Centrelink, the government agency that oversees Services Australia, has been under fire for its long call wait times.

The issue has been ongoing for years and has led to a public apology from Services Australia and a promise to improve their services.

But how bad is the situation really?

Let's delve into the details.

In the last financial year, the longest wait time recorded by a caller to Services Australia was a staggering 2 hours and 54 minutes.

However, this isn't the longest wait time in the agency's history.

Centrelink callers have been experiencing longer call wait times recently. Credit: Shutterstock

The record for the longest wait time was set in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years, with callers waiting for 3 hours and 53 minutes.

A spokesperson for Services Australia acknowledged the issue, stating, 'Our wait times are longer than we'd like, and we're sorry some people are waiting longer than they should be.'

The agency manages around one million phone contacts and 10 million customer interactions a week, with 90 per cent of these interactions being digital.

‘We encourage anyone who needs to speak to us to try again—people are getting through, and our staff are working hard to answer calls,’ they said.

The data on the longest wait times was released in response to a question put to Government Services Minister Bill Shorten by Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic.

Services Australia aims to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes. However, Senate Estimates heard that only about 60 per cent of calls met this target in 2022-23.

During that period, of the 41 million calls made to the agency, nine million received congestion messages. This automated system is activated during high call volumes and directs callers to use online services before ending the call.

The average wait time for Centrelink callers in July and August was 32 minutes, up from 18 minutes a year earlier.

Centrelink handled 8 million calls over those two months, with 2.8 million receiving congestion messaging.

In response to the outcry over long wait times, the government announced a $228 million boost to Services Australia's budget in November.

This funding intends to hire 3,000 staff to tackle the issue. Most of these new hires have already started, with the remainder set to begin training by the end of this week.

'These new staff will predominantly work on processing claims and answering calls as they are onboarded and trained,' the spokesperson said.

Here's a look at the longest wait times recorded by Services Australia over the past nine years:

Key Takeaways

• Services Australia has faced criticism for the long wait times experienced by Centrelink callers, with some waiting up to four hours.
• The agency apologised and acknowledged the issue following the announcement of a budget increase and plans to hire 3,000 new staff.
• Throughout the past nine years, the longest wait time recorded was 3 hours and 53 minutes in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years.
• Data shows that the average wait time for Centrelink callers has increased, and Services Australia has a target to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes, though this target has not always been met.

Have you experienced the frustration of waiting longer than expected to speak to a Centrelink representative? Share them with us in the comments below.

 

[Pat T]

It’s called progress. It has progressed from 2 hours to 4 hours. Years ago when I dealt with Centrelink the wait was bad. I found it quicker to drive 10 kms to the office.

 

[mylittletibbies]

I waited approx 1 hour 40 minutes, only to be told.I would be transferred to a different department and then put on hold for a further 30 minutes.
Absolute hogwash that they answer in 15 minutes, I don't know anyone who has been answered in anywhere near 15 minutes.

 

[Suzanne rose]

Wait times are getting worst, and that's if you can actually get through. What happened to those 3,000 extra staff they were employing.

I've been waiting for 11 months for an outcome for DSP

 

[mylittletibbies]

Wait times are getting worst, and that's if you can actually get through. What happened to those 3,000 extra staff they were employing.

I've been waiting for 11 months for an outcome for DSP

Have you tried contacting your local member.
I had.been waiting on NDIS to return my enquiry for over six months. My local member had them sort out the problem in less than 24 hours.
Also Centrelink stopped my, my daughters and my husband's pensions, because they said I had not returned paperwork. I had actually done this three times and also sat with one of their employees while she put the information into the computer herself. Local member had pensions reinstated within the hour.
Never heard again from Centrelink about this socalled unreturned paperwork.
Worth a try.

 

[Suzanne rose]

Have you tried contacting your local member.
I had.been waiting on NDIS to return my enquiry for over six months. My local member had them sort out the problem in less than 24 hours.
Also Centrelink stopped my, my daughters and my husband's pensions, because they said I had not returned paperwork. I had actually done this three times and also sat with one of their employees while she put the information into the computer herself. Local member had pensions reinstated within the hour.
Never heard again from Centrelink about this socalled unreturned paperwork.
Worth a try.

