Labor must be honest about Centrelink and Medicare payment times

The Albanese Labor Government must be transparent with Australians and detail how long it is taking for Centrelink and Medicare payments to be processed, with new data revealing Service Centres across the country will experience high customer demand this financial year.

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy Paul Fletcher said the Albanese Labor Government has routinely refused to release the processing data, despite repeated calls from the Opposition to do so.

“Australians are facing a cost of living crisis and families rely on these vital payments to make ends meet. They deserve to know how long it takes from applying for a payment to receiving the money in their bank account,” Mr Fletcher said.

“Government Services Minister Bill Shorten would rather avoid scrutiny and hide than sort this mess out. By releasing the figures, including by electorate, the government could identify anomalies and implement bespoke solutions.

“The Coalition will be using Senate Estimates today to obtain this important information.”

Under Bill Shorten, Services Australia is lurching from one crisis to the next and continually focuses on itself rather than customers, by prioritising union-led strikes, axing jobs and long wait times. Other examples of the agency’s failures include:

• Centrelink call wait times have blown out, with the average time taken to connect to the Employment Services line at over 29 minutes;
• According to the Budget papers, funding for Technology and Transformation has been cut by more than $250 million;
• Last month, a top Services Australia boss publicly conceded that the agency was “understaffed in our service delivery”;
• Average staffing levels at the agency have been cut, from 28,560 in 2020-2023 to 26,692 in 2023-2024;
• Bill Shorten has been MIA on vital reforms to digital ID and he has failed to respond to the MyGov User Audit, which was handed to him in January.

“New data indicates that Services Centres will face high customer demand this financial year. The question Australians deserve to have answered is whether Services Australia is up to the task,” Mr Fletcher said.

“The public deserves to know what the actual demand was last financial year. It’s no good just knowing the forecast demand.”

The following data are examples of the 2023-2024 financial year face to face forecast as at 21 June 2023.