Targeted Voluntary Separation Packages

In reply to Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (23 July 2014). (Estimates Committee B)

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for the Public Sector): I have been advised:

During 2013-14 a total of 1,479 TVSPs (1,370.1 FTEs) were taken. In addition 14 separations (14 FTEs) were achieved through the early termination of executive contracts.

The budget for TVSPs is not set at the agency level. Instead a whole of government budget provision is established, held in a central contingency and paid to agencies as required. The central provision for 2013-14 held at the time of the 2013-14 budget was $68.5 million. Based on an average separation payment of $120,000, this would have provided for around 570 TVSPs.

You also sought clarification as to why the forecast reduction in FTEs during 2013-14 is now lower than the original 2013-14 budget estimate of a 2,200 FTE reduction. As outlined in the 2013-14 MYBR and 2014-15 budget, general government sector FTE levels are estimated to be higher than was forecast at the time of the 2013-14 budget predominantly due to:

a correction in the Department for Health and Ageing's FTE cap reflecting improved information on staffing costs (around 620 FTEs in 2014);

a shift to in-house provision of Families SA children in care services (274 FTE in 2014);

school enrolment growth and mix (around 120 FTE in 2014); and

infrastructure projects in the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (145 FTE in 2014).

Despite these specific increases to FTE levels, the underlying FTE savings built into agency budgets remains largely unchanged from the time of the 2013–14 Budget and must be met by agencies through TVSPs or other means.

An agency-by-agency breakdown of the movement between the 30 June 2014 estimated result and 30 June 2015 Budget is provided.

(a) Estimates for June 2014 are prior to the Machinery of Government changes that took effect from 1 July 2014. As such while they will be comparable to actuals data to be published by the Commissioner for Public Employment later this year they will not, to the extent of any machinery of government changes, be comparable to the June 2015 data in this table. Further detail on machinery of government changes is available in the 2014-15 budget papers

(b) From 1 July 2014 transferred to the Department of State Development