6 | Annual Performance Statement ‘Thank you for the lengthy call. You helped me to process my decision by listening and providing me with a ‘voice’. Confirming that I will withdraw the complaint based upon currency (it is in the past). Have a lovely evening. That was a VERY useful discussion for me and I appreciate your time a lot!’ In the most significant development, 72% of complaints were finalised within 12 months (lower than the 85% target and lower than the 10 previous years). The unprecedented number of complaints received by the Commission over recent years is continuing to adversely impact on the Commission’s ability to deal with discrimination and human rights complaints effectively and efficiently. As the graph below illustrates, 2023-24 continues a recent trend of the Commission receiving well over 2,500 complaints per year and this is the first time in five years that more complaints have been finalised than received. 22 The Commission received welcome, temporary complaint backlog funding in late October 2022. However, the number and complexity of complaints received in 2023-24 (including an unanticipated increase in COVID-19 complaints), combined with a challenging recruitment period, means the temporary funding has not translated into all the anticipated efficiency improvements. While the party satisfaction rates the Commission reports on have all improved compared with results from the previous year, and nearly 150 more complaints were resolved through conciliation, a legacy caseload continues to put pressure on complaint handling timeframes. An expected downturn in COVID-19 related complaints did not eventuate in 2023-24 as the Commission received 391 COVID-19 related complaints (compared to 114 last year). This increase, coupled with very high numbers of complaints received under the Disability Discrimination Act and the Sex Discrimination Act, has meant that an anticipated decrease in complaint handling timeframes has not materialised and this remains the biggest impediment to the ICS realising the goal of providing accessible and timely dispute resolution.