Call services ignore 11 million calls—are you wasting hours on hold?

As the golden years unfold, many Australians' reliance on government services such as Centrelink and Medicare becomes increasingly significant.

These services are lifelines, providing essential support for healthcare, aged care, and financial assistance.

However, recent reports have highlighted a growing concern for seniors and other Australians facing excessive wait times and a staggering number of unanswered calls when trying to reach these vital agencies.


Imagine needing urgent assistance or clarification on a payment that affects your livelihood, only to be met with an endless loop of hold music.

This scenario has become all too common, with Centrelink's average wait time ballooning to over half an hour and a jaw-dropping 11 million calls going unanswered.

The situation is even more dire for those seeking family and parenting support, with an average wait time of 52 minutes.


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Centrelink and Medicare call wait times exceed 30 minutes, with millions of calls unanswered. Credit: Shutterstock


The significant jump from the previous year indicated something is amiss.

Employment Services callers felt the pinch, with wait times creeping up to 49 minutes.

Meanwhile, Medicare inquiries, which once took an average of 14 minutes, have now taken 25 minutes, and Centrelink Aged Care calls wait times have doubled to 24 minutes.


Charmaine Crowe, the ACOSS social security program director, expressed deep concern for those who could not get through.

‘It's distressing to see the call wait times where they are at because we're worried about those people that can't get through and what that means for their payments,’ she said.

‘Parents, they have a lot on their plates at the best of times and don't have time to spend hours on the phone or days trying to get through and, likewise, a lot of people are in employment and can't spend all this time between the hours of 9 am–5 pm to try and get through.’

‘It's of huge concern that there were over 11 million congestion messages,’

‘Sometimes it's a matter of their payment getting cut or reduced when it shouldn't have been, and if you can't get that resolved, it means that you're trying to get by on too little money.’


The federal government has recognised the gravity of the situation and, in May, announced a $1.8 billion investment over three years to bolster frontline and service delivery staff.

This move aims to alleviate staffing pressures and reduce the waiting periods for claims.

With the addition of 3,000 new staff earlier in the year, there is a glimmer of hope that the tide is turning.

Hank Jongen, Services Australia's general manager, reported that Centrelink call wait times had decreased depending on the day.


‘Overall, Centrelink call wait times have fallen from an average of 31 minutes in January to around 25 minutes in June, depending on the day,’ he stated.

‘We answered over 8 million calls through service officers and self-service lines from 1 January to 1 May 2024.’

‘The government has committed in the 2024-25 Budget to increasing the agency's staffing levels to continue to improve services.’

‘We manage around 1 million phone contacts a week, and staff are working hard to answer calls.’

Furthermore, the government's commitment in the 2024-25 Budget to increase staffing levels is a step towards improving services for all Australians.


In related news, Centrelink users faced growing frustration over long wait times and unanswered calls.

Calls to Services Australia, which oversees Centrelink, now average over 30 minutes, with reports of calls being disconnected. Read more about it here
Key Takeaways
  • Centrelink and Medicare call wait times have increased, with some callers waiting over half an hour and millions of calls going unanswered.
  • There has been a significant increase in waiting times across various services, with parents and carers experiencing wait times of 52 minutes on average for family and parenting support.
  • The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has expressed concern over the consequences of long call waiting times on payment issues for individuals and families.
  • The federal government has announced a $1.8 billion investment for additional staffing to address the issue, with expectations of improved service times after the employment of new staff members.
Have you experienced long wait times or unanswered calls with Centrelink or Medicare? Share your stories with us in the comments below.
 
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one would HAVE to be not working to contact the Centrelink organisation even with an appointment the waiting times are ridiculous, twice I have been booked by over staying my one hour parking to attend an appointment. at a specific time... I suppose I deserve it by having the audacity to own a car. BY the way can anyone tell me the difference between PENSION AND WELFARE ? Centrelink doesn't seem to know
 
I have waited a hour and a half. It's really not good enough. No one really wants to deal with Centre Link at the best of times. We all have better things to do any time of the day than waiting to be answered it is very stressful.
Kind regards to all Vicki
 
Centrelink needs a good overall from top to bottom if the majority of the staff were working ( and I use the word loosely) in private enterprise they would not see the first week out before they were shown the door.

I have had several issues with Centrelink if that is way it is run they need to reorganisation the system so they are made aware that they are there to help and support the needs of the people who attend Centrelink (I am not referring to the dole blugers) but the people who genuinely need help and support.

Example, a few years ago I was sole carer for my father who was in his 90's I had 3 attempts to get a carer allowance (I know that is the wrong name) I did everything for Dad except for his personal hygiene cooking cleaning driver took him to medical appointments including specialist appointments, also taking Dad up to A and E when his heart condition was playing up. I was refused every time yet I know people who live or lived in this town received carer assistance for people who do not require it.
So I said I pack some clothes and deliver Dad to the old folks home you can't do that I was told but the look I got made it all worthwhile.

