The very word ‘Centrelink’ is enough to strike fear and rage in many Australians. But while it’s very rarely associated with good news, it appears an exception to this rule is at hand. Centrelink recently introduced a new method of booking appointments, and it is reportedly working well.
Services Australia launched the new method in September with little fanfare and, it seems, with few hitches. In an article for the Nightly, financial planner Nick Bruining said the “service is proving to be a runaway success”.
While the service has reportedly contributed to faster processing times, one of its big advantages is the certainty it provides. Locking an appointment to a fixed date and time, means Centrelink customers know exactly when they will have their issues looked at, rather than be left wondering if they ever will.
In most cases appointments will be conducted by phone, with 15 minutes allocated. However, there is an option for 30-minute walk-in appointments. These may not be available as early as phone appointments but, again, they provide clients with a degree of certainty.
How can I book a Centrelink appointment?
Phone and face-to-face appointments can be booked online using one of two methods. It can be via your Centrelink online account through myGov by selecting the ‘Manage appointments’ service. Smartphone users can do so via the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, using the ‘Appointments’ service option.
Services Australia recommends a 15-minute phone appointment for single inquiries and a 30-minute face-to-face appointment if you have multiple inquiries or need to see someone in person.
Appointments can also be made the old-fashioned way, via a phone call or at a service centre. However, one imagines either or both of these methods could produce the sort of frustrations customers are seeking to avoid.
Services Australia also recommends a certain amount of preparation ahead of your Centrelink appointment. If you’ve booked a phone appointment, perhaps the most important part of that is checking your phone’s settings. Make sure it is set to allow calls from unknown numbers.
Make sure, too, that you have as much relevant information and documentation at hand. For face-to-face appointments this will include photo ID such as a driver’s licence or an Australian passport.
Measurable improvement
According to advice given to the West Australian newspaper, most 15-minute phone appointments are available within five days. Depending on local availability, some customers may even be able to book same-day appointments.
The wait time for a face-to-face walk-in appointment can be longer, up to seven days. However, as with phone appointments, local availability may result in much shorter waiting times.
Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said the new system would add to already improved Centrelink waiting times. “For the financial year to date, average processing times for an Age Pension claim are now 55 days,” he said. This was down from 93 days, he claimed.
“Concession card wait times are also down dramatically,” Mr Jongen said. “The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card was 42 days and is now down to 16 and the Low Income Health Care card has gone from 53 days down to 10.”
Services Australia has also been proudly boasting of the dramatic improvement brought about by the new booking service. It said one customer claimed booking online saved them a four-hour trip and called it a “game changer”.
Most customers complete their booking in under three minutes, Services Australia said. Perhaps most importantly of all, “99 per cent said they’d happily book online again”.
Have you used Centrelink’s new appointment booking service? How would you rate it? Let us know via the comments section below.
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