2017-06-01
The number of calls to Centrelink that hit a busy signal has ballooned out to 42 million from start of financial year to April 30, up from 29 million for 2015-16.
“42 million busy signals. This is an astronomical number representing Australians trying to access supports, adjust their payments, seek information or update their earnings. That is a lot of frustrated people who may be exasperated and struggling.
“We have a system that is so broken that every year the busy signal wait times just climb and climb. Last year the blocked calls were nearly 29 million, the year before the number was 22 million. When is this exponential increase going to stop?
“I'm not convinced that the Government's proposed piloting of Government service provider run call centres will solve this issue.
“I will continue to ask the Government about this until it is resolved and busy signals begin to drop”.