It's really bad isn't it. I will wait another 4 weeks then I will see my local minister abd I can say it's been a year.

 

[mylittletibbies]

It's really bad isn't it. I will wait another 4 weeks then I will see my local minister abd I can say it's been a year.

Good luck. I know some members have said their local member hasn't been any help. I guess it depends on each local member, but that is part of their job.

 

[Jersey]

Yes Centrelink say they will be employing more people but what is the quality of these new public servants The times I have been to C-link I have seen quite a few new Australians I have been interviewed by 3 One failed to enter the information I gave regarding wires income.1 Told me he did not need the papers I had taken to them and had been told they needed until I was driving home (Totally frustrated) to have him phone me to say I had to go back with the papers ,he then took them to photo copy but i seems then lost the copies 3 A young lady who said she would help me with the on line log in system But that I must have a mobile phone, when I said I did not she was quite rude Yes C-Link may increase the Australian tax bill for public servants but unless they are told that non performance or inability will be grounds for dismissal just means the ones at the top demand more money because of the number of people under them who are in some cases totally useless.

 

[Magrat14]

Centrelink, the government agency that oversees Services Australia, has been under fire for its long call wait times.

The issue has been ongoing for years and has led to a public apology from Services Australia and a promise to improve their services.

But how bad is the situation really?

Let's delve into the details.

In the last financial year, the longest wait time recorded by a caller to Services Australia was a staggering 2 hours and 54 minutes.

However, this isn't the longest wait time in the agency's history.

View attachment 39382

Centrelink callers have been experiencing longer call wait times recently. Credit: Shutterstock

The record for the longest wait time was set in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years, with callers waiting for 3 hours and 53 minutes.

A spokesperson for Services Australia acknowledged the issue, stating, 'Our wait times are longer than we'd like, and we're sorry some people are waiting longer than they should be.'

The agency manages around one million phone contacts and 10 million customer interactions a week, with 90 per cent of these interactions being digital.

‘We encourage anyone who needs to speak to us to try again—people are getting through, and our staff are working hard to answer calls,’ they said.

The data on the longest wait times was released in response to a question put to Government Services Minister Bill Shorten by Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic.

Services Australia aims to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes. However, Senate Estimates heard that only about 60 per cent of calls met this target in 2022-23.

During that period, of the 41 million calls made to the agency, nine million received congestion messages. This automated system is activated during high call volumes and directs callers to use online services before ending the call.

The average wait time for Centrelink callers in July and August was 32 minutes, up from 18 minutes a year earlier.

Centrelink handled 8 million calls over those two months, with 2.8 million receiving congestion messaging.

In response to the outcry over long wait times, the government announced a $228 million boost to Services Australia's budget in November.

This funding intends to hire 3,000 staff to tackle the issue. Most of these new hires have already started, with the remainder set to begin training by the end of this week.

'These new staff will predominantly work on processing claims and answering calls as they are onboarded and trained,' the spokesperson said.

Here's a look at the longest wait times recorded by Services Australia over the past nine years:
View attachment 39383

Key Takeaways

• Services Australia has faced criticism for the long wait times experienced by Centrelink callers, with some waiting up to four hours.
• The agency apologised and acknowledged the issue following the announcement of a budget increase and plans to hire 3,000 new staff.
• Throughout the past nine years, the longest wait time recorded was 3 hours and 53 minutes in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years.
• Data shows that the average wait time for Centrelink callers has increased, and Services Australia has a target to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes, though this target has not always been met.

Have you experienced the frustration of waiting longer than expected to speak to a Centrelink representative? Share them with us in the comments below.

We have been trying to contact Centrelink since 27 December and can’t get through let alone waiting in a queue. At this stage I would be happy to be waiting in a queue to talk to someone. We have tried to upload documents digitally however the links provided in the online system do not match up with the information Centrelink asked us to provide. To add insult to injury we were given 14 days over the Christmas /New Year period to provide information which was 20 years old and as we could not provide it instantly our claim was closed due to none compliance even though we ended up going to our local Centrelink office where they uploaded the documents for us. We have been waiting since 1 December for our claim to be processed.

