House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2) 53 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Estimates Replies Departmental Staff Departmental Staff In reply to Mr GARDNER House of Assembly Morialta Departmental Staff In reply to Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (28 July 2017). (Estimates Committee A) The Hon. S.E. CLOSE House of Assembly Port Adelaide Minister for Education and Child Development Minister for Higher Education and Skills Departmental Staff The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills): I have been advised of the following: The following table reports the number of Department for Education and Child Development staff who were on unpaid leave as at the last pay day in June for the last two years, including a further breakdown of those who were on unpaid leave for less than 56 days and greater than 56 days. As part of the departmental mandatory reporting requirement to the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, unpaid leave has been further categorised as those less than 56 days and those greater than 56 days. These figures have been provided as they align directly to the mandatory workforce reporting definitions across government. It is important to note that the total on unpaid leave for 2016 includes the former Families SA, as they were still part of the department at that time. 2017 totals no longer include Families SA employees due to the formation of the new Department for Child Protection in November 2016. Year (last pay period in June) Total employees on unpaid leave (last pay period in June) Total on unpaid leave <56 days Total on unpaid leave >56 days 2016 1179 285 894 2017 1038 297 742