MEDIA RELEASE - CUSTOMER SERVICE DETERIORATES FURTHER UNDER LABOR

PAUL FLETCHER MP

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy

Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts

Manager of Opposition Business in the House

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday, 12 December 2024

Satisfaction with government services has dropped under the Albanese Labor Government, a new report shows. 

According to the latest Trust in Australian public services 2024 Annual Report, produced by the Australian Public Service Commission, satisfaction with government services used has fallen to 68 per cent. In 2022, under the Coalition, the satisfaction result was 73 per cent. 

The annual Survey collected over 11,000 responses from July 2023 to June 2024 and offers a whole-of-Australian Public Service view of service experience.

In December, the government established a baseline result of 72 per cent satisfaction with government services under the Data and Digital Government Strategy’s Metrics Framework.

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy Paul Fletcher said Australians were fed up with Labor’s repeated customer service fails.

“These results, while disappointing, are hardly surprising given Katy Gallagher and Bill Shorten’s complete inability to get on top of their brief and deliver better services for Australia,” Mr Fletcher said.

“It’s been a dismal year for Katy Gallagher who has overseen Australia going backwards on the United Nations’ E-Government Survey and being rolled by her Cabinet colleagues who have decided to thumb their nose at the Digital Transformation Agency’s mandate.

“Meanwhile, Bill Shorten is jumping ship in February having trashed Services Australia by creating a claims backlog of over 1.35 million claims, triggering a $1.8 billion splurge of taxpayers’ money on more Canberra bureaucrats.

“According to Services Australia’s 2023-24 Annual Report, the welfare agency failed to meet the majority of its own key performance indicators, including ‘customer satisfaction’, ‘customers served within 15 minutes’ and ‘work processed within timeliness standards’. 

“These dismal satisfaction results mean that the Government has already failed to meet its own baseline metric it established under the so-called Data and Digital Strategy.

“The Opposition has already outlined our vison for seamless, simple and safe government services and has for months been calling on the government to launch a root-and-branch review into Services Australia.”