Economic conditions have led to a surge in demand for Centrelink while the service is short by more than 500 staff, officials have told a parliamentary hearing.
Centrelink is facing large staff shortages, with a recruitment drive under way in order to keep up with demand.Some 25 million calls were made to Centrelink over six months. Five million received congestion messages.
Between July 2022 and the end of January this year, the average waiting time for Centrelink calls was just over 18 minutes, up from about 14 minutes during 2021/22. Trade Minister Don Farrell told the hearing the government was concerned about staffing levels within Services Australia, following cuts from the previous government.
Senator Farrell hit out at the previous government for reducing staffing numbers at Centrelink, which fell by more than 3,500 between 2016 and 2020."It is little surprise when you reduce the workforce as the former government chose to do and requirements increase at the same time, extreme pressure on telephony will occur," he said.TJ called an employment service provider for advice.
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