As I said earlier Centrelink needs a good overall and the staff need education on what there job description is and made forfill they job positions properly.
 
one would HAVE to be not working to contact the Centrelink organisation even with an appointment the waiting times are ridiculous, twice I have been booked by over staying my one hour parking to attend an appointment. at a specific time... I suppose I deserve it by having the audacity to own a car. BY the way can anyone tell me the difference between PENSION AND WELFARE ? Centrelink doesn't seem to know
Whoever you asked that question to would have been understandably confused by the question. The pension is one of a whole raft of support services that constitute part of the entire Welfare SYSTEM. The pension is a type of payment; welfare is the government system that manages it.
 
one would HAVE to be not working to contact the Centrelink organisation even with an appointment the waiting times are ridiculous, twice I have been booked by over staying my one hour parking to attend an appointment. at a specific time... I suppose I deserve it by having the audacity to own a car. BY the way can anyone tell me the difference between PENSION AND WELFARE ? Centrelink doesn't seem to know
PENSION A payment made by the state to people on or above retirement age and to some widows and disabled.
WELFARE Receiving money from the government because of low or lack of income before retirement age.
 
I would like to know why so many people have to call Centre Link all the time.
Sorry about the long-winded rant, once I got started I could not stop.

There are way too many reasons why people call to list here.
Most people call because the so-called front-line staff at the branches know nothing. They can't answer most questions and all they say is GO ONLINE or make an appointment. Thats all good if you have a simple question. And trying to find the correct information online is like finding a needle in a haystack.
My Job Provider has requested that I need to have a Job Fitness Report done for CentreLink several times and I even went into a branch about this. All they say the same thing that someone will get in contact with me for the next step. Now just over 12 months later and several requests later still no one has called me or my job provide of what I need to do next. At the last visit to hand in my LEGAL MEDICAL CERTIFICTE all they said to me was they can no longer can accept any LEGAL MEDICAL CERTIFICTES by my Dr and I have to start applying for jobs that I physically & mentally can no longer do. I have Emphysema, heart problems, hearing problems and have Emotional problems since teenage years. Which now thanks to an uncaring national health system is now spirally out of control once again. And I'm still too young to go on the aged pension for another 4 years, as they keep changing the age limit every couple of years.
And before anyone tells me to reach out and get help, please don't bother, that system did more damage to my mental state, pills & talking can't fix my brain. And here's another scary bit of information back in the 80's & 90s three (that I know of) different psychiatrists that tried to treat me have all commented suicide over the years - so how good is their advice.
 
I would like to know why so many people have to call Centre Link all the time.
I rarely ring them but if I do it's because I've submitted all the documents to do with a banking transaction but they have locked me out of changing any banking details. The only way to unlock it is to ring weeks later, tell them what the issue is, tell them I have submitted the documents and have it sorted. Thankfully I've only had to do it once for that, but also twice because I didn't do something properly and it affected payments. MyGov is my usual way of doing things but rarely, thank goodness, do I have to ring.
 
No complaints here. The staff at our local Centrelink office are wonderful. So helpful and friendly. Most of the time no appointments are needed and the longest I’ve waited to speak with someone is about twenty minutes. But usually we’re in and out in a few minutes
 
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I have on more than one occasion called Centrelink for help, thinking I had made the right selection on my phone only to be transferred 5 or 6 times and ending up back where I started and then being told "sorry, I can't help you"

What a waste of taxpayers money if they say you must do something but then when you ask for help, noone wants to help.
 
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I would like to know where centrelink get this data from as from experience most wait times are 2 to 3 hours then some calls cut off after this time. It's a disgusting system and the whole system needs to be looked at. 50% of people are left with no money at all through the present system not working. These so called 3,000 extra staff have had no impact on the wait times we are having. Hank Jurgon is just relaying incorrect information. There are so many face book pages and if he read the complaints on these he would see just how incorrect the data is.
 
Maybe if the Government stopped admitting hundreds of thousands of refugees, the demand on Centrelink would decrease. The last time I rang Centrelink it took four telephone calls and three hours to get through to a person who couldn't understand the Australian Language and was extremely poor in both understanding and expression of the English Language. Needless to say it turned out to be a waste of my time and public money.
 
It must be costing people of Fortune to hang on the phone line that long especially those that don't have home phones and they're calling from mobiles
Yeah, most people have mobile, it's also the affect on people's Mental Health
 
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No complaints here. The staff at our local Centrelink office are wonderful. So helpful and friendly. Most of the time no appointments are needed and the longest I’ve waited to speak with someone is about twenty minutes. But usually we’re in and out in a few minutes
Yeah but we are talking about the phone lines not visits and before you say make a visit some people can't for numorous reasons
 

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