Centrelink payments could be made sooner than expected, as the government agency works to clear a backlog of claims. In December 2023, there were 1.1 million outstanding claims, which peaked at 1.35 million. However, the backlog has since been reduced by almost 40%, thanks to the recruitment of over 3000 new staff.
Services Australia, the agency responsible for Centrelink and Medicare, has been working to reduce the backlog as quickly as possible. In just 10 weeks, over 500,000 claims have been processed and removed from the overall backlog. This has been achieved through a combination of mass recruitment and a focus on improving efficiency.
Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten has acknowledged the frustration of people waiting for payments, but expressed optimism about the progress being made. He said, “We absolutely acknowledge the frustration of people waiting for payments, but for the first time in a long time, we are headed in the right direction.”
The federal government has provided over $200 million in funding to hire extra staff to help deal with the increasing number of claims. The chief executive of Services Australia, David Hazlehurst, expects the number of outstanding claims to be between 400,000 and 500,000 by April.
As the new staff gain experience and skills, Australians will continue to see improvements in processing times. The reduction in outstanding claims will also help bring down call wait times, as fewer people will be calling to check on the status of their claims.
Services Australia has seen a significant decrease in claims since the staff appointments. Medicare online account claims have decreased by 78%, while claims on Commonwealth seniors health cards have declined by 59%. This demonstrates the positive impact that the new staff is having on the backlog.
