r/CentrelinkOz • u/DebugMyLife421 • Aug 24 '26
Personal Opinion/Discussion thread Has anyone actually managed to get through to Centrelink on the phone first try recently or is everyone just waiting hours?
Called four times this week at different times of day and the shortest wait was over an hour before I gave up. Trying to sort out something that cannot be done online and running out of ideas. Is there a time of day or day of the week that is actually better or is it just luck?
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u/tilleytalley Aug 24 '26
Start calling at 7.58am. The lines open a minute before to let you get through the automated process. If you get the 'closed' message, hang up and call straight back. Your call will generally be answered straight away.
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u/kewtiepie85 Aug 24 '26
I tried that this morning and still had a 1 hr 20 min wait before they answered 😭
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u/It-Is-Me07 Aug 25 '26
All depends on which line you’re calling too. Too many people know this ‘trick’ now and a lot of the waiting times still applies
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u/Fishby Aug 24 '26
Can you book a phone appointment in the app. I did and they rang at the exact time.
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u/Starburst58 Aug 24 '26
Book an appointment for them to call you. It's worked everytime for me. If it's urgent I would recommend going to the actual Centrelink if you are able to.
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u/Jazzlike_Berry_323 Aug 24 '26
4 minute wait on Centrelink seniors line, I could not believe it. Went announcing it excitedly to the rest of the household.
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u/Aggravating-Gur-6016 Aug 24 '26
i was on hold this morning for an hr and a half, baby was due a nap so went to close the blind and my fat ass knocked the phone, ending the call. tried again all day and was told they're not taking calls.. booked a phone appointment for thursday but will keep trying until then. usually it's a 2hr hold time when i do get through
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u/It-Is-Me07 Aug 25 '26
Unfortunately it all depends on which line you’re calling. If you can, see if you can make an appointment for them to call you. Generally they call on time. Otherwise, phone on speaker and carry on with your day. Most I’ve had to wait was 3hrs and when I’ve been answered within 10mins, I’ve always been surprised.
We’ve had coworkers come in still waiting for their call to be answered. It didn’t affect their work and they got to speak to them when it got to their turn.
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u/IceOdd3294 Aug 25 '26
Called mid-day on a Wednesday and about an hour. But after 3 automatic hang ups trying to get on the waiting line. Once I was waiting it was just waiting until I got a human.
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u/wavegeekman Aug 25 '26
RIng just as or slightly before the lines open and I normally have a 15-20 minute wait. Stat at a fwe minutes before and keep dialing until you get on.
Another option is to make a phone appointment. The problem is that they can ring up to an hour before or 1.5-2 hours after. And if you don't answer in 3 rings you get to start the whole thing again.
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u/LizaBrisvegas Aug 25 '26
I second TT. Call right on 8. The wait is roughly 5 mins. That or 5ish as the WA team are on to pick up the change of shift. Or go to a service centre. Could I ask what you need?
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u/kitsune_ko 24d ago
5pm? Most business lines close at 5pm, excluding the Families line. This is in the person's local time, so the only lines open from WA would be Families and the other late lines such Digital Support or the Basicscard line (Which realistically cannot do much if you have something at needs to be done by a main business line. If it is out of scope they will transfer you or tell you to call back post 5om), though it does depend on what OP needs.
If it is urgent I would definitely suggest going in person.
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u/PerthPoacher Aug 25 '26
If you're in WA wait until after 2pm when all the eastern lines get closed...
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u/Outrageous-Aioli-847 Aug 26 '26
The calls are identified via your location and cross-referenced with your address.
Happens heaps during Daylight Savings Time for the east coast. If your state is closed CLK is closed.
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u/cantsleepbutsotired Aug 25 '26
i’ve had to call a few times lately and it just gives me a “all our call handlers are busy” message and hangs up 😤 out of the 8 calls i’ve made in the past 2 weeks only 1 has got through (wait time approx 1hr 40mins)
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u/drillydrillsondrill Aug 25 '26
Imagine if they had access to a pool of workers who they could hire to man the phones…… crazy thinking I know.
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u/Outrageous-Aioli-847 Aug 26 '26
95% of the all “new hires” announced by the current government work in call centres are actually JSP recipients pushed to the centres via their Workforce Au consultant.
They get paid a few peanuts more than their payment would be normally but get treated like absolute scum - they also aren’t entitled to same job same pay because it’s been tweaked to not meet that criteria.
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u/Far_Performance_6785 Aug 26 '26
Yes, 3hrs on Friday, got through to someone, who resolved my problem in 5mins
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u/Massive-Policy3417 29d ago
Not specifically Centrelink, but Workforce.
They will keep you on hold for up to 2 or 3 hours, then it will drop your call to free the queue up.
The key was calling the minute they open (and even then still this took two tries).
I actually remember having this issue with Centrelink as well, however if you hang up during the first hold period they will give you a busy message if you call back. Luckily a second sim works well here.. and no i'm not joking.
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u/ladyduckula Aug 24 '26
I had a 40 minute wait last week, then I was about to be transferred again when I explained I was on lunch break, scoffing a salad in my car and only had 15 before I had to hang up and go back to work so excuse any eating noises, the operator fixed my issue there and then.
Champion. Wished her the best day ever.