You said: Make it easy for me
On this Page:
- We will: Improve convenience and access for all Australians by improving a range of service options, including online
- We will: Stay open longer in our busiest Medicare offices
- We will: Keep our queue times in Medicare offices to a minimum
- We will: Answer the phone quickly
- We will: Increase awareness of our services amongst Indigenous Australians
- We will: Help you access other agencies in the Department of Human Services
We will: Improve convenience and access for all Australians by improving a range of service options, including online
Measure
Satisfaction with the range of options available to make a Medicare claim.
Performance
69 per cent of the public were satisfied with the range of options available as identified through the 2007 satisfaction survey.
Measure
New developments in online access to information and services.
Performance
We have launched a new website design to help the public find our online information and access our services more easily.
Our online services continue to expand and the public can now:
- view their Medicare Safety Net balance
- view their Medicare tax statement
- request a replacement or duplicate Medicare card
- update their personal details
- register/update their banking details
- update their email address
- view their Medicare Claims History
- view their organ donor registration details
- view their child's immunisation history (for children under 7 years).
We will: Stay open longer in our busiest Medicare offices
Measure
Number of ‘busy' offices (based on claiming patterns) staying open longer to reflect the public’s needs and demands.
Performance
117 Medicare offices open 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Saturdays.
193 Medicare offices have extended their Monday to Friday opening hours.
54 Medicare offices have opened their doors until 6.00 pm and in some offices to 7.00 pm one evening each week to coincide with local evening trading.
Measure
Satisfaction with opening hours.
Performance
68 per cent of the public were satisfied with the opening hours of Medicare offices as identified through the 2007 satisfaction survey.
We will: Keep our queue times in Medicare offices to a minimum
Measure
The Australian public is served in less than 10 minutes.
Performance
97 per cent of the public have waited less than 10 minutes in the queue to be served with an average waiting time of two minutes 45 seconds. This was measured over the period 1 July 2007 to 31 March 2008.
Where we do not meet the service standard of 10 minutes, we find out why and make improvements.
68 per cent of the public agreed that they spent less time in queues at Medicare offices as identified through the 2007 satisfaction survey.
We will: Answer the phone quickly
Measure
We answer calls within 30 seconds.
Performance
94 per cent of calls across all incoming lines were answered within 30 seconds. This was measured over the period 1 July 2007 to 31 March 2008.
Of the public who indicated they had phoned Medicare Australia, 64 per cent agreed that the phone is answered quickly, as identified through the 2007 satisfaction survey.
We will: Increase awareness of our services amongst Indigenous Australians
Measure
Number of Indigenous Australians registered for Medicare.
Performance
Indigenous Australians can voluntarily identify when enrolling for Medicare. For the period 1 July 2007 to 31 March 2008, there were 25 907 Medicare enrolments where the Voluntary Indigenous Identifier was completed.
Measure
Increase in the number of calls made to the dedicated 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access (1800) line'.
Performance
For the period 1 July 2007 to 31 March 2008, there were 46 557 calls received nationally to the dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access line.
We will: Help you access other agencies in the Department of Human Services
Measure
Access to Family Assistance services.
Performance
Extended Family Assistance services are available in all 238 Medicare offices to provide Australians with a choice, and the convenience, of where they can access these services.
Measure
Access to Medicare services from Centrelink customer service centres.
Performance
Basic Medicare services are offered through 49 Centrelink sites across Northern Australia. A further 36 Centrelink Agent sites nationally perform an information brokerage service on behalf of Medicare Australia.
Medicare Australia has commenced a flexible service delivery arrangement with Centrelink where we have trialled the provision of Medicare Australia services from four Centrelink sites and the provision of Centrelink services in four Medicare offices.
Last updated: 29 May, 2008