I acknowledge that the member for Bradfield is raising his concerns on behalf of those in our communities who use Services Australia. But he has completely failed to acknowledge the dedication, commitment and hard work that our frontline Services Australia workers put in each and every day. This motion also highlights an underlying disrespect that many in the coalition have for public servants who are our frontline service workers.
Services Australia is home to some of the most dedicated and compassionate workers across our nation. After a decade of neglect, the Albanese Labor government is working hard to once again empower Australia's most vulnerable and give them access to the services they deserve. Under the Albanese government, we are reducing wait times, and we are investing $1.8 billion dollars into Services Australia. We are doing this because, under the coalition, vulnerable people were often waiting far too long, often anxious and frustrated, and for good reason.
The facts do speak for themselves. Between 2015 to 2022, the former coalition government ripped 3,800 frontline worker staff out of Services Australia and the department. This coincided with their cruel and illegal robodebt scheme. We know they were also planning to cut another 2,700 staff between 2021 and 2023. The now opposition wants to cut jobs and services even further, with 36,000 job cuts, around 20 per cent of the Public Service. What does this mean? Australians would be forced to wait longer for their pension, paid parental leave, childcare subsidies, Medicare and the processing of veterans claims, reversing the improvements Australians have seen as a result of our government's investments. In contrast, the coalition in government would continue to spend big on consultants, costing the taxpayer more in the end. The last time they did this it led to backlogs across Services Australia, veterans claims, visa processing and passport processing.
The Albanese government is taking a different approach. In the most recent budget, the Albanese government invested $1.8 billion into Services Australia to maintain a customer service workforce and to deliver timely services and payments to Australians who are doing it tough with the cost of living. This is really important work. To make this a reality, there will be an additional 4,030 staff next financial year and more than 3,500 extra staff in 2025-26. The additional staff will better position the agency to meet government and community expectations of timely service delivery.
This follows the investment in November 2023, when, in a record 10 weeks, 3,000 additional frontline staff were onboarded into the agency and trained to accelerate claims and processing times and improve access for customers. It was amazing, cutting the backlog of nearly a million Centrelink and Medicare claims to usual levels by mid-financial year, which helped to bring down call wait times and congestion messages towards the most recent financial year.
During the first quarter of 2024-25, the agency finalised almost 124 million claims, exceeding our target. Compared to this time last year, processing times have reduced by 32 days for aged-care claims, 16 days for the childcare subsidy, 24 days for disability support pension claims, 41 days for Medicare eligibility and enrolment, and 81 days for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme patient refunds. This work changes lives. We know that reducing outstanding claims is helping to bring down call wait times as fewer people contact the agency regarding the process of their claim. We've also seen call wait times improve by more than 17 minutes for Medicare customers and 10 minutes for Centrelink customers. Additionally, most customers are being served within 15 minutes at 318 service centres across Australia.
It's clear that the Albanese government is investing in the right areas. We're backing in Services Australia; we're funding more staff for Services Australia, particularly in regional areas, and we're cutting wait times so that Australians can access the services they need and deserve.
