The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been facing an increasing workload of inbound calls, with 3.3 million calls answered by the end of February. The average wait time for these calls was 12 minutes and 19 seconds, indicating that the ATO was on track to meet its new target but still performing worse than in previous years. The ATO has implemented strategies to better balance processing and call workloads in order to address this issue.
For calls from tax practitioners, the ATO has specific performance measures in place. By the end of October, 468,630 calls were answered, with 10,634 of those calls subsequently abandoned by the caller. However, none of the calls were blocked, and the ATO met its target of answering 90 per cent of calls from tax practitioners within two minutes. These measures help ensure that tax practitioners receive timely assistance when contacting the ATO for support.
The ATO is not the only Commonwealth agency facing criticism for long wait times. Services Australia, which includes Centrelink and Medicare, reported an average wait time of 33 minutes for the first six months of the financial year. During this period, 7.4 million calls – approximately one in six – were unable to get through and received a congestion message instead. This highlights the widespread issue of long wait times for callers trying to reach government agencies for assistance.
In response to the challenges posed by increasing call volumes, the ATO has implemented strategies to improve its handling of calls and processing workloads. By better balancing these efforts, the ATO aims to reduce wait times for callers and improve overall service delivery. These ongoing efforts demonstrate the ATO’s commitment to addressing concerns about long wait times and ensuring that taxpayers and tax practitioners receive the support they need in a timely manner.
Despite facing increasing call volumes and longer wait times, the ATO remains dedicated to meeting its targets for call answering and processing workloads. By implementing various strategies to improve efficiency and balance the demands of call and processing work, the ATO aims to enhance its service delivery and ensure that taxpayers and tax practitioners receive the assistance they require. Continued efforts to address these challenges will be crucial in maintaining the ATO’s reputation for providing reliable and timely support to those seeking assistance with their tax-related queries and concerns.
