Hours change as demand shifts

THE City of Greater Bendigo has changed operating arrangements for in-person and telephone customer services.

The move, which took effect on Monday, is in response to a shift from face-to-face transactions to a heavier focus on email and online inquiries.

The operating hours for face-to-face customer service centres at Galkangu (Bendigo GovHub) in Lyttleton Terrace and the Heathcote service centre are now 9am to 4.30pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9am to 4pm on Tuesdays.

The times apply to both the in-person and telephone services. The Heathcote office will still close for lunch between 12.30pm and 1.30pm.

Before Monday, the phone lines were open from 8.30am to 5pm and the face-to-face receptions from 8.30am to 4.30pm.

City of Greater Bendigo manager of customer experience and corporate planning Brooke Pearce said the operating hours had not changed for at least 17 years, but fewer people were now interacting with the City in person. “We’re seeing a real shift, there’s not as many people coming in to reception now,” Ms Pearce said. “We don’t have the people coming through the front door like we used to.”

She said more and more people were conducting their business either online or via email – even moreso since the COVID pandemic – and that the City was attempting to make better use of existing resources to meet changing demand.

Services available and transactions able to be made are not changing, only opening hours.

For urgent matters, call 1300 002 642 to be connected to the City’s after-hours call centre. The email is [email protected].

Similarly, the online requests system at go.bendigo.vic.gov.au/requests remains unchanged.