Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

In the time that I have available, I would like to briefly discuss the things which Centrelink particularly and, more broadly, my department are managing, and also the projects which we have underway to improve the operations. As you would be aware, Centrelink is often under scrutiny, particularly by the Fairfax press, TheGuardian and, indeed, on a very regular basis by the Labor Party, and I think very unfairly in many cases. I would like to take the chamber and, through this chamber, the parliament through exactly some of the work that it does—the very good work that it and its 35,000 staff do on a daily basis.

First of all, let me give you the context. The Department of Human Services, apart from Defence, is the largest department. There are about 35,000 staff. It is equivalent to the size of Westpac in its size and in the processes that it operates, and the amount of money which it distributes. When you look at the work that it does on a daily basis, it is actually quite extraordinary. Each year, the organisation manages about 212 million transactions. Each fortnight, five million Australians receive a payment to support them with their day-to-day living costs. They get that payment each fortnight, they get it accurately and they get it on time. Those people are beneficiaries of that payment to help with their food, their clothing, their rents and other expenses. The department does that exceptionally well. I think we need to bear that in context.

The department sees 20 million people through its doors each and every year. By and large, the people who go to the Centrelink or the Centrelink and Medicare service centres get good treatment. They wait on average about 10 minutes before they get to see someone. But then they see a professional person who deals with their issues appropriately and, by and large, deals with their issues well and on time. You get people who appreciate the professionalism of those Centrelink officers. The department handles 56 million calls each and every year—again, an extraordinary number. Each year, that number increases in terms of how many calls it has to take.

Of course, as members would know, when an emergency occurs, such as recent floods which have occurred in New South Wales and Queensland, the department is exceptionally good at immediately putting its people into operation and ensuring that there are emergency relief payments available for people. And it does that within days—under the radar, frequently, without people being aware of it. It does that professionally without missing a beat, so the people who are in need get those payments. These are the types of things that sometimes I do not think the Labor Party and some members of the Fairfax press or The Guardian fully appreciate—in terms of all of the very good work which goes on.

Ms Burney interjecting—

I know that the member for Barton is interjecting there. She is a relatively new member. I think that it would be nice from time to time that she would recognise the good work which the Centrelink officers do.

Ms Burney interjecting—

At the moment, on top of the work which is already done, we have a huge investment in IT projects. This means that our welfare payment system is going to be upgraded in the years ahead, so we will have a much more seamless interaction. We already do an enormous amount in the digital space. There is still a lot more work to do, but about 130 million out of those 212 million transactions are already done digitally. People do not have to call the call centres and do not have to go to a Centrelink office. They can do all of their business online. We are improving those digital interfaces on a very regular basis. When you look at the Medicare payment system, which we also operate within the Department of Human Services, 97 per cent of transactions are now all done digitally. People know that they can go to the GP, see the GP and swipe their card, and they know they do not need to do anything else in 97 per cent of occasions. We hope that number continues to increase so that people do not have to take a paper based claim anywhere.

In the budget, we are putting 250 more people towards answering phones so that those call wait times can be lower. We know that, for many people, call wait times are too long, and we are working hard to reduce those call wait times, including investing in the technology so that people never have to call in the first place. It is a good record for Centrelink, and I would like the Labor Party to actually acknowledge that from time to time. (Time expired)

See this speech in context