A peak disability services group has urged Centrelink to reduce its call wait times with technology used in the private sector, saying lengthy waits were distressing people with disabilities.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australian Federation of Disability Organisations chief executive Ross Joyce said a simple call-back option for people facing long waits on the phone would improve the agency's services and take pressure off its staff.
After figures emerged showing that average wait times for Centrelink customers calling its disability, sickness or carers benefits lines had grown by more than three minutes, to 28 minutes and 17 seconds, Mr Joyce said the government should move quickly to reverse the increase.
"If I'm a person with disabilities and reading that, I'm thinking, 'Why are we different?'" he said.
"Why should we be different, we should have the same service regime as everyone else. It's about being inclusive."
Services letting customers opt to hold their place in the queue, and receive a call back instead of waiting, were used in the private sector and would be a relatively quick solution for Centrelink, Mr Joyce said.
"We've got to try and harness technology to resolve those issues."
Call wait times for people asking Centrelink about social security and welfare services were 15 minutes and 44 seconds on average, compared to 15 minutes and 9 seconds in 2015-16 but less than the department's 16-minute target.
The average call wait time for people accessing unemployment benefits grew from 25 minutes and 33 seconds to 30 minutes and 21 seconds last year.
Customers accessing youth or student benefits waited on average 31 minutes and 15 seconds in 2016-17, more than five minutes longer compared with the previous year.
In an unprecedented move, the Department of Human Services, which oversees Centrelink, announced last year 250 Serco staff would take calls about payments in a three-year contract costing the government $51.7 million.
Human Services spokesman Hank Jongen said the department handled an "enormous number of calls", reaching 52 million last year, and had grown its call centre with 250 full-time equivalent roles.
"Through our major transformation program we're making it easier for people to complete most of their interactions with the department online without having to call," he said.
More than 55 million calls from welfare recipients met an engaged signal last year, nearly double from 29 million calls in 2015-16.
