'What do you say to those people?' Data reveals Services Australia put on hold a staggering 7 million calls in 2023
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In an era where customer service is paramount, it's disheartening to learn that millions of phone calls made to Services Australia were left unanswered last year.
This shocking update was revealed in data presented by Services Australia during a senate estimates, painting a grim picture of the current state of customer service in the country.
Services Australia, the agency that oversees Centrelink, is a lifeline for many Australians, especially those who are unemployed, disabled, or in need of financial assistance.
However, the agency's inability to handle the sheer volume of calls it receives has left many Australians frustrated and in a state of limbo.
The data showed that approximately 7,444,939 calls to the agency received a congestion message in the year to the end of December.
This means that these calls were not answered but instead were directed to a voicemail system.
In addition to this, over 2 million calls were reportedly terminated by customers, likely due to long wait times.
Currently, the average phone wait time for people trying to access employment services is a staggering 48 minutes—a five-minute increase from the 43-minute average in December 2023.
This is a significant delay, especially for those who may not have the luxury of time or the resources to stay on hold for such a long period.
Services Australia Chief Jarrod Howard acknowledged the issue and assured that increased staff numbers employed at the agency this year should decrease wait times.
'Our strategy at the moment…is to focus on the processing of claims, and we do that for two-fold, ' Mr Howard said.
'We know that it will lead to a reduction in people calling us.'
However, this assurance does little to alleviate the immediate concerns of those who are struggling to get through to the agency.
Greens Senator Janet Rice highlighted the desperation of some individuals, citing testimony from a person on a life support machine who said they waited three days to reach disability services on the phone.
'What do you say to these people?' she asked.
In response to these concerns, Mr Howard apologised to customers struggling to make contact and assured that the staff at the agency were 'working hard' to answer calls.
'I acknowledge, and I apologise to any customer who is struggling to get through to us,' he said.
'There is not a person in the agency that does not want to serve customers.'
David Hazlehurst, the newly appointed Chief Executive, attributed the overblown wait times at the agency to long-term neglect, including under-resourcing from previous governments.
He announced a new staff boost of 3,000 people to begin work in 2024, which he believes would make an 'enormous' difference.
'Services Australia will continue improving our services from across our channels, focusing on improvements in claims processing and telephony.'
What are your experiences with Services Australia? Have you been left on hold or had a call go unanswered? Share your stories in the comments below.
This shocking update was revealed in data presented by Services Australia during a senate estimates, painting a grim picture of the current state of customer service in the country.
Services Australia, the agency that oversees Centrelink, is a lifeline for many Australians, especially those who are unemployed, disabled, or in need of financial assistance.
However, the agency's inability to handle the sheer volume of calls it receives has left many Australians frustrated and in a state of limbo.
Services Australia revealed that millions of calls were unanswered in 2023. Image source: Shutterstock.
The data showed that approximately 7,444,939 calls to the agency received a congestion message in the year to the end of December.
This means that these calls were not answered but instead were directed to a voicemail system.
In addition to this, over 2 million calls were reportedly terminated by customers, likely due to long wait times.
Currently, the average phone wait time for people trying to access employment services is a staggering 48 minutes—a five-minute increase from the 43-minute average in December 2023.
This is a significant delay, especially for those who may not have the luxury of time or the resources to stay on hold for such a long period.
Services Australia Chief Jarrod Howard acknowledged the issue and assured that increased staff numbers employed at the agency this year should decrease wait times.
'Our strategy at the moment…is to focus on the processing of claims, and we do that for two-fold, ' Mr Howard said.
'We know that it will lead to a reduction in people calling us.'
However, this assurance does little to alleviate the immediate concerns of those who are struggling to get through to the agency.
Greens Senator Janet Rice highlighted the desperation of some individuals, citing testimony from a person on a life support machine who said they waited three days to reach disability services on the phone.
'What do you say to these people?' she asked.
In response to these concerns, Mr Howard apologised to customers struggling to make contact and assured that the staff at the agency were 'working hard' to answer calls.
'I acknowledge, and I apologise to any customer who is struggling to get through to us,' he said.
'There is not a person in the agency that does not want to serve customers.'
David Hazlehurst, the newly appointed Chief Executive, attributed the overblown wait times at the agency to long-term neglect, including under-resourcing from previous governments.
He announced a new staff boost of 3,000 people to begin work in 2024, which he believes would make an 'enormous' difference.
'Services Australia will continue improving our services from across our channels, focusing on improvements in claims processing and telephony.'
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