Services Australia, the agency that oversees Australia’s public health and social security schemes, Medicare and Centrelink, has dismissed community concerns over staffing levels.
This follows allegations that tens of thousands of calls went unanswered leaving thousands of Australians without access to vital services.
A spokesperson for Services Australia told The Epoch Times in an email that while there were staff cuts at the agency, this was because staffing was returning to pre-pandemic levels.
“As the Budget papers show, our staffing is returning to more regular levels now that pandemic era work, and associated extra resourcing, has concluded,” the Services Australia spokesperson said.“However, we’re bolstering our emergency response capability with 850 staff directly supporting frontline service delivery.
