Media Release

19 May 2009

Centrelink launches Speakfreely™ for faster staff IT support

A new voice technology system to speed up internal telephone inquiries is adding to Centrelink’s efficiency, the Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig, said today.

Speakfreely™ uses voice technology for the internal IT Helpdesk phone system.

Centrelink rolled out the system to its 27,000 employees on 11 May, cutting the time they need to spend calling the Centrelink IT Helpdesk for assistance.

“The extended use of Speakfreely™ will save valuable time for Centrelink staff allowing them to spend more time working with customers,” Senator Ludwig said.

“Speakfreely™ gets you where you want to go much faster, because you say where you want to go instead of just waiting in a queue to listen to options.”

“The time and cost-saving benefits for customers and Centrelink employees from this system change are significant.”

“I’ve seen at Centrelink offices around Australia, the difficult and challenging work front-line staff perform. Initiatives such as this are an important part of supporting staff on the front line by making it easier for them to get the job done.”

“Under the new system, when one of Centrelink’s 27,000 employees has an IT support query, they say what it is and the system takes them through to the best area for help.”

The move builds on the same technology being used to support the 1.8 million families interacting with Centrelink to claim family payments.

These customers – whose privacy and security are protected by personal PINs – can move swiftly past telephone queues by simply saying what they want.

“This open speech technology means both families and employees can get where they need to go more quickly and easily,” Senator Ludwig said.

“The Families Assistance Line uses Speakfreely™ and takes more than 120,000 calls per week,” Senator Ludwig said.

“In every one of these calls a customer now takes less time to access services than they used to – and many customers don’t even need to speak to a Centrelink employee.”

The Speakfreely™ system - built by Nuance - shows the potential of intuitive technologies to improve access to government services.

Media Contact

Joe Scavo — 0413 800 757 or (02) 6277 7200.