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The Guardian - AU

National

Luke Henriques-Gomes Social affairs and inequality editor

‘Less than optimal’: Centrelink call wait times blow out amid staff shortages

Centrelink Coalition Services Australia Rebecca Skinner Labor Don Farrell Janet Rice

Woman looking at mobile phone in kitchen — The average waiting time for a call between July 2022 and 31 January 2023 across all Centrelink phone lines was 18 minutes. Photograph: Betsie Van der Meer/Getty Images

Centrelink’s call waiting times have blown out as the agency deals with a labour shortage, with Labor blaming the gutting of the agency’s workforce under the Coalition.

Senate estimates heard on Wednesday that Indue, the company that ran the cashless debit card, has been handed a $12m “limited tender” contract for the new income management card to be used in the Northern Territory.

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