Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

Because half of Australians are now going to our service centres—because they can access digital and telephony channels, there is now the opportunity for our service delivery personnel to spend more time with more complex service centre service delivery cases. Because the vast majority of Australians who are updating income, updating assets, updating the work they've done can do it online, it means more needy Australians and Australians with complex cases are now able to have more time spent with them in service delivery. The numbers show that we are now providing Australians with more complex cases a higher level of service delivery at our shopfronts.

What is interesting is the number of staff in our service delivery is still 300 over ASL. There are still 325 service centres. There's still the same number of staff there. They're providing a greater level of care for complex cases to Australians and, when you compare that to the 4,800 staff cuts from those opposite and the 256 service centres closed, the contrast between service delivery and the dignity with which Australians have been served during this pandemic compared to those opposite in the GFC could not be starker.

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