New performance data from Services Australia shows the Federal Labor 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%.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for the NDIS and Government Services, Bill Shorten:
“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.
Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid MP:
“I welcome the news that recent data is demonstrating that our investments in Services Australia are easing processing times for several payments, and that we have reduced the outstanding backlog of claims left behind by the previous Liberal government.
“Our government will continue to work hard each and every day to deliver for Australia, and our Central Coast community”, Dr Reid said.
The quarterly data reports can be found at Services Australia - Service Delivery quarterly operational data - Dataset - data.gov.au
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