This phone number belongs to the Social Research Center (SRC) located in Melbourne. The Social Research Center conduct social research for a range of Universities, Government Departments and Medical Organizations.

The SRC are exempt from the Federal Government's Do Not Call Register because they are conducting social research for the betterment of society and they're not trying to sell products or services over the phone.

Your number has been obtained by random digit dialing, where your phone number is randomly generated by the computer to ensure a random cross section of the community. This is why you'll still receive a call from this organization even if your phone number is a silent or private number.

Once the SRC has generated your number they'll continue to call you at a range of different times of the day and days of the week in an attempt to establish contact with you. They usually will call you 15 times in an attempt to get in contact with you.

Ignoring these calls will not make them go away, if you want them to stop calling simply answer the phone and politely tell the interviewer on the other end of the line that you are not interested in participating in their study or survey and you would like to not be called for this study again.

Social and Market research organizations and phone interviewers who conduct the research understand that broadly 40% of the population will never participate in phone research, 40% will always participate and 20% will sometimes participate. Phone interviewers will therefore only put effort in persuading the 60% of people who will participate not the 40% of people who never participate in research.

The phone interviewers understand that people will refuse to participate and of course they will attempt to persuade you to participate after all it's their job however if you politely and assertively say that you don't wish to participate in this study they will more then happily leave you alone.

Honestly some of the comments on this website are just embarrassing. How difficult is it for an adult to answer a phone call an politely speak to another human being.

If I had given them my number there wouldn't be an issue but the fact that they either obtained it randomly or without my consent is an INVASION OF PRIVACY, with so many phone & Internet scams & digital fraud going around I feel safer not answering an unknown number, and that's my right, so your comment to grow up and answer it is hardly good or wise advice.

They called me but I didn't answer .I called them back and the answer machine were on, claiming to be a social research centres associated with the government .Anyone got any ideas what are they all about?

So you'd be fine with me ringing you 15 times until I got you, then pester you until YOU assertively say No?

I am the one paying the phone bill, it's my choice if I answer it or not.
I don't call you at home.
I don't care if you claim "betterment of society", that's just bull, you are not improving my health by being one of a DOZEN who call for all sorts of surveys that claim to be non-profit & use that as a way around the Don't call me register, whether it's legal or not.
If I want to help you with the survey, post the phone number in the local news papers & let those who WANT to be involved do so.
A lot of us think, that no-one should call us unless we ask them too, our phone, our choice.
Every company/research group/non-profit/etc group ... please go away, don't ring me & use the above newspaper suggestion in future.

Answer and request that your number be removed from their lists (Which they are legally obliged to do)

WHY DO THEY SAY THEY ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE/CALLING FROM DIFFERENT COMPANIES?

The Social Research Centre is COMMISSIONED by different factions of the local, state and federal governments, as well as other agencies (LIKE THE TAC) to do surveys, mainly on community satisfaction. It's cheaper for Government/ other organisations to hire a call centre to do a research project than to build their own outbound call centre.

HOW DID THEY GET MY NUMBER/ MOBILE NUMBER?

TWO WAYS DEPENDING ON WHO THE RESEARCH IS BEING DONE FOR/WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Through RANDOM DIGIT DIALLING, a computer just takes the first 4 digits of an area and then makes up the last four.

OR

The client that has commissioned the Social Research Centre gave them your details (this can include all your contact numbers and email addresses)

They want to do a survey with you about your satisfaction with some service etc. (TAC, Department of Education, Universities).

WHY WOULD THE GOVERNMENT WANT TO DO TELEPHONE SURVEYS?

Obviously Government Departments and Agencies do MANY types of Research, some opting for telephone surveys.
The Government departments/agencies who hire companies such as The Social Research Centre say it's a great way to get representative stats;

My theories (after working at call centres), Government Researchers know that if they hire a polite 19 year old girl to ask you how much you exercise, or if you like immigration, a large percent of people will answer "OF COURSE", so the girl doesn't think you're weird/fat.

Where as if you were doing it online or on paper, you'd think a bit less about how you appear.

