Fewer busy signals, but Centrelink callers are waiting longer


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The number of busy signals on Centrelink calls has dropped in the past 12 months, but those who get through are waiting longer to have their calls answered.


The Department of Human Services told Senate estimates on Thursday that between July 1 last year and March 31 this year, 36.3 million calls had been met with a busy signal, down from 37.4 million calls in the same time period 12 months earlier.


The number of calls to Centrelink that faced a busy signal has dropped.

The number of calls to Centrelink that faced a busy signal has dropped.


Photo: Fairfax Media

Departmental secretary Renee Leon told senators that the number of busy signals had dropped significantly in the 2018 calendar year. Between October 2016 and March 2017, Centrelink recorded 28.7 million busy signals, while between October 2017 and March 2018, that number was down to 18.1 million.


“We don’t consider that mission accomplished, obviously we are going to continue to drive that down,” Ms Leon said. The department didn’t have a target for reducing the number of busy signals, and wouldn’t commit to introducing one, the committee heard.


The committee also heard that the average waiting time on calls had increased between March 2017 and March this year, from 15 minutes and 44 seconds up to 15 minutes and 56 seconds.

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