Waiting times for Services Australia calls have surged, with more than 11 million calls unanswered in the past year. 

Recent stats show family and parenting support calls to Centrelink averaged 52 minutes, up 21 minutes from last year. Employment Services callers waited 49 minutes, up from under 30 minutes. 

Medicare inquiry wait times increased from 14 to 25 minutes, and Centrelink Aged Care calls doubled to 24 minutes. Child support queries saw a four-minute increase.

New data on call and claims processing times will be released next week, expected to show improvements after 3,000 new staff were employed earlier this year.

The Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) has expressed concern about the long wait times, saying that they are “distressing” for people who cannot get through and may affect their payments. 

In May, the federal government announced a $1.8 billion investment over three years for additional staff to reduce claims waiting periods.

Services Australia General Manager Hank Jongen says there have been improvements in call times since March. 

The upcoming release of new data will reveal whether these investments have effectively reduced wait times and improved service delivery.

More details are accessible here.