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Australia’s Call Centre Industry Trends
How the Australian contact centre industry is performing across 15 metrics, tracked year on year. Every figure comes from real mystery-shopped calls, independently benchmarked — not surveys, submissions or self-reported data.
How these results are measured
Every centre is measured against the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards using independent mystery shopping, so the same yardstick applies to every organisation and every sector.
The 15 metrics fall into three groups: three headline rankings, the five Agent Mastery competencies that sit beneath them, and seven time-based measures.
Each chart shows the national average for that metric by year, so you can see the direction of travel rather than a single snapshot.
Assessed Using the Contact Centre CX Standards
Built on real interactions. Benchmarked independently. Results are based on what customers actually experience when contacting centres – not surveys, submissions or marketing spin.
Overall CX
The national benchmark — how easily customers reach a real person, and how good the conversation is once they do. It combines Accessibility and Agent Mastery into a single score.
About this metric
Two weighted components: Agent Mastery at 70%, covering five competencies and 18 measurable call-handling behaviours, and Accessibility at 30%, drawn from 48 individual metrics across five categories.
Deductions then apply for significant customer pain points — wait times so long the customer never reaches an agent, being disconnected by a technical failure, or being refused the option of a live agent.
Full methodology is published in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
OVERALL CX RANKINGS - Annual Trends (National)
Overall CX is a benchmark metric representing the average customer experience delivered by contact centres across the Australian call centre industry, from access to interaction quality.
Accessibility
How easily a customer can reach a live agent — quickly, clearly and without frustration. It covers the whole access journey, from finding the number through the IVR to time spent queueing.
About this metric
Scored across 48 distinct factors in five categories: Search, Design, Ease, Audio and Timing.
Audio is scored here too — line clarity, background noise and announcement volume. A centre that answers fast but is hard to hear still costs the customer effort.
Each factor is weighted by how much effort it adds for the customer. Full detail is in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
ACCESSIBILITY RANKINGS - Annual Trends (National)
Our Accessibility Rankings reveal how effortlessly customers can get through to a real person by phone - from the first ring to a live agent.
Agent Mastery
The quality of the conversation itself — communication, confidence and care, from greeting to farewell. Built from five competencies scored on every assessed call, across 18 behaviours.
About this metric
Built from five competencies, each scored independently and then combined: Engage, Discover, Educate, Close and Impact — 18 individual behaviours in total.
Each behaviour is assessed on observable evidence from the interaction — what was actually heard — and compared against the published How to Achieve and Standard Not Met indicators in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
AGENT MASTERY RANKINGS - Annual Trends (National)
Agent Mastery assesses how well agents deliver high‑quality customer experiences over the phone, based on soft skills, professionalism, and communication behaviours.
Engage
How well the agent opens the conversation, setting the tone with warmth, clarity and confidence. It is the customer’s first impression of the brand, and where ownership of the enquiry is established.
About this metric
Engage is scored across 4 key behaviours defined in the Standards: Welcome, Intent, Name, Bridge.
Each behaviour is assessed on observable evidence from the interaction — what was actually heard — and compared against the published How to Achieve and Standard Not Met indicators in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
ENGAGE COMPETENCY - Annual Trends (National)
The ENGAGE competency measures how well the agent opens the conversation – building trust and setting the tone with confidence, clarity and warmth.
Discover
How effectively the agent uncovers what the customer actually needs, by guiding open conversation and listening with intent. Strong discovery goes past the surface request to the real goal behind the call.
About this metric
Discover is scored across 3 key behaviours defined in the Standards: Converse, Listen, Confirm.
Each behaviour is assessed on observable evidence from the interaction — what was actually heard — and compared against the published How to Achieve and Standard Not Met indicators in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
DISCOVER COMPETENCY - Annual Trends (National)
The DISCOVER competency measures how effectively the agent uncovers the customer’s true needs by guiding open conversation and listening with intent.
Educate
How clearly the agent shares information so the customer can decide with confidence. Relevant, well-pitched explanations remove confusion and make the next step obvious, rather than just answering.
About this metric
Educate is scored across 4 key behaviours defined in the Standards: Inform, Check, Seek, Confidence.
Each behaviour is assessed on observable evidence from the interaction — what was actually heard — and compared against the published How to Achieve and Standard Not Met indicators in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
EDUCATE COMPETENCY - Annual Trends (National)
The EDUCATE competency measures how effectively the agent shares information to build understanding and support confident decision-making.
Close
How well the agent finishes the call — checking for final questions, showing appreciation and ending with a confident farewell. A strong close leaves the customer clear on what happens next.
About this metric
Close is scored across 3 key behaviours defined in the Standards: Questions, Gratitude, Thanks.
Each behaviour is assessed on observable evidence from the interaction — what was actually heard — and compared against the published How to Achieve and Standard Not Met indicators in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
CLOSE COMPETENCY - Annual Trends (National)
The CLOSE competency measures how well the agent wraps up the call – checking for any final questions, showing appreciation, and ending with a confident farewell.
Impact
How the agent made the customer feel by the end of the call — tone, empathy, ownership and presence. It is the emotional takeaway, and the difference between feeling served and feeling supported.
About this metric
Impact is scored across 4 key behaviours defined in the Standards: Vibrancy, Empathy, Control, Delivery.
Impact is the one competency woven through every stage of the call rather than sitting at a single point in it.
Each behaviour is assessed on observable evidence from the interaction — what was actually heard — and compared against the published How to Achieve and Standard Not Met indicators in the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards.
IMPACT COMPETENCY - Annual Trends (National)
The IMPACT competency reflects how the agent made the customer feel by the end of the call – including their tone, empathy, ownership, and overall presence.
Go deeper than the national picture
These charts track the industry as a whole. Open a sector board to see how one industry compares.
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