resolve Centrelink issues, as discussed at a senate estimates hearing.
• Reddit users have validated Jongen's email, saying it's legitimate and has expedited their claim processing times.
• However, there is scepticism about whether this process is fair.
• Officials have justified this method as one of many 'paths' people can take to escalate their claims, including contacting their local MP.

Members, are you waiting on any processing from Centrelink these days? Have you considered contacting Mr Jongen directly at his email address? We hope you found this article informative!

 

[Abby2]

What is his email?

So committed to easing the pain you are experiencing in your interactions with Centrelink, Jongen has even released his personal email address — [email protected].

 

[Suzanne rose]

I have been waiting on the phone for so long with Centrelink, that I've now forgotten what I was ringing them for.

that's me as well

 

[Suzanne rose]

In the last couple of weeks on two occasions trying to get through to the disability section of Centrelink took me 8 hours the first time getting through at 5.00 pm to be told she saw our problem but has she was about to go home would fix it on Monday - it was not fixed so a week and half later it took me 5 hours to get through to a person and it took them 45 minutes to fix the problem. I was getting so stressed over the whole debacle that I started to have angina attacks.

 

[Bridgit]

I worked for Centrelink for 18 years and Hank has been around for that and amazingly is still there. With his high profile I doubt he would share his email.

As I worked in Centrelink fraud I am suspicious someone is getting a clients details, calling on their behalf to get their issues fixed and then keeping the details for a further fraud down the track - people are conned so easily.

He did share his email on radio several times - he said if you can't get it sorted or you had a problem email me direct and I will get it fixed! He also shared his phone no and my husband rang him and got the answers we needed.

 

[Casper]

How do you find the email address for Hank Jongen ?

 

[wazzalox]

He did share his email on radio several times - he said if you can't get it sorted or you had a problem email me direct and I will get it fixed! He also shared his phone no and my husband rang him and got the answers we needed.

Go into a Centre if you can. They hate that but it's the quickest. They'll tell you it can be done online. Tell them that doesn't work because the computers can't think. There'll be about a 10 minute wait then the human presses a couple of keys and it's fixed

 

[marilyn joy wright]

What is his email address. Can you put it up so more people might have some results. I have been a victim of a Centrelink scam wherein my pension $650 had been borrowed against as an advance payment, to an unknown bank from June to September and the person was also paying it back from my payments at $50 a fortnight. June to December to pay it back, then longer for the $50 a fortnight to retrieve. . Centrelink had the payment returned as it was the incorrect bank but no staff to reverse it apparently. Told by the Internet scam watch/fraud team to have everything linked to myGov blocked and to have nothing to do with MyGov which resulted in my now just getting it linked after 6 visits to Centrelink office with the promise of 2/3 working days for a linking code. Which never happened during each of those 6 visits. Finally March got the code to be told anyone in any office can get your code. Always, “have you got an appointment “ without linking you can’t book an appointment and on the phone you can’t get through. Had to go back to paper/post claims for Medicare. While the Centrelink staff are all very friendly they can’t step out of their box to go a step further to help. Very frustrating. I think they want all the elderly to throw their hands in the air and give up on it all.