Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion and thank the member for Bradfield for again bringing this important matter about the performance of Services Australia to the attention of the House. In a cost-of-living crisis, more and more Australians are turning to Services Australia. However, unfortunately, while those working at Services Australia are doing the best that they can under the stewardship of the minister, Minister Shorten, the system is struggling and, in many cases, failing Australians.

I point particularly to the processing times for claims, such as claims for the age pension and the disability support pension. These processing times continue to blow out. I'm hearing it in my electorate and many on the other side are also hearing this in their electorates. Processing times for Centrelink payments aren't getting better. People applying for the low-income card are now waiting five times longer compared to two years ago. This is a direct result of bad decisions that have been made by the Albanese Labor government since taking office and, particularly, bad decisions made by the minister in charge. For example, the current government cut a major contract with specialist call-centre operator Serco in June 2023. This then resulted in some 600 call-centre jobs being cut. The only conclusion that can be drawn from 600 jobs being cut is that waiting times will blow out as fewer staff are available to perform the work needed by more.

For months the coalition has been calling for there to be a root-and-branch review of Services Australia's operations so that we can determine the agency's underlying problems and take steps to improve its performance. This is what the minister would be doing if he were serious about this problem. A review would put politics aside and put the needs of Australians first. Given the vast number of other reviews currently being undertaken by this government, it is very surprising that it does not want a review of the very important organisation that is Services Australia.

I was here in the chamber when the member for Moreton said that the Albanese government was very proud to announce it had recruited 3,000 extra staff. What the member for Moreton did not say is that this came on the back of one of this government's first acts when it came to power, which was cutting staffing by nearly 1,000 people. So we are still behind by at least 1,000 jobs. One thing the government has also not said much about is that the funding for these new staff runs out at the end of this financial year, and there does not seem to be any plan in place to replace those staff. In those circumstances, why isn't Services Australia doing more to use technology? Why hasn't it taken the lead of the former coalition government in New South Wales and properly digitised Services Australia? But, before we even get to that point, there must be a clear diagnosis of the cause of Services Australia problems. Only then can there be a road map to fix all of the problems.

I just want to draw attention to some of the new data that's just been revealed about how long Australians in different communities across our country are waiting for a range of vital Centrelink payments to be processed. For example, in my electorate of Hughes within the Sutherland shire local government area, Australians are now waiting 75 days on average to receive the age pension. I know this because my office is now receiving far more calls than it ever has in nearly two years about this delay. It's taking over 82 days for people in the Sutherland area to receive the low-income card. This is a very grim picture of a vital government service that is not coping during a cost-of-living crisis. So communities in every corner of Australia are being plagued by these payment delays. Australians need these payments fast. They need them efficiently. This is not occurring under Services Australia at the moment.

If we turn now to the processing times for the age pension, for example, in my electorate in the Sutherland local government area, it's now taking 78 days to process an age pension application. In the Liverpool local government area, it is taking 68 days. This is simply not good enough. In a cost-of-living crisis, people are necessarily turning to Services Australia. Services Australia under this government and under this minister is so far failing to deliver. Australians deserve better.

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