Media Release

Centrelink — call centre supplementation

09 May 2006

The Australian Government has committed to address the long waiting times people face in phoning Centrelink's call centres, Minister for Human Services, Joe Hockey announced today.

"The demand on Centrelink call centres has increased on average by 12 per cent every year over the past four years, with approximately 22 million calls answered each year .

"Unfortunately this has meant that customers have sometimes been unable to get through to an operator. To address this problem, the Australian Government is committing additional funding of $115 million over two years, said Minister Hockey.

"The extra funding is expected to result in more callers getting through to the call centres, particularly during peak periods, and improving the speed with which calls are answered.

"Part of the funding will also go to enhancing phone voice-recognition services. This automated self service is more convenient for customers, as they can access it outside of normal business hours.

"Customers can already access a range of phone voice recognition services, including updating family income estimates, applying for an advance of Family Tax Benefit, requesting a replacement concession card and asking for a Statement to be posted to them .

"By enhancing the technology, this will boost the number of services people can access over the phone even further. New services planned include checking accommodation details, an interpreter booking service and finding office locations.

"By the end of 2007-08, 25 per cent more customers are expected to use this option to access Centrelink services.