Landmark investment in Services Australia delivers major improvements for all Australians

New performance data from Services Australia shows the Albanese Government’s investment in service delivery is paying dividends.

Minister for Government Services, the Hon. Bill Shorten MP said the Government has delivered on its promise to bring the humans back into human services.

“Today, for the first time in the history of Services Australia, quarterly performance data will be released on a proactive and regular basis to ensure transparency and accountability to the Australian people,” Minister Shorten said.

“Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support services are essential for families across the nation, but it’s no secret that accessing them was difficult due to lack of frontline service officers.

“Our record investment of 3,000 extra staff means that in recent months the first task of lancing the 1.35 million claims backlog has been achieved.

“Now, instead of keeping our heads above water against the huge demand, we can look to realising the full potential of Services Australia’s capability.

“As today’s data shows, thanks to these staff, the agency is now processing claims 60% faster compared to the first 3 months of 2024.

“And with the backlog gone, the new staff are now improving the turnaround time for more complex claims.”

Between January and March, the average claim processing time for the Age Pension was 84 days.

The latest data shows this has reduced by more than 40% and most claims are now being processed within the KPI of 49 days.

Processing times for Disability Support Pension claims are also down, falling by 35% over the same period.

Processing times for other less complex claims have also dropped markedly since the start of the year.

Carer Allowance claims are being handled 80% faster, with most finalised in under 10 days.

Paid Parental Leave claims are being processed 90% quicker, taking an average of 3 days.

Child Care Subsidy claims are being processed 70% quicker, going from 23 days to an average of 7 days.

Call performance also continues to head in the right direction.

Since January, the agency has fielded nearly 37 million calls. The average wait time for Centrelink calls has dropped by 7 and a half minutes and congestion messaging has been slashed by nearly 80%.

“Getting on top of claims processing is vital to supporting Australians at their most vulnerable and through significant events in their life,” Minister Shorten said.

“When people know their payment is sorted, they can get on with their lives and don’t need to call to chase it.

“I’m pleased with the progress being made but it doesn’t stop here.

“Publishing this data quarterly delivers on our promise for more transparency and helps the community understand the level of service being delivered,” Mr Shorten said.

The quarterly data reports can be found at data.gov.au/servicesaustralia

 

CLAIM

AVERAGE PROCESSING TIME

Days to process

(January to March)

Days to process

(January to September)

% change

Key Performance Indicator

Age Pension

84 days

49 days

42%

>80% processed within 49 days

ABSTUDY Schooling

17 days

6 days

65%

>70% processed within 21 days

Carer Allowance

50 days

10 days

80%

>80% processed within 49 days

Carer Payment

76 days

13 days

83%

>80% processed within 49 days

Crisis Payment

5 days

1 day

80%

>90% processed within 2 days

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

50 days

18 days

64%

>80% processed within 28 days

Disability Support Pension

109 days

71 days

35%

>80% processed within 84 days

Family Tax Benefit New Claim

54 days

7 days

87%

>80% processed within 31 days

Family Tax Benefit Lump Sum

12 days

2 days

83%

>80% processed within 31 days

JobSeeker Payment

27 days

6 days

78%

>80% processed within 16 days

Low Income Card

68 days

12 days

82%

>80% processed within 28 days

Paid Parental Leave

31 days

3 days

90%

>80% processed within 21 days

Parenting Payment Single

66 days

14 days

79%

>80% processed within 21 days

Parenting Payment Partnered

73 days

16 days

78%

>80% processed within 28 days

Youth Allowance Jobseekers

28 days

10 days

64%

>80% processed within 21 days

 

 CALLS

January to
March 2024

July to
September 2024

% change

Congestion messaging

4,385,399

929,824

79%

Average Speed of Answer (agency wide)

19:08

15:05

21%
4:03

Average Speed of Answer (Social Security and Welfare)

 

28:38

 

21:00

27%
7:38

Average Speed of Answer 
(Health Customer)

 

26:13

 

14:43

44%
11:30