A member recently asked us how long it is reasonable to wait for a response from Centrelink. That’s not an easy question to answer. The short answer is, ‘it depends’. The longer answer is equally complicated, as it still depends on many different aspects of your question or application.
Talking about this with Steven Sadler from the Retirement Essentials Customer Services Team, we learned so much useful information. So we decided that it was best to share his insights and tips as they will help fast-track answers for many Retirement Essentials members.
Currently there are quite long backlogs with Centrelink applications. Centrelink say call wait times have increased from 14 minutes to 20 minutes this year as well. Many people are experiencing much longer than this. Delays have been confirmed by Centrelink General Manager Hank Jongen, who referred to lower post-pandemic staffing levels as one of the reasons.
And then there is the processing time line. Here’s what Steven had to say about these delays:
‘A year ago we were seeing Age Pension claims getting reviewed in 4-6 weeks if there was no need for it to be reviewed by a Complex Assessment Officer (CAO). If it did need to go to aCAO, then it was 6-8 weeks. Commonwealth Seniors Health Card claims were 2-4 weeks. These timeframes have now all doubled this year. We have many customers with Age Pension claims that do not require an officer, but 13 weeks since lodging are still yet to be reviewed. We are escalating them to Centrelink’s complaints team due to timeliness’
Steven’s Handy hint:
Centrelink’s rule is that an application must pass 13 weeks with no action from them before it can be escalated.
Can Retirement Essentials help with blockages?
‘We try to pre-empt problems. The idea of the service we offer is that the claim gets approved upon the first review. So we work hard to clarify your situation and to ensure that all forms are filled in correctly. We then review your supporting documents to make sure they meet the necessary requirements, and hope that the claim is approved first go.
Retirement Essentials can’t promise Centrelink will fast track a claim but an Age Pension (if you are age eligible) is back paid to the date of submission of application.’
Steven’s Handy hint:
Get your application in promptly and accurately.
What are the most common blocks?
Sometimes there are unpredictable curveballs. The most common is when Centrelink has old data on file that contradicts what has been declared in the new claim. The value our team adds is in how we work with you to identify what Centrelink really needs and that what you provide will be accepted.’
Steven’s Handy hint:
Attention to detail on any data shared, at any time, is imperative.
Any other likely hurdles?
‘ common mistakes that could cause you delays include: answering questions incorrectly,poor supporting documents and need for ID verification.
Another common issue we encounter is that people declare that they were born in another country but then when we ask them if they have ever lived in another country they say no. Centrelink will absolutely pick up on this and delay your claim. They will (by letter) then ask you which countries you have lived in from the day you were born up until today’s date.
Supporting document issues include people giving transaction histories and/or screenshots of the internet banking homepage. These are not formal statements and will be rejected. We often have a similar issue with superannuation statements, people logon and take a screenshot rather than get the formal document.
Steven’s Handy hint:
There is nowhere online you can check this yourself, you have to ask Centrelink. If yes, there’s nothing to worry about. But if no you will need to collate your documents and visit your local branch to get it sorted.
What’s the cost of these types of errors?
‘The cost of these errors in terms of delays is HUGE. You can lodge your claim, wait eight weeks for it to be reviewed and then the assessor finds one or more of the above issues. Now you wait another 1-2 weeks for the letter notifying you of the problem to arrive in the mail. Then you need say one more week to get back to Centrelink with what they need. Now you have to wait another eight weeks for it to be reviewed again (they don’t keep your claim off to the side, it goes back to the bottom). So that silly, honest mistake that you made has now caused your claim to take 18-20 weeks to be approved.’
Steven’s Handy hint:
It’s best to get it right the first time before lodging! Check your submission if you are unsure.
What do you do if your claim is declined?
