Of course,my preference would be that Centrelink answered the phone,but my expectations have been whittled down over the past few weeks. Today alone,I have attempted to call 17 times using seven phone numbers. This is the first time I have successfully found myself on hold. I cheer silently at being slotted into a line,as I’m told the wait will be a minimum of an hour-and-a-half.
For the most part,every time I repeat this process,a cheery automated voice will ask me for my customer reference number before informing me that “we all deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect” and asking whether I’ll agree to complete a quick questionnaire at the end of the call (I begrudgingly agree with the superstitious hope it might push me ahead in the queue). Then the voice brightly alerts me that all their operators are busy,before promptly ending the call with a chirpy,“Goodbye!” The line goes dead before I can tell the robot how I really feel,courtesy and respect be damned.
When I call back,the robot has remembered my number,and this time,she is more curt in her message. “We know you have been trying to reach us,” she says before the line cuts out entirely.
My experience is not unique. On Reddit,there is an entire thread where people,also frustrated and desperate for support,share keywords to use when the robot asks what you are calling about that might improve your chances of getting put through to an operator.
During a February Senate estimates hearing,Services Australia,which oversees Centrelink,revealed that between July 1,2022,and January 31,2023,two-thirds of calls to Centrelink went unanswered.
Of the 25 million calls made during this time,only 8.35 million were answered,and an executive for Services Australia confirmed the majority ended without the caller speaking to an actual human.
My bills are late and things that once were necessary are being put on hold. My body is twisted by the pressure and the uncertainty,by the shame and self-loathing. I can feel the tension in my ribcage,in the hollow right beneath my breast.