Public Service Employees

In reply to the Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (21 September 2018). (Estimates Committee B)

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer): I indicated to the committee I would look at past practice to see whether former treasurers have assisted the committee in that particular way.

I am advised that in fact, past treasurers in recent years have not provided this information. As indicated in my response during Estimates Committee B, 'those numbers are notional not actuals, because it depends on what ministers and CEOs actually do in terms of the numbers'.

Because the numbers are notional, forward estimates are not included by agency in budget statements across the forward estimates. However each agency statement provides an estimate for the budget year's FTEs for their agency (for example refer to page 181 of Budget Statement 4 Volume 4 for a very detailed table of FTE numbers for the Department of Treasury and Finance, including the estimate for 2018-19).

Of course actual FTEs are provided each year in the comprehensive report from the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment