Australian Banks Q1 2026 Call Centre Rankings
These results show how effectively Australian banks handle new customer enquiries — based on real mystery shopping calls from people comparing products, seeking rates and fees, or getting answers before opening an account or applying for credit.
Each call is evaluated across more than 80 CX metrics aligned with the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards. This provides a consistent, independent, and data-driven assessment of how well banks manage enquiries, build trust, and convert interest into new relationships across deposits, cards, lending and small business banking.
For banks, these results matter. Every missed call, long wait, or unclear explanation means lost acquisition, leakage to competitors, and wasted marketing spend.
Our benchmarking pinpoints where friction occurs — and how top performers turn first contact into confident customer decisions. Through ACXPA's Banking Benchmarking Services, institutions can identify service gaps, lift enquiry handling, and strengthen sales conversion outcomes across channels.
Executive Summary – Australian Banking Q1 2026
The Australian banking sector experienced a dramatic performance collapse in Q1 2026, recording its worst Overall CX result on record. The sector averaged 32.30%, declining 5.8 percentage points from Q4 2025 (38.10%) and ranking 7th of 7 sectors nationally—a position banks have held for 10 of the past 11 quarters. Even by the banking sector's historically poor standards, Q1 2026 represents a new low, driven by widespread accessibility failures that overwhelmed most banks' contact centres.
The quarter unfolded against significant market disruption. Following three consecutive interest rate hikes in early 2026, banks faced increased pressure on their contact centres handling new business enquiries—precisely the high-value leads banks invest heavily in marketing to generate. The data reveals stark differences in how individual banks responded to these conditions.
The contrast is striking. ANZ delivered 59.90%, their best result on record, demonstrating that strong performance remains achievable even under pressure. They led across multiple metrics: Average Wait Time (01:17), Calls Answered Percentage (94.40%), and Agent Mastery (62.60%). Meanwhile, four major banks recorded results among the worst nationally across all sectors benchmarked. Bendigo Bank achieved 5.90%, the lowest result nationally. ING achieved 15.20%, second-lowest. NAB achieved 19.80%, third-lowest. Westpac achieved 23.10%, fourth-lowest. The message is clear: challenging conditions affect all banks, but some are handling them while others are not.
Across the sector, Accessibility collapsed to 31.20%, down 6.1 percentage points from Q4 2025 (37.30%), ranking 7th of 7 sectors nationally—the lowest Accessibility result ever recorded across all sectors since ACXPA benchmarking commenced in August 2023. The sector's Calls Answered Percentage plummeted to 56.80%, down 16.0 percentage points from Q4 2025 (72.80%), meaning fewer than six in ten prospective customer calls are answered within 10 minutes. Average Wait Time increased to 05:05, up 49 seconds from Q4 2025, while Total Time to Reach Live Person reached 06:59, the longest time on record. For prospective customers calling about home loans, account switching, or refinancing enquiries, these barriers mean waiting nearly seven minutes before speaking to anyone—time during which they're likely comparing options with competitors or abandoning their enquiry entirely.
Despite the difficulties in accessing a live agent, when prospective customers could get through, the quality of the interaction improved across the sector. Agent Mastery—which assesses how effectively agents Engage (build rapport and ownership), Discover (identify customer needs), Educate (explain clearly), Close (conclude with confidence), and create lasting Impact through empathy and communication quality—reached 53.10%, up 4.9 percentage points from Q4 2025 (48.20%), ranking 5th of 7 sectors nationally. The sector improved across four of five competencies, with Impact reaching 72.80%, up 13.5 percentage points. However, with accessibility failures preventing most prospective customers from ever reaching an agent, these interaction quality improvements benefit only the minority who successfully navigate the barriers.
ACXPA conducts Mystery Shopping by posing as prospective customers seeking home loans, financial products, or looking to switch from existing providers. We assess new connection enquiries representing revenue opportunities for banks, not account servicing or existing customer support. ACXPA assesses outcomes against the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
🏆 Top Performers
ANZ delivered 59.90%, their best result on record, leading the banking sector for Q1 2026. Overall CX is calculated equally from Accessibility (how easily customers connect with a live agent) and Agent Mastery (the quality of the live conversation).
