'What do you say to those people?' Data reveals Services Australia put on hold a staggering 7 million calls in 2023

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.


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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.'
Key Takeaways
  • In 2023, over seven million phone calls made to Services Australia were not answered but instead received a congestion message last year, highlighting the issue with the system's capacity.
  • In addition to the calls put on hold, over 2 million calls were reportedly terminated by customers, likely due to lengthy wait times.
  • Services Australia addressed these issues by increasing staff numbers, which is expected to reduce call wait times and improve the processing of claims.
  • Newly appointed Chief Executive David Hazlehurst acknowledged that the problems are partly due to historical under-resourcing and assured that an increase in staff by 3,000 in 2024 should greatly enhance service quality.
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.
 
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Centrelink has appalling customer service. Average wait time 48 minutes.if you're lucky. More like 1 hour and 48 minutes. Ask five people the same question and get 5 different answers or no one knows the answe to your question. Most of them would be on Centrelink benefits if they didn't work there.
 
I phoned Services Australia whilst on holiday held on for 45mins to arrange an appointment for a couple of weeks later to lodge application for age pension (I was about to turn 70yrs) and retiring from full time employment. I arranged an appointment for 4 weeks later but when I approached the desk for that appointment was told no you need to take a seat and another customer service officer will call you to make an appointment for next month to be able to talk to someone when I said I had been assured on the phone this would happen at the first arranged time before I even raised my voice 2 guys came over stood each side of me I politely asked them to step out of my space so I can take a seat. This whole process was eventually completed with me going online to apply and still waiting to be considered to this day 3 months later this is a joke with unemployment being the topic of the day shouldn’t this Department be over staffed rather than excuses given successive previous government have lead to this situation, I will happily take a job again and answer phones we keep being told the country is an aging population so only going to get worse ok for all the politicians who get large salaries and better superannuation than the average Australian to say these things just fix the system.
 
This is designed to 'encourage' people to do more transactions online
My husband and I spent 4 hours of our precious life relaying between the ATO and MyGov to obtain his Tax File Number for a new bank account. We did everything the site asked of us, only to be shuttled back to either one. I understand we should have filed it away, well, mine is! but life happens and its nowhere to be found. He eventually got it from another site and cant remember who it was duh!!
 
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I phoned Services Australia whilst on holiday held on for 45mins to arrange an appointment for a couple of weeks later to lodge application for age pension (I was about to turn 70yrs) and retiring from full time employment. I arranged an appointment for 4 weeks later but when I approached the desk for that appointment was told no you need to take a seat and another customer service officer will call you to make an appointment for next month to be able to talk to someone when I said I had been assured on the phone this would happen at the first arranged time before I even raised my voice 2 guys came over stood each side of me I politely asked them to step out of my space so I can take a seat. This whole process was eventually completed with me going online to apply and still waiting to be considered to this day 3 months later this is a joke with unemployment being the topic of the day shouldn’t this Department be over staffed rather than excuses given successive previous government have lead to this situation, I will happily take a job again and answer phones we keep being told the country is an aging population so only going to get worse ok for all the politicians who get large salaries and better superannuation than the average Australian to say these things just fix the system.
Have you tried to raise this with your local Federal MP? I think it is worth making an appointment and see how that goes. Most government departments do respond to enquiries made by MPs
 
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Every time I have tried to ring Centrelink the wait time has been over 1.5 hours. This is ridiculous. Then you get someone who can’t even answer your question, so you get passed around like a hot potato, the sooner the person on the phone can get rid of you the better. After about 4/5 different people can’t help it is easier to just hang up. The tax office is as bad, every time I ring them the response is, the lines are all busy, ring back later, then plonk the phone hangs up. Same thing happens often when ringing Centrelink lines. It must cost a lot of money for people who only have mobile phones, there goes a months worth of credit in one phone call. I am on my grandsons Centrelink account as person they can deal with, due to his work hours meaning he can’t get into the service centre. He has a mygov app on his phone he can use. Despite months ago putting his new phone number and email on the website if we try to log into his account on the iPad or laptop the security code still goes to his old phone number. His new phone number is actually listed on his account and old number isn’t even there anymore. I’m about to go to local service centre to ask why this is happening. He is also blocked from his tax office account on his mygov, it was linked but for unknown reasons now he cannot access it. The whole system needs an overhaul, and 3000 staff won‘t be nearly enough to make a lot of difference to the crappy service given now. Last night I saw an ad on TV for Youi insurance stating they aim to answer phone calls within 30 seconds, maybe Centrelink needs to take a leaf out of their book, so to speak.
 
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Centrelink would need to employ at least three times as many people in call centres to answer all those calls in a timely manner. People would then object that Centrelink was employing too many staff and wasting money. If Centrelink transferred staff from customer service centres to call centres, people would object that they had to wait too long to be seen in person, and wait even longer for their claims to be finalised.
 
I suffered serious injuries as a result of family violence 12 months ago.
I still have not been able to get through to Centrelink.
My injuries and my mental health has worsened due to the lack of support
-Ale Taouk mobile 0407536883 (preferably after 2pm )
 
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I suffered serious injuries as a result of family violence 12 months ago.
I still have not been able to get through to Centrelink.
My injuries and my mental health has worsened due to the lack of support
-Ale Taouk mobile 0407536883 (preferably after 2pm )
 
Same dribble form our government about this service to all pensioners and Centrelink recepients. Wait times are a joke, never get a straight answer when you do eventually get through and a different answer each time, staff unfortunately are unable to assist as lack of knowledge . Staff shortages are and have always been an issue . .. No one is listening especially our government. .
 
I suffered serious injuries as a result of family violence 12 months ago.
I still have not been able to get through to Centrelink.
My injuries and my mental health has worsened due to the lack of support
-Ale Taouk mobile 0407536883 (preferably after 2pm )
That’s really terrible news, I’m so sad to hear this
There are DV shelters and support groups who might be able to shortcut your waiting times and give you some guidance on how to work through the system.
This link seems to be Australia wide and has some pretty good links in it too,
https://www.lifesupportscounselling.com.au
https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...=2ahUKEwjtlKSaha2EAxU8sFYBHU_8AXsQ0Qx6BAgDEAE
please reach out to as many places for help as you can, there’s no shame in it and I know when you’re suffering mentally you don’t feel like sharing- but really try.
My very best wishes and prayers for you going forward 🕊️
I suffered serious injuries as a result of family violence 12 months ago.
I still have not been able to get through to Centrelink.
My injuries and my mental health has worsened due to the lack of support
-Ale Taouk mobile 0407536883 (preferably after 2pm )
 
If it helps you can do that through your myGov account, if you’re not sure how to do it try finding someone at a community centre to help you do it - you will get in trouble if you don’t- you have to do it in 14 days
I hope you document everything for your own protection.
 
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