New data reveals improved outcomes for Australians seeking assistance from Services Australia with aged pension payments, paid parental leave, and Medicare claims being completed up to 99 per cent faster following the increased staffing investment.
The improvements in processing times are a direct result of the Albanese Government’s investment in around 4,000 additional service delivery staff at Services Australia, which the Coalition includes in their promise to cut 36,000 public servants if elected.
Despite extra demand with Services Australia handling 10 million calls and processing four million claims between October and December last year, the new data shows improvements across the vast majority of services.
Health related calls to Services Australia are being answered in less than half the time, while social security and welfare calls have improved by almost a third.
The majority of social service claim types improved between the January to March and October to Decembers quarter of 2024 including:
- Aged Pension claims being processed 52 days faster on average (32 days compared to 84 days, or a 62 per cent reduction)
- Paid Parental Leave claims are being processed 28 days faster on average (3 days compared to 31 days, or a 90 per cent reduction)
- New applications for the Family Tax Benefit were processed 48 days faster on average (6 days compared to 54 days, or an 89 per cent reduction)
In health and Medicare, key improvements include:
- PBS Safety Net processing times are a staggering 144 days faster on average (just 2 days compared to 146 days, or a 99 per cent reduction)
- Medicare Eligibility and Enrolments take 54 fewer days (10 days compared to 64, or an 84 per cent reduction)
- Medicare patient claims are happening 5 days faster now (taking just two days compared to seven, or a 71 per cent reduction)
These quarterly data reports can be found at Services Australia - Service Delivery quarterly operational data - Dataset - data.gov.au
Quotes attributable to Minister for Government Services, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher:
“These numbers mean real, positive improvements in the lives of Australians every day.
“Australians are getting their Medicare rebates sooner after visiting the doctor, they’re getting approved for pension and paid parental leave payments faster, and newborn babies are being enrolled in Medicare more than a month faster.
“None of this would have happened without Labor’s investments.
“When you give frontline public services the staff and resources they need to deliver for the community, Australians get better access to the services they rely on every single day.
“Peter Dutton has labelled this investment as wasteful and promised to cut it if elected, but these numbers show what is at risk for Australians under a Dutton-led Coalition government.”
“We’ve seen what happens to services under a Coalition government – just ask the 42,000 veterans whose claims were left to gather dust.
“Peter Dutton’s plan to cut 36,000 public servants will mean worse services, expensive consultants, and a return to the era of Robodebt.”
Average processing times, claims:
Start of 2024 | Previous quarter for comparison Days to process (July – September 2024) | End of 2024 Days to process (October to December 2024) | % change (Comparing January – March 2024 to October to December 2024) | KPI | |
Age Pension | 84 days | 49 days | 32 days | 62% | >80% processed within 49 days |
ABSTUDY Schooling | 17 days | 6 days | 6 days | 65% | >70% processed within 21 days |
Carer Allowance | 50 days | 10 days | 15 days | 70% | >80% processed within 49 days |
Carer Payment | 76 days | 13 days | 17 days | 78% | >80% processed within 49 days |
Child Care Subsidy | 23 days | 7 days | 8 days | 65% | No timeliness measure |
Crisis Payment | 5 days | 1 day | 1 day | 80% | >90% processed within 2 days |
C’wlth Seniors Health Card | 50 days | 18 days | 22 days | 56% | >80% processed within 28 days |
Disability Support Pension | 109 days | 71 days | 57 days | 48% | >80% processed within 84 days |
Family Tax Benefit New Claim | 54 days | 7 days | 6 days | 89% | >80% processed within 31 days |
Family Tax Benefit Lump Sum | 12 days | 2 days | 3 days | 75% | >80% processed within 31 days |
JobSeeker Payment | 27 days | 6 days | 8 days | 70% | >80% processed within 16 days |
Low Income Card | 68 days | 12 days | 16 days | 76% | >80% processed within 28 days |
Paid Parental Leave | 31 days | 3 days | 3 days | 90% | >80% processed within 21 days |
Parenting Payment Single | 66 days | 14 days | 16 days | 76% | >80% processed within 21 days |
Parenting Payment Partnered | 73 days | 16 days | 18 days | 75% | >80% processed within 28 days |
Youth Allowance Jobseekers | 28 days | 10 days | 9 days | 68% | >80% processed within 21 days |
Average processing time, health work types
Start of 2024 | Previous quarter for comparison Days to process (July – September 2024) | End of 2024 Days to process (October to December 2024) | % change (Comparing January – March 2024 to October to December 2024) | |
Aged Care - Customer | 51 days | 72 days | 66 days
| 29% ▲ |
Bulk Bill | 4 days | 1 days | 1 day | 75% |
Medicare Eligibility and Enrolment | 64 days | 8 days | 10 days | 84% |
Medicare Entitlement Statement | 119 days | 29 days | 27 days | 77% |
Medicare –Patient Claims | 7 days | 2 days | 2 days | 71% |
Medicare Safety Net | 14 days | 32 days | 8 days | 43% |
PBS Patient Refunds | 139 days | 47 days | 3 days
| 98% |
PBS Safety Net | 146 days | 21 days | 2 days | 99% |
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme | 6 days | 4 days | 2 days | 67% |
Calls
| Start of 2024 January to March 2024 | End of 2024 October to December 2024 | % change |
Average Speed of Answer (agency wide) | 19:08 | 14:15 | 26% |
Average Speed of Answer (Social Security and Welfare) | 28:38 | 20:21 | 29% |
Average Speed of Answer (Health Customer) | 26:13 | 11:50 | 55% |
Congestion messaging | 4,385,399 | 319,652 | 93% |