There is a checklist of horrors that call handlers on the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) phone lines hear about. Staff field calls from desperate participants containing allegations of rape, violence and financial and emotional abuse.
Some callers threaten suicide.
According to a senior employee at the government agency, even when a risk is deemed imminent, the Serco-run call centre system regularly fails because staff are not properly trained, lack basic skills and are under intense pressure to meet call volumes.
“That call centre is detrimental to the health and safety of our participants and their representatives,” says an experienced employee of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“Even when they believe that a participant is at risk, some don’t take immediate steps to address it because of negligence or because they are under so much time pressure to take the next call.
“Those call [volume] numbers get recorded and Serco can then give them back to the government and use them to get another contract up and running.”
Over the past several months, Guardian Australia has detailed the inner workings of private companies running call centre operations for major government agencies, including Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office and the NDIA.
The call centre workers describe a system they say prioritises profit over worker wellbeing and quality of service. They say they are inadequately trained and receive near minimum pay, leading to high stress and extreme resignation rates.
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Serco’s most recent NDIA contract started in September 2024 for a three-year term and is worth more than $248m, according to parliamentary disclosures. It includes up to two further three-year extension options.
The pressures are particularly intense on the NDIS phone lines because those relying on the call centre are often vulnerable Australians.
“They’re employing people at the call centre that simply don’t have the skills, be it verbal, literary or computer-wise, to actually be doing the job,” says the NDIA worker.
“Those who are competent and caring get burnt out and leave.”
Focus on call volumes
For this story, Guardian Australia spoke to five former and current Serco call centre workers, including two members of the learning and development team; a senior NDIA employee; and a former worker of an NDIS partner organisation who represented participants.
The former worker of an NDIS partner organisation tells Guardian Australia that Serco employees regularly misread participants’ plans and, without a proper understanding, provide incorrect advice.
“This sometimes leads to participants and nominees utilising funding the wrong way and being the subject of punitive measures for doing so,” the person says.
Penalties for funding misuse can include changing how a participant’s claims are managed and debt recovery.
While most Serco staff on the phone lines work from home, the company has a contact centre in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong.
double quotation markYou’ve got people on the phone in terrible situations asking you questions and you don’t know what to do
It is one of several major outsource specialists running call centres for government agencies, including the US private equity-owned Probe Operations, Nasdaq-listed Concentrix Services and Perth-based TSA Group.
The agencies make various pledges, with the NDIS publicly committed to answering 80% of calls within 60 seconds.
An NDIA spokesperson says the agency is committed to ensuring that all staff work in a safe and supportive environment.
“Recent data shows the national contact centre achieved a 92% customer satisfaction rate, with 86% of enquiries resolved at the first point of contact,” the spokesperson says.
Serco staff say they get four weeks of formal training – it used to be two to three weeks – before being put on the phones for a period of “consolidation”, although workers say they get very limited help once on the phone lines.
All call centre workers Guardian Australia spoke to say their mental health significantly deteriorated during their time at Serco.
“You’ve got people on the phone in terrible situations asking you questions and you don’t know what to do and you’ve got all these targets to meet,” says one current Serco call centre worker.
“The pressure’s adding up. It’s like, ‘oh my God, how am I going to get my targets today?’ Everybody gives you different information. I’m very aware of who I’m dealing with and they need help but I’ve resorted to looking up answers on Google many times.
“At some point there is a duty of care which the government doesn’t show towards our physical and mental health.”
A former call centre worker says he resigned because the “amount of stress they put you under for close to minimum wage is just not worth it”.
“You’d be taking phone calls and you have Serco people sending you messages through Teams saying, ‘hey, you’re taking too long on this phone call, hurry it up’, all that sort of stuff. People just get burnt out and leave.
“It affected my health really badly. And I was like, oh, my God, I did this to help and now I’m the one who’s going to need help.”
The focus on call volumes is evident across all outsource operators, given government agencies are sensitive to regular complaints about long wait times.
Those at the call centre say such metrics don’t work when speaking to vulnerable Australians, and they say the system just creates more work for the NDIA by not addressing issues the first time.
“The saddest part is that participants actually ring this number and think the person that they’re talking to is from the NDIA and is going to be able to help them,” another former call centre worker tells Guardian Australia.
“Who wants their calls to be answered in 60 seconds and then the person that you’re speaking to doesn’t actually know how to help so they put you on hold for 30 minutes?”
Guardian Australia has previously reported that Serco staff are told to pretend to work directly for the NDIA, an allegation the British multinational denies.
Concerns ‘fall on deaf ears’
A Serco spokesperson says the company delivers on a range of obligations to the NDIA, which includes quality standards for call handling.
“We are committed to providing a consistent and reliable service, with an emphasis on accuracy, professionalism and appropriate resolution of inquiries,” the spokesperson says.
The spokesperson says all recruits receive 10 weeks training aligned to public service standards, which includes classroom learning, coaching and support.
“Assistance is also in place to ensure our people are equipped to deal with the nature of calls received, and all employees have employee assistance program access.”
Private contractors win call centre contracts on the promise they can deliver the service more efficiently than the public sector, with enough savings to generate a healthy profit.
Former members of Serco’s learning and development team say many of the problems stem from the hiring process and very low pay rates.
One former trainer says they regularly taught recruits who’d never used a computer, which meant they had to teach basic skills while getting through the curriculum.
“You’d raise concerns and it would just fall on deaf ears. I was told not to worry about it and just get them into the consolidation process because then it’s someone else’s problem,” the person says.
Another former trainer says the call centre problems are symbolic of a scheme that promises so much, yet is creaking under budgetary pressures and has been susceptible to fraud.
“There’s a perfect storm brewing,” says the former worker. “And the one thing they’re focused on is how quickly they pick up the phone.”
Do you know more? Email jonathan.barrett@theguardian.com
In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732)