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]

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.

I think that’s what they’re aiming for. When they start sending us emails to compare the funeral plans we’ll know not to waste our time ringing.

 

[mrbinns0804]

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.

My souse worked at a regional Centrelink Call Centre for over 20 years, but recently took on a new job due to the unmonitored use of social media platform by former colleagues during business hours. When staff were supposed to be directing their time and attention to solving client issues over the phone they were instead spending much of their time priming their social contacts on Facebook, Instagram, etc., leading to increased work loads for other staff who were putting in an honest days work. They don't need more staff they need staff in the Bendigo CC to get off their media platforms while at work.

 

[GreyWolf_Rod]

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.

These figures are fudged... anytime I call SA... the hold time is longer than 48min... the longest was 2h11min... most times it it will ask for you URN then advises you to go online or call back later... hangs up... when online doesn't/can't help ... when you try to call back (in the same 24hr period), you are essentially blocked, you get a message... we are aware you are trying to contact us... try again later (polite don't care go away message)
It makes little to no difference what time you start calling... on one occasion it took me 28 days to get through to SA assistant...

 

[Zena Lea]

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

Perhaps living in a regional area makes a difference. It's very difficult by phone, isn't it? It's worth a try, just walking in, acting unknowing.

 

[mylittletibbies]

Perhaps living in a regional area makes a difference. It's very difficult by phone, isn't it? It's worth a try, just walking in, acting unknowing.

I do live in a regional area, 1.1/4 hours from nearest Centrelink.