Also, the government loves to waste money on things that appear useful.
========================================================

THE POINT?
= THIS IS A LEGITIMATE COMPANY BASED IN MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.

=BECAUSE THEY DO RESEARCH INTO "SOCIAL ISSUES" LIKE EDUCATION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT ETC, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO CALL, EVEN IF YOU HAVE REGISTERED ON THE DO NOT CALL REGISTER. (THEY ARE ASKING IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT HEALTH, EDUCATION, SAFETY ETC, NOT PRODUCTS)

=THEY DO NOT WANT YOUR MONEY, PROPERTY OR YOUR FIRST BORN.

=YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS NOT STORED/USED - THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN AROUND FOR OVER A DECADE, NO LAW SUITS, CHECK THEIR WEBSITE ---> http://srcentre.com.au

=JUST ANSWER THE PHONE AND SAY "NO SURVEYS THANKS" IF YOU KEEP GETTING CALLS ON YOUR MOBILE AND DON'T WANT TO HAVE A SAY

==========================================================

Here is a list of the clients that The Social Research Centre have collected data for, and publications this data has been used in.

http://www.srcentre.com.au/our-research/projects

for gods sake people, this is a company doing research in order to help YOUR tax money get spent in ways that make YOU and your COMMUNITY healthy and well catered for. Grow up and answer your phone, you may be helping others, if not yourselves.

Go away you cockroaches of society. If you were a legitimate concern you would leave a message! Not just harass people for no reason! We have better things to do than be do than be annoyed by shark s#!7 like you.

I've got a cheap Panasonic DECT phone system which lets me make a list of 'blocked' numbers. Now when this number calls me (yet again), the phone doesn't ring and the caller gets busy tone. This is a good way of dealing with them. Other brands of DECT phones might have the same ability too.

"Honestly some of the comments on this website are just embarrassing. How difficult is it for an adult to answer a phone call an politely speak to another human being."

I wonder that myself when people like you hang up on me just because they can't understand impaired speech. How is that polite? Honestly!

very annoying
tried to answer it once and no offence I really could not understand a single word with all the accents. I apologise for my bad hearing............
but please........
f off

I wont answer they are not out to improve the way our tax dollar is spent.

Ring at civil hours and leave a message - it may make people view you with less cynicism!

Want your personal details & then send you tons of spam emails & unsolicited phone calls.

In retribution, I got an auto dialler to call them 300 times and told them to get lost & hung up on them !

Hello Research.. There are ways to conduct polls, and calling Do Not Call numbers is not one of them. The fact that they are calling for a university or a government agency has no bearing on it. Also, what makes you think that these callers are polite? Read the comments. It is very close to cold calling to sell scam investments. The info that they want is not theirs. It belongs to the person at the number called. If people get edgy, so what? The caller called. The person who answered does not need to be more polite than to say No and hang up. "Social service?" Really? Get a life.

I have received several calls from this number in the past week, each time I answer I get nothing but hold beeps. Tonight they crossed the line and called me just now at 8:30PM. My children are trying to sleep for eff's sake!! Government or not, they have no right to call me at this hour for what you all say here is a damn survey! The number is now blocked.

They're bloody persistent! I've ignored the calls, but they keep coming!

l have had to have my phone number changed, pay for a silent number and gone on the do not call register, yet l have just received a call from this number asking me to take part in a survey for the government. l see this as a gross invasion of my privacy. l had the phone connected for health reasons and now it seems the only way to have any privacy is to disconnect the phone. Just because there is a clause saying they can override the do not call register does not make this morally right. l will be going as far as l can to stop these parasites. l have no sympathy now for the people who work in these call centres; they chose to work there and should be aware they will cop abuse.

I am currently doing a survey for the govt - http://deewr.gov.au/stepping-stones-survey

They have called me for the last week and a half, not just from this one number but a few others. Never answered. and getting really frustrated by it.

Caller: Social Research Centre

Please keep in mind that most of the people calling you are young uni students who are doing this job so can pay their rent and afford food. There’s no need to be rude to those who working to get by - politely refuse and move on. They are not bad people - just doing their job.