‘If your claim is declined because you failed to supply supporting documents, then you have 13 weeks to collate and supply them to Centrelink to have the declined outcome overturned. Having said this you MUST provide ALL of the required documents in one go. Centrelink have already asked you for these documents, if you give them one and not another they will not say “thank you, here’s another 13 weeks to get the other one” they will decline your claim as you have still failed to deliver what was asked. Should either the 13 weeks expire or you only provide some documents and not all, then your claim is completed and the only option is to lodge a new one.’
And most importantly …
…know the likely outcome before you apply
Check your entitlements using our free Age Pension Entitlements Calculator before you start your application. This gives you an accurate estimate of your likely Centrelink benefits.
Knowing what you should be getting puts you in a much more powerful position throughout the application process and will encourage you to persevere if things take a long time. If you are unsure of any aspect of your entitlements, make sure to get this clarified before you start.
Need further support with an application? Retirement Essentials Maximising your entitlements consultations can help answer all your questions and assist to get your benefits as quickly as possible.
How did you go?
Have you experience longer delays in your dealings with Centrelink?
How have you handled this?
Did you manage to resolve things to your satisfaction?
Are there any other sticking points we didn’t cover?
Thank you for this. I had for months been updating my income & assets online at myGov but it now says “you submitted an update that has not been applied yet. You cannot make another update until this has been completed.” My last update online was months ago. I went to CL yesterday and now have a meeting with a FIS officer which means all the paperwork you’ve just mentioned but I still don’t understand why they blocked my access. Do you have any inkling? ?
Hi Ruth, thank you for sharing your situation and I’m sorry to hear you’ve hit a roadblock. It is possible that there was an update that was not initiated by yourself which has raised a concern with Centrelink. For example super funds do update Centrelink at this time of year with your latest balance, if that update showed a significant increase/decrease then Centrelink may want to know more about it. It is difficult to say though given there are so many factors that go into calculating your Age Pension.
I need to update my assets quite regularly (I operate a small business but receive a part pension) and nearly always hit the “you submitted an update that has not been applied yet. You cannot make another update until this has been completed” hurdle. I’m currently awaiting for a July update to be resolved. I usually take a screenshot when I get that message, so that I can prove (if necessary) that I attempted an update.
I did not realise I was eligible at 66.5 yrs of age I thought it was 67. We went into Centrelink to update my husband’s details as we had moved and the person we saw told me I had been eligible some months earlier and I should get my application in asap. So I lodged all claim and all the documentation was supplied by late July. I am still waiting for my claim to be looked at. I phoned last week and spent an hour and 25 minutes on hold before the call was answered – they advised that they are inundated with claims due to a cost of living crisis and could not even give me an eta on when I could expect my claim to be processed. My husband asked about his ‘review’ which was necessary because we had been in NZ for 2 yrs and now returned – again they could not give any timeframes yet we’ve been told by NZ that his portion of his pension which is paid by NZ (roughly half) will be suspended on 4 Jan 24 if NZ has not received some documentation they require from Centrelink Australia! What a shambles Centrelink is in – and post pandemic staff shortages what the heck is this???
On 17/5/23 (19 weeks ago) I lodged my pension application after consulting a financial advisor, as my planned retirement income is now less than our living costs. I was a registered nurse with 50 years experience before I retired this at 70years.
I am becoming alarmed at the lack of response from CentreLink (other than the automated SMS every 10 days saying“We are still working on your claim. Claims can take longer to process if they are complex or submitted during busy times. Do not reply by SMS”).
I have tried phoning only to be told that all the staff are busy and redirected to their web page support before the call is ended.
Online I can only confirm that all the different parts of my application have been submitted and a history of the SMS messages that they have sent.
There is no opportunity to for email and they provide the phone number which referred me to their web page.
There is a mailing address so I guess I’ll now have to try that.
Do you know of any way to find out if my application has been “escalated” after the 13 weeks, or is my application just lost in their red tape?
Do you know how I can speed things up as I am becoming increasingly concerned at the drain on my dwindling savings.
Thank you for any help/advice that you may be able to provide.
Hi Simon, thank you for sharing your experience and I am sorry to hear it has not been pleasant. Centrelink will not automatically escalate your claim at the 13 week mark, you need to contact their complaints line on 1800 132 468 to request it. Unfortunately we are all in the same boat regarding not being able to get through to Centrelink because they stop taking calls, the best advice we can give is to call first thing in the morning at 8am when the lines open.
They are only processing 4th august application that one week ago mine been I since 21st august no completion date.
I would like more info on the white paper for age pension
It is not just about errors in submission… I submitted my Asset Update … I went o seas; returned and went to update again… still being processed….still blocked month later… in all I waited 5.5 months . I went to C Link… they said it had just not been picked up by the team… o load. Hmmm. THATS JUST REFLECTING THE EFFICIENCIES OF C LINK. But, the officer was helpful and reprocessed everything. Lesson… just go in to the offices, make an appointment, get them to put in the data.
hello, i was advised by one of your team to get the ATO non lodgement form approval before submitting to CL. that was over 3 months ago and I have not had any response from the ATO. is this a standard waiting time now for this department as well? I cant submit my request for the CSHC without the ATO form, so I am stuck. Any suggestions to get this ATO form? thankyou and appreciate everything RE does to assist older people.
Hi Anne, thanks for reaching out! You can call the ATO directly on 13 28 65 or some customers have been able to complete their Non-Lodgement Advice online via The ATO’s website. You can lodge your claim without the document to get the ball rolling and avoid further delays.
We Got our accountant to supply this information and it was accepted by CL. We are still waitting for the reply from the ATO months after getting our Seniors Commonwealth Card.
Do you help with filling out forms for claiming aged pension as I know I could not do this. Thank you
Hi Denise, thanks for seeking our assistance, we’ll be happy to help! We can help you with preparing your claim, lodging it and then liaising with Centrelink to get it approved. I will send you an email with further details.
I must be one of the lucky ones application for pension went smoothly waited couple of weeks did updates all good BUT ATTENTION TO DETAIL SO IMPORTANT and being pleasant and polite
that is a load of lies that Centrelink has stated I spent 4 days trying to contact them Waiting over an hour on the phone an then being cut off then after awhile your number is just not answered when I managed to speak to someone I was cut off again 10mths of waiting for my marital status to be changed eev after providing all the details is just an insult to any pensioner. They don’t reply to emails ,or letters nor do they do.anything in regards to posting on your Centrelink. They are just a human form of robot debt If we did our jobs as Centrelink does theirs we wouldn’t have jobs
Involve your MP, you’ll be amazed.
Australia is a developed industrial country and has a very high standard of living. Excesses are thus common as are freedoms not enjoyed in poor countries . Yet, elderly or sick people now have to wait on a phone for forty minutes or an hour just to get a real person to discuss complex issues. That is unacceptable and insulting to us who worked for nearly forty years and paid hundreds of thousands in taxes to feel like beggars in a third world country. Something radical and fundamental needs to change . Surely modern technology can easily handle this?
Centrelink sent me a notice that claimed my annual income was $20,000. But it was actually only $15,000 and on that basis I submitted a non lodgement form on the ATO website. I sent Centrelink letters twice backgrounding the correct amount yet they have now sent me a notice that again claims my annual income is $20,000 (which I believe requires a tax return). Will the ATO believe me or Centrelink? What can I do to get through to Centrelink?
Hi Mira, thank you for sharing your situation. The ATO will assess you separately to Centrelink so Centrelink’s delay in actioning your documents will not impact the ATO. IN order to chase Centrelink up the best thing to do is call them on 132 300 at 8am when their lines open.
I advised a modest change to the cash balance component of our Assets and Revenue in April via MyGov. It has yet to be processed. It would take a minute to process. Has it disappeared down some black hole maybe?
My financial adviser sent updated information to Centrelink by letter in May. It has yet to be processed. That is four months!
We plan to make an appointment and visit the agency’s office. Past experience suggests that is the option most likely to get some action.
I called Centrelink last week to correct an error in their record showing that I had additional income coming in. I was on hold for one hour fifteen minutes before an officer came on. I spoke to two officers explaining the error. After reading all the letters above I suppose I have to call again in a month or so to confirm that the error has been rectified.
I take this opportunity to thank you Retirement Essentials for all your valuable information and marvellous work you do. Keep up the good work.
Hi, hoping you can advise. My husband and I submitted our applications for the CSHC (for him) and part pension for me on 3/7/23. We still haven’t received any advice. Do we lodge a complaint? See our local member? or pay you to get some help? Your advice welcome. (We’ve tried all the usual channels of communication with Centrelink). Thankyou
Hi Marcia, thanks for seeking further clarity from us! There are a couple of things that could have happened, for one you would only apply for either the Age Pension OR the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, not both. If there are two claims in play at once then this can definitely cause issues on Centrelink’s side however they would ordinarily contact you to clarify this and confirm which one to proceed with (generally the Age Pension). I would suggest you call their complaints line on 1800 132 468 at 8am when they first open to clarify the situation as you should have heard from an assessor by now.
The whole issue with these delays is totally disgusting treatment of retirees. I won’t blame staff. I will blame the system developed and managed by people who just use us as numbers. Just forget it. You can’t do anything. Your a number, not a person, that’s it. Forget you worked over 45-50 years paying tax every year contributing to the development of this country. Just sit back and use up what little super you managed to save and wait to die. The whole financial assistance system is also a joke. A few years back I go into my financial advisor at my super fund and talk, face to face and he provides guidance which I fully understand. I don’t need a financial planner, just advice but now my fund palms me off to an outsourced advisor and I need to call and speak to someone on the phone. disgusting treatment of loyal australians.
Have you ever tried to use Centrelink’s ‘document upload facility’? For 3 days I attempted to upload a document they requested. They gave me just over a week to get it to them but they didn’t send the communication of their requirement until 2 days after it was issued, giving me less time to get the docs and upload them.
And here’s me thinking, I have the additional document, I’ll just upload it. R i g h t…
Trying to accomplish this was IMPOSSIBLE. Over 3 days, I tried for a total of 10 hours to use their online facility. EVERY attempt was met with “The facility is unavailable at this time. Please try again later (even tried to do it at 2am. Guess what? Same response.)
I eventually got an appointment with the local Centrelink office and took hard copies for them to upload. No problem they did it. They uploaded them on the 9th of the month, 2 days before they said they’d reject the claim if I hadn’t supplied what they asked for.
What happened 2 days later? I was sent a message that my application had been denied. Back on the phone for another 2 hours before speaking with someone. He investigated and said it was done automatically by their system, despite the Centrelink staff uploading the requested docs on their system – someone forgot to take it off the automatic deletion list. So you do what they request of you and they _ _ _ _ you anyway.
We also have a pending notice from the income an assets update back in August. I have been twice to a Centrelink office with no luck, a promised phone call from Centrelink which did not happen and a letter to them a month ago with relevant paperwork and still not been resolved, feel like not bothering anymore updating.
I APPLIED FOR WHAT WILL BE A PART PENSION BACK IN JULY 2023 – HEARD NOTHING TILL THE 27TH DECEMBER 2023 WHERE THEY REQUESTED I SEND THEM EVERY PAYSLIP, TAX RETURNS, SUPER BALANCES ETC WHICH I DID THE SAME DAY. I HAVE BEEN SENDING MY PAY SLIPS EACH WEEK AS WELL. HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING FURTHER. I HOPE IT IS NOT ANOTHER SIX MONTHS AFTER SENDING THEM THE REQUIRED INFGORMATION AS I HAVE NOW USED ALL SUPER THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO ME.