Hume Bank won the quarter with 75.80%, their second-best result on record. Accessibility measures how easily customers can connect with a live agent, including Average Wait Time, IVR navigation, and Calls Answered Percentage.
ANZ won the quarter with 62.60%, leading the banking sector in agent interaction quality. Agent Mastery assesses how effectively agents Engage (build rapport and ownership), Discover (identify customer needs), Educate (explain clearly), Close (conclude with confidence), and create lasting Impact through empathy and communication quality.
ANZ won the quarter with 01:17, their best result on record, setting the clear benchmark for queue efficiency in the banking sector.
ANZ won the quarter with 94.40%, demonstrating exceptional accessibility for prospective customers seeking banking products and services.
⭐ Key Wins
🏆 ANZ delivers back-to-back Overall CX victories
ANZ achieved 59.90%, their best result on record, winning the banking sector for the second consecutive quarter. ANZ also won Agent Mastery with 62.60%. While leading the sector, the results indicate significant room for improvement against best-practice standards.
📈 Agent Mastery shows sector-wide improvement
The sector's Agent Mastery improved to 53.10%, up 4.9 percentage points from Q4 2025 (48.20%), ranking 5th of 7 sectors nationally. While the improvement is positive, the mid-table ranking and sub-60% result indicate ongoing capability gaps in building rapport, identifying customer needs, and creating positive interactions.
⬆ ING achieves substantial Agent Mastery improvement
ING improved 15.6 percentage points quarter-on-quarter from 41.40% to 57.00%, finishing third in Agent Mastery—their best result since Q3 2023 (65.90%). While the improvement trajectory is encouraging, the result remains below their historical performance levels.
💡 Impact competency reaches highest level since Q4 2023
The sector's Impact rating improved to 72.80%, up 13.5 percentage points from Q4 2025 (59.30%), ranking 4th of 7 sectors nationally—the sector's best result for empathy and communication quality since their record high in Q4 2023. This represents a genuine bright spot, though it stands in stark contrast to the accessibility failures preventing most prospective customers from experiencing this improved agent empathy.
🎯 CBA shows strong quarter-on-quarter improvement
CBA improved 6.7 percentage points in Overall CX from 38.50% to 45.20%, and improved 11.5 percentage points in Agent Mastery from 44.60% to 56.10%, finishing fifth in the Agent Mastery rankings.
🌟 Hume Bank maintains strong Accessibility performance
Hume Bank delivered 75.80% in Accessibility, their second-best result on record, and 57.80% in Overall CX, their second-best result on record. While outperforming the sector significantly, there remains opportunity for further improvement in connecting prospective customers with live agents.
⚠ Overall CX Challenges
📉 Sector records worst Overall CX result on record
The banking sector's Overall CX result of 32.30% is the worst recorded since benchmarking commenced, declining 5.8 percentage points from Q4 2025 (38.10%) and ranking 7th of 7 sectors nationally. The sector has held last place for 10 of the past 11 quarters, but Q1 2026 represents a new low point in prospective customer experience across accessibility and agent interaction quality.
⏱ Wait times reach record-breaking levels
Average Wait Time increased to 05:05, up 49 seconds from Q4 2025 (04:16), the longest wait time since Q3 2024, ranking 7th of 7 sectors nationally. Total Time to Reach Live Person increased to 06:59, up 54 seconds from Q4 2025 (06:05), the longest time on record, ranking 7th of 7 sectors nationally. Prospective home loan customers now wait nearly seven minutes before speaking to anyone who can discuss their application.
📞 Calls Answered Percentage falls to three-year low
The sector's Calls Answered Percentage declined to 56.80%, down 16.0 percentage points from Q4 2025 (72.80%), the worst result since Q3 2023, ranking 7th of 7 sectors nationally. Fewer than six in ten prospective customer calls are answered within 10 minutes, with nearly half of potential home loan, credit card, or account opening enquiries facing extended wait times.
🔁 IVR complexity increases customer effort
Total Time Spent in Menu increased to 01:53, up 5 seconds from Q4 2025 (01:48), the longest time on record, ranking 6th of 7 sectors nationally. Menu Navigation Layers increased to 3.1, up from 2.8 in Q4 2025. Prospective customers must navigate nearly two minutes of menu layers and messages before entering the queue.
📊 Four major banks record worst results nationally, with Bendigo achieving historic low
Bendigo Bank achieved 5.90%, the lowest quarterly result ever recorded across all sectors since ACXPA benchmarking commenced in Q3 2023. This came after improving for three consecutive quarters: 24.50% → 36.90% → 37.90% before declining sharply. Three other major banks also recorded results among the worst nationally. ING achieved 15.20%, second-lowest nationally and their worst result on record. NAB achieved 19.80%, third-lowest nationally, declining 30.3 percentage points quarter-on-quarter from 50.10%—their worst result since Q3 2024. Westpac achieved 23.10%, fourth-lowest nationally. These four banks represent some of the poorest accessibility and interaction quality across all benchmarked sectors.
Recognising Call Centre Excellence for Australian Banks
Congratulations to the top-performing Australian banks delivering standout customer experiences via their call centres in Q1 2026.
These results are based on independent mystery shopping assessments, using real customer enquiries to evaluate how well contact centres are supporting Australians exploring new accounts, refinancing options, or switching home loans.
Recognition in these rankings goes beyond meeting expectations — it reflects banks who set the pace in a highly competitive, customer-driven market. By delivering faster, friendlier, and more effective service, these providers are not only creating better customer experiences but also converting more enquiries into new accounts and long-term relationships.
60.0% 57.8%
45.2%
5.9%Quarterly Trend
Overall CX
Australian Banks
The Overall CX Score is the most important metric in our benchmarking program – a single, weighted score that reflects how easy it is for customers to reach a contact centre and the quality of the experience once connected.
As the defining measure of customer experience, the Overall CX Score blends Accessibility (30%) and Agent Mastery (70%) to reflect both access and impact – with a greater emphasis on the agent's role in shaping outcomes. Penalties are applied for major breakdowns to ensure a true picture of performance from the customer's perspective.
Key Metrics Trend – Australian Banks (12-Month View)
The chart below highlights a 12-month trend across three core CX performance metrics for Australian banks:
- Overall CX – A weighted composite score reflecting the full enquiry experience, factoring in accessibility, agent quality, and handling efficiency.
- Accessibility – How quickly and easily a prospective customer can reach a real person to discuss accounts, loans, or refinancing.
- Agent Mastery – The skill, clarity, and confidence with which agents engage callers, explain options, and progress toward new accounts or applications.
Overall CX
This is the headline metric – representing the total customer experience across every stage of the call journey. It's calculated using a weighted combination of the Accessibility and Agent Mastery scores, providing a holistic view of how well banks are delivering end-to-end experiences during revenue-intent enquiries such as home loans, refinancing or switching providers.
Accessibility
This measures how easily and quickly a prospective customer can reach a real person. It includes navigating menus, clarity of options, queue times and whether callers successfully reach an agent. Higher scores indicate faster access, lower friction and fewer abandoned sales opportunities.
Agent Mastery
This evaluates the quality and professionalism of the conversation once contact is made. It measures how effectively banking staff qualify needs, explain products, handle objections, and guide the customer toward next steps such as applications or appointments — all while maintaining compliance and empathy. It's a direct measure of agent capability in high-value customer acquisition scenarios.
Learn more about the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards that underpin these assessments.
Call Centre CX Quadrant – Australian Banks Q1 2026
This Call Centre CX Quadrant shows how Australian banks compare on Accessibility (how quickly and easily a prospective customer reaches a human) and Agent Mastery (the quality, clarity and confidence of the conversation). The mystery shops simulate revenue-intent enquiries such as switching home loans, refinancing, opening new accounts and related product discussions.
Some banks are easy to reach but stumble once connected: agents struggle to qualify needs, explain rates, fees or features, or guide next steps (e.g. assessment, documentation, callbacks). That wastes high-intent demand and drives shoppers straight to a competitor.
Others deliver strong agent conversations but make customers crawl through long menus, dead ends or hold times before help. By the time a human arrives, intent has cooled and conversion odds drop.
The top-right quadrant represents CX best practice for banking sales: fast, low-friction access paired with confident, compliant guidance that progresses the customer toward a clear next step such as a rate discussion, conditional approval pathway or booked appointment. ⚡️
