By the end of February, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) had answered 3.3 million general inbound calls with an average wait time of 12 minutes and 19 seconds. While the ATO was on track to meet its new target, it was still performing worse than in previous years. The ATO stated that it was experiencing year-on-year increases in telephony and processing workloads and had implemented strategies to better balance efforts across processing and call workloads.
The ATO has different performance measures for handling calls from tax practitioners. From the beginning of the financial year to the end of October, 468,630 calls were answered, with 10,634 subsequently abandoned by the caller. None of the calls were blocked, and the ATO met its target of answering 90% of calls from tax practitioners within two minutes. The ATO’s focus on tax practitioner calls has resulted in meeting its performance targets in this area.
However, 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 that period, 7.4 million calls, approximately one in six, did not progress beyond a congestion message. This highlights the challenges faced by agencies in managing high call volumes and wait times.
The ATO’s efforts to balance processing and call workloads have been reflected in its performance targets for handling calls from tax practitioners. By meeting the target of answering 90% of calls within two minutes, the ATO has demonstrated a commitment to providing timely assistance to tax practitioners. The ATO’s strategies to better manage call volumes and processing workloads have helped in improving its overall performance in this area.
Despite facing criticism for long wait times, the ATO has made progress in meeting its new targets and improving its handling of calls from tax practitioners. The ATO’s initiatives to balance telephony and processing workloads have shown positive results, with fewer calls being abandoned by tax practitioners and a higher rate of calls being answered within the target timeframe. While challenges remain, the ATO’s efforts to address the increasing call volumes and processing workloads are moving in the right direction.
Overall, the ATO’s performance in managing call volumes and processing workloads has shown improvement, with a focus on meeting performance targets for handling calls from tax practitioners. While challenges persist, the ATO’s strategies to balance telephony and processing workloads have yielded positive outcomes. As the ATO continues to address high call volumes and wait times, its efforts to improve efficiency and responsiveness are crucial in providing timely assistance to taxpayers and tax practitioners.
