Frustration grows amid two-hour waits to talk to Work and Income

Work and Income clients are facing long wait times on the phone, with some struggling to access help in urgent situations.

Data released to RNZ under the Official Information Act shows the longest wait time for the 0800 number in the year to February 2025 was 2 hours and 7 minutes.

Those needing assistance say the system is inadequate and leaves vulnerable people in perilous situations.

When RNZ called the 0800 number four times this month, the shortest wait was over 70 minutes.

For 25-year-old Connor*, getting through was a matter of urgency.

"I've called them quite a bit since I've been with them. I've had a lot of difficulties, such as long waiting times or them not being able to provide assistance on the phone.

"Sometimes they hang up while you're in the queue, and a lot of the time it's really hard for young people like me to get assistance because the queues are so long. And sometimes they don't even answer at all.

"You're in the queue, and then when you reach the front, it just hangs up."

For the past six years, Connor has relied on Work and Income for food, emergency accommodation, and clothing.

He said he had to sleep rough or go without, as getting emergency help over the phone was nearly impossible.

"I don't really receive much money on my benefits, so there've been times when I've needed assistance with food, emergency housing and clothing because I didn't have enough money left after buying food and stuff.

"It's mainly the essential stuff that's the hardest to get help with."

He said the wait time on the phone can be anywhere from 50 minutes to three hours.

"They say you can do things on the MyMSD website, but if you go to apply through the website, the options always lead you back to having to call them. Or you have to send an email and email wait times are crazy - they don't get back to you for at least a few days. That's a lot of time."

The Ministry of Social Development said the 0800 number was just one option and clients could visit a service centre or use the online system.

But Heather Williams, a client since 2007, said the online system was not effective either.

"When I uploaded evidence into MyMSD via the portal, I wasn't aware that I actually had to ring and tell them I'd uploaded it, and that's just crazy. Surely they've got a system in place that shows when someone has uploaded documents, without needing them to call.

"There's a lot of unnecessary phone calls, and that's basically one of the only ways to get in touch with them, other than going into one of the branches."

According to Kay Brereton from the Beneficiaries and Unwaged Workers Trust, some clients have found ways to get through faster.

"I know people have said they will ring up and say debt, and they get put through straight away. Some people shout, swear, or use the accessible system for hearing-impaired people instead of the standard way. I know people do try and find ways to get through more easily.

"They shouldn't have to if the system is working, should they?"

MSD's average wait time between 1 March 2024 and 28 February 2025 was 7 minutes and 37 seconds, but the longest recorded wait was 2 hours, 7 minutes and 37 seconds - in the afternoon of 11 December 2024.

Brereton said vulnerable people often fell through the cracks.

"We are stuck with this nine-to-five service. So, it's community organisations that pick up the slack. I hear from organisations up in Auckland, where they're the only ones helping homeless people, assisting on weekends and after hours. That's when the real needs exist.

"I think that's true across the country. Small community responses are stepping in, while the government doesn't seem to work weekends."

Brereton believed cuts to public services had hurt staff numbers, which in turn impacted phone wait times.

"The current government thinks they can cut costs in the public service and expect it to do more at the same time. As far as Work and Income goes, I can't see that happening. What I see is staff turnover.

"I don't think people can get all the work done when the system is overloaded. And that doesn't provide good service. It doesn't help people with their immediate needs. It doesn't move people away from their needs in the system. It doesn't help them get out of emergency situations when there aren't enough staff to assist them."

MSD said it offered a callback service to avoid long wait times, calling back twice if there was no answer and sending a text if there was still no response.

But in practice, those who requested a callback often had to rearrange their day to be available according to beneficiary advocate Shelley Hanna-Kingi.

"You never know when they will call back. If you happen to go to the toilet and miss the call, then you have to ring the 0800 number again to try to get another call back, because they only give it one shot. It's like going around in circles."

Hanna-Kingi said the current system was not working and it was hurting those facing hardship.

"I think that we should have a separate emergency line, and it would be easily solved. If somebody tries to ring that line and it's not an emergency, they can just redirect them to the other line.

"People will soon learn really fast."

Data from MSD in January showed almost one in five calls went unanswered between 2023 and 2024.

MSD's Anna Graham said the agency handled millions of calls each year, offering a callback system to ease wait times.

"For example, in 2023/2024, our contact centres answered 3.89 million calls. We aim to provide a high standard of service, and welcome feedback when clients have had an experience below our expectations. We take all complaints seriously."

Despite these efforts, concerns remain about whether vulnerable New Zealanders can reliably access the support they need.

"The system treats people on benefits as if their time is worth nothing and they have all this spare time. At the same time, it expects them to work really hard - finding jobs, cooking from scratch, sourcing food, saving money. But they don't have the time to do all of that," Brereton said.

"No one has the time to spend an hour and half on the phone."

"No set targets" - MSD

Graham said MSD encouraged staff to handle calls efficiently to respect clients' time.

She said there was always a queue, so people were urged to use online and phone self-services for basic information - like payment dates or debt.

"We work closely with our Customer Service Representatives (CSRs), encouraging them to manage their calls as efficiently as possible to make the most of our client's time. Our CSRs try to help callers as completely as they can to prevent the need for clients to call back, and that can sometimes mean longer phone calls which, in turn, can impact wait times."

Graham said although Work and Income aims to answer calls as quickly as possible, there were no set targets on expected wait time for clients to reach a case manager.

*surname omitted to protect privacy

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.