ABC reporter claims Centrelink is ‘refusing to take any calls’ due to staffing crisis

An Aussie woman has revealed Centrelink is “refusing to take any calls”, with struggling families waiting for payments left in the lurch.

An Aussie mum attempting to claim the childcare subsidy has spoken out about a frustrating Centrelink problem impacting struggling families across the nation.

Lia Harris, an ABC reporter, took to Twitter this week to share her experience while trying to call the government service.

“I know everyone has been complaining about Centrelink but I didn’t realise until today they were just straight up refusing to take any calls because they don’t have the staff,” she tweeted. Their families line just says, ‘No one is available to take your call. Goodbye’ and hangs up.”

In a separate tweet, Ms Harris said many families would be affected by the debacle.

Centrelink is battling a staff shortage. Picture: Brenton Edwards/NCA NewsWire

“Too bad for all the struggling families out there relying on their payments and subsidies schemes,” she posted, and went on to reveal that she had “finally” managed to have her issue resolved by a “brilliant and helpful” employee after a lengthy delay.

The tweet attracted a rush of responses, with one man pointing out that while it was a serious issue, it was also one that was “happening across the entire economy” in all sectors.

Ms Harris agreed staff shortages were widespread, but pointed out that Centrelink “is a government service“ and “should be functional enough for people who need it to be able access it”.

In response to Ms Harris’ post, one woman described the situation as an “absolute crime”, and added that the RoboDebt scandal was also “criminal abuse of vulnerable Australians”.

ABC reporter Lia Harris exposed the latest Centrelink crisis. Picture: Twitter

RoboDebt was an automated welfare recovery scheme using income averages which unlawfully took $720 million from 381,000 Australians.

The practice was ruled unlawful by the Federal Court in 2019.

A royal commission into the scheme is currently investigating how Australians’ annual tax information was used to determine average fortnightly earnings and automatically establish welfare debts.

Ms Harris’ claims come months after The Guardian revealed Services Australia was shaking up its call centre operations, “slashing the work it sends to labour hire firms”.

The publication revealed in June 2022 that the agency had told its “service delivery partners” it was reducing the “workload” sent to them by about 30 per cent.

At the time, it was predicted that the change would cause job losses and cause delays and lengthy waiting times for Centrelink clients.

According to The Canberra Times, the average wait time for Services Australia’s phone lines is 12 minutes and 24 seconds – however, it can often blow out far longer, with many Aussies reporting waiting for hours for an employee to take their call.

A Services Australia spokesperson apologised for the delays, telling news.com.au there had been a recent spike in demand for support from the call centre.

“We are experiencing a surge in calls at the moment, and we’re sorry to hear people are having trouble reaching us,” the spokesperson said.

“Services Australia has ended the practice of blocking calls during customer surges and we encourage anyone who needs to speak with us to try again – people are getting through, and our staff are working hard to answer all calls.”

The spokesperson said Services Australia was investing in other options to provide greater flexibility for clients.

“We also know people want options when it comes to doing their business with us, and that’s why we’re also investing in face-to-face and digital support,” they continued.

“For people who are interested in doing more online when and where it suits them, we now have digital coaches who can provide in-person support to increase confidence using our online services.”