{"id":527763,"date":"2026-03-09T00:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/527763\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T00:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:44:07","slug":"outsourced-call-centre-sweeps-centrelink-customer-privacy-breaches-under-the-rug-staff-allege-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/527763\/","title":{"rendered":"Outsourced call centre sweeps Centrelink customer privacy breaches \u2018under the rug\u2019, staff allege | Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

A major outsourced call centre operator has been accused of pressuring managers to fabricate performance statistics and sweep serious privacy breaches involving Centrelink<\/a> customers \u201cunder the rug\u201d.<\/p>\n

The allegations, which the company strongly denies, form part of a series of claims by current and former call centre workers who say their employer, the Perth-based Telco Services Australia (TSA), penalises staff for taking sick leave, and does not allow for adequate breaks, putting workers\u2019 health at risk.<\/p>\n

TSA is part way through a multi-year $90m-plus contract to run call centre operations for Services Australia, the agency responsible for social security.<\/p>\n

A former TSA senior staff member told Guardian Australia he was tasked with investigating privacy breaches whereby callers accessed other people\u2019s information by impersonating Centrelink recipients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were many times when I was asked by my boss to essentially say that, yes, this occurred, but it\u2019s not a privacy breach when, according to our resources and our documentation, it is a privacy breach, and we should have reported it,\u201d the person claimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to sweep things under the rug to protect the company\u2019s contract, essentially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n

The former senior worker alleged that during quality assessments, some managers were told to listen to multiple calls from underperforming staff until a suitable call could be marked as a \u201cpass\u201d.<\/p>\n

This compromised the results, according to the claim, because assessors should have marked the first call they listened in on.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the [key performance indicators] they report to stakeholders are manufactured; they\u2019re not recording incidents, and they are fabricating stats to keep this contract,\u201d the former employee alleged.<\/p>\n

TSA is one of a handful of private operators running call centres for major government agencies, including Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office and the National Disability Insurance Agency.<\/p>\n

Over the past several months, Guardian Australia has detailed the inner workings of the private companies<\/a>, which employees say prioritise profit over worker wellbeing<\/a> and service quality.<\/p>\n

They say they are inadequately trained and receive near-minimum pay, leading to high stress and staff turnover.<\/p>\n

A TSA spokesperson said privacy was so important to the company that \u201coften our own internal standards exceed the requirements of the relevant regulations and our clients\u2019 individual requirements\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAppropriately dealing with privacy requirements is a core component of our staff training, and we have a separate, dedicated compliance department which monitors compliance and deals with any breaches, including escalation to our clients,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said the company regularly assessed calls, using TSA supervisors, third-party assessors, and the government agency client.<\/p>\n

Burnout and breaches<\/p>\n

Guardian Australia spoke to five former and current TSA workers for this story, including experienced employees, new recruits and two staff members who left citing deteriorating mental health.<\/p>\n

A current TSA worker said many of the privacy breaches had occurred during \u201cnesting\u201d, which referred to the period when recruits first took calls after formal classroom training ended.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have witnessed privacy incidents where instead of putting it through the correct process, it\u2019s just told to a team leader and kept as something that\u2019s a one-on-one conversation instead of recorded as a privacy incident,\u201d the worker alleged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where we\u2019re intercepting people doing out-of-scope activities. This is where we\u2019re intercepting all of those mistakes that happen because the prior training is not thorough enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The worker said that time pressures also dissuaded call centre workers from self-reporting breaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just don\u2019t want to go through this incredibly lengthy process when their KPIs are all about call handling time,\u201d the employee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a long process and often doesn\u2019t get done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outsourced call centres on government contracts tend to have high staff turnover.<\/p>\n

A 2025 report<\/a> by the tax ombudsman found that only 44% of call staff at the ATO\u2019s three outsourced operators had been in their roles for more than 12 months, a far lower percentage than those working in similar roles in the public service.<\/p>\n

In recent months, TSA has advertised a $500 bonus to prospective employees who pass a three-month probation period as an incentive to join.<\/p>\n

But most don\u2019t receive the bonus after passing probation, according to employee claims.<\/p>\n

One worker who didn\u2019t get the bonus said employees were penalised for taking too much sick leave in their first few months, which apparently disqualified them from receiving the bonus despite passing probation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no mention whatsoever of this beforehand,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are big on KPIs that aren\u2019t KPIs; it\u2019s never actually written anywhere, so the company can\u2019t be held accountable for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company strongly discouraged sick and bereavement leave, according to some workers.<\/p>\n

Another employee, who passed probation, said: \u201cI didn\u2019t get the bonus because I got the flu.\u201d<\/p>\n

The TSA spokesperson said employee attendance was crucial for the delivery of services, \u201cso like every business in Australia, we encourage our employees to turn up for their rostered workday\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we understand that if people are sick or bereaved, they will need to use the leave to which they are entitled,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Kept in the shadows<\/p>\n

Government agencies traditionally used outsourced operators to cope with fluctuating demand or to access specialised skill sets before the practice ramped up under Coalition governments, according to the Community and Public Sector Union.<\/p>\n

But moves by Labor to curb reliance on external consultants and outsourced workers have stalled<\/a> just two years after it ordered agencies to bring skills back in-house, with the government sensitive to criticism over any plans to increase the size of the public service.<\/p>\n

A Services Australia spokesperson said the agency thoroughly monitored contractual compliance, including with all relevant laws, rules and regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf breaches are identified and substantiated, we take appropriate contractual action which, in serious cases, could result in termination,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo ensure contractual compliance and a consistent customer experience, we conduct regular site visits, monitor performance through side-by-side call listening, observe training and deliver feedback sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outsourced workers manning government agency phone lines say they have been kept in the shadows, working on low pay without the protection and career opportunities of the public service.<\/p>\n

A former worker told Guardian Australia she had to make a choice between work and her mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I took more than two bathroom breaks in a day, I\u2019d have to have a meeting and explain myself, which is, you know, awkward,\u201d the former employee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does that conversation go? I can tell you, not great.<\/p>\n

\u201cI quit because I noticed my mental health was declining because of the job, and that was a pretty universal thing. All of my colleagues there had some kind of anxiety about just going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get in touch<\/p>\n

Contact Jonathan Barrett about this story<\/p>\n

If you have something to share about this story you can contact Jonathan using one of the following methods:<\/p>\n

Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n

The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019.<\/p>\n

SecureDropIf you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, our guide at theguardian.com\/tips<\/a>\u00a0lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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