 

[Singomate]

Centrelink, the government agency that oversees Services Australia, has been under fire for its long call wait times.

The issue has been ongoing for years and has led to a public apology from Services Australia and a promise to improve their services.

But how bad is the situation really?

Let's delve into the details.

In the last financial year, the longest wait time recorded by a caller to Services Australia was a staggering 2 hours and 54 minutes.

However, this isn't the longest wait time in the agency's history.

View attachment 39382

Centrelink callers have been experiencing longer call wait times recently. Credit: Shutterstock

The record for the longest wait time was set in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years, with callers waiting for 3 hours and 53 minutes.

A spokesperson for Services Australia acknowledged the issue, stating, 'Our wait times are longer than we'd like, and we're sorry some people are waiting longer than they should be.'

The agency manages around one million phone contacts and 10 million customer interactions a week, with 90 per cent of these interactions being digital.

‘We encourage anyone who needs to speak to us to try again—people are getting through, and our staff are working hard to answer calls,’ they said.

The data on the longest wait times was released in response to a question put to Government Services Minister Bill Shorten by Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic.

Services Australia aims to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes. However, Senate Estimates heard that only about 60 per cent of calls met this target in 2022-23.

During that period, of the 41 million calls made to the agency, nine million received congestion messages. This automated system is activated during high call volumes and directs callers to use online services before ending the call.

The average wait time for Centrelink callers in July and August was 32 minutes, up from 18 minutes a year earlier.

Centrelink handled 8 million calls over those two months, with 2.8 million receiving congestion messaging.

In response to the outcry over long wait times, the government announced a $228 million boost to Services Australia's budget in November.

This funding intends to hire 3,000 staff to tackle the issue. Most of these new hires have already started, with the remainder set to begin training by the end of this week.

'These new staff will predominantly work on processing claims and answering calls as they are onboarded and trained,' the spokesperson said.

Here's a look at the longest wait times recorded by Services Australia over the past nine years:
View attachment 39383

Key Takeaways

• Services Australia has faced criticism for the long wait times experienced by Centrelink callers, with some waiting up to four hours.
• The agency apologised and acknowledged the issue following the announcement of a budget increase and plans to hire 3,000 new staff.
• Throughout the past nine years, the longest wait time recorded was 3 hours and 53 minutes in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years.
• Data shows that the average wait time for Centrelink callers has increased, and Services Australia has a target to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes, though this target has not always been met.

Have you experienced the frustration of waiting longer than expected to speak to a Centrelink representative? Share them with us in the comments below.

I have had the double whammy of waiting to get to the person to verify my details once this was achieved, I was told to go to the local office waited for two hours only to be told they had my details, and there was no reason for me to be there not a sorry of any kind, The joys of being a old guy with Health Issues just a number that is treated like a criminal when I made a mistake in declaring 25.00 to few dollars of my wife's income.

 

[Suzanne rose]

Good luck. I know some members have said their local member hasn't been any help. I guess it depends on each local member, but that is part of their job.

One of our closest friend is a NSW ex premier who still has alot of power so if need be I will get advise from him before going to my local member

 

[Zena Lea]

Your have to be very lucky to even be in the queue. I tried recently, at many different times, but was hung up on, because "all our people arre busy". I ended up going into a local Centrelink, to be attended to immediately. And my problem resolved.

 

[mylittletibbies]

Your have to be very lucky to even be in the queue. I tried recently, at many different times, but was hung up on, because "all our people arre busy". I ended up going into a local Centrelink, to be attended to immediately. And my problem resolved.

You're lucky, I was told I needed to RING and make an appointment

 

[Suelindblade]

Centrelink, the government agency that oversees Services Australia, has been under fire for its long call wait times.

The issue has been ongoing for years and has led to a public apology from Services Australia and a promise to improve their services.

But how bad is the situation really?

Let's delve into the details.

In the last financial year, the longest wait time recorded by a caller to Services Australia was a staggering 2 hours and 54 minutes.

However, this isn't the longest wait time in the agency's history.

View attachment 39382

Centrelink callers have been experiencing longer call wait times recently. Credit: Shutterstock

The record for the longest wait time was set in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years, with callers waiting for 3 hours and 53 minutes.

A spokesperson for Services Australia acknowledged the issue, stating, 'Our wait times are longer than we'd like, and we're sorry some people are waiting longer than they should be.'

The agency manages around one million phone contacts and 10 million customer interactions a week, with 90 per cent of these interactions being digital.

‘We encourage anyone who needs to speak to us to try again—people are getting through, and our staff are working hard to answer calls,’ they said.

The data on the longest wait times was released in response to a question put to Government Services Minister Bill Shorten by Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic.

Services Australia aims to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes. However, Senate Estimates heard that only about 60 per cent of calls met this target in 2022-23.

During that period, of the 41 million calls made to the agency, nine million received congestion messages. This automated system is activated during high call volumes and directs callers to use online services before ending the call.

The average wait time for Centrelink callers in July and August was 32 minutes, up from 18 minutes a year earlier.

Centrelink handled 8 million calls over those two months, with 2.8 million receiving congestion messaging.

In response to the outcry over long wait times, the government announced a $228 million boost to Services Australia's budget in November.

This funding intends to hire 3,000 staff to tackle the issue. Most of these new hires have already started, with the remainder set to begin training by the end of this week.

'These new staff will predominantly work on processing claims and answering calls as they are onboarded and trained,' the spokesperson said.

Here's a look at the longest wait times recorded by Services Australia over the past nine years:
View attachment 39383

Key Takeaways

• Services Australia has faced criticism for the long wait times experienced by Centrelink callers, with some waiting up to four hours.
• The agency apologised and acknowledged the issue following the announcement of a budget increase and plans to hire 3,000 new staff.
• Throughout the past nine years, the longest wait time recorded was 3 hours and 53 minutes in the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years.
• Data shows that the average wait time for Centrelink callers has increased, and Services Australia has a target to answer 70 per cent of calls within 15 minutes, though this target has not always been met.

Have you experienced the frustration of waiting longer than expected to speak to a Centrelink representative? Share them with us in the comments below.

Last year, i had to wait one hour 50 minutes. Often it is something one cannot do online as much as one tries. One can waste over an hour trying to find the answer on line without result and then one gives up. Then i put it off for when i can be on hold for a coupe of hours.

 

[Suelindblade]

When someone answers eventually at Centrelink their voice is not clear and not easily understood so in the end it is pot luck plus if they cant help you and they direct you elsewhere it wait again for another long time.

 

[Gabriel44]

Yes, we have experienced call wait times of up to 2 hours. Many of the operators are poorly trained and in some cases have no knowledge of Services Australia programs.

In addition, in our late 70's, we applied for a part-pension on 13 September 2023, and were told at the time of submission that we would have a response no later than 30 November. A month and a half later, we still do not have a response, despite many calls, visits to the local Services Australia office (they couldn't help!), plus messages to our local member and online to Bill Shorten's office.

The odds are slowly increasing that we may die before we get our pension.

 

[Jarred Santos]

It’s called progress. It has progressed from 2 hours to 4 hours.

All seriousness aside, thanks for the chuckle, @Pat T

 

[mylittletibbies]

I do feel sorry for the front desk staff at Centrelink. I've found them to be, on the whole, polite and helpful to the best of their ability. I do think it seems that a lot of them have not received enough training.
However I think we should all try to remember that this is not their fault
They are just as much victims of this understaffed, under funded and poorly managed department as we are.

 

[Phantom55]

I live on the central coast and it would be quicker for me to drive to Wollongong than wait on the phone.. thats over a hundred and eighty klm........progress. huh

 

[janham]

I believe the government should never have outsourced Centrelink services. Call centres and job services and NDIS are a big waste of money taxpayers and taxpayers are being ripped off by them! When you go into a Centrelink office, you can see all the empty desks and it has a skeleton staff only. The government would save so much money if Centrelink services was back in public services only.