The Department’s figures show that payment timeliness was maintained at around pre-COVID-19 levels. Its preliminary statistics show that 89% of new claims were paid on time and in full from 1 March 2020 to 26 May 2020.13 This followed the Department’s efforts to improve the portion of new claims paid on time and in full from 55% in January 2017 to around 90% in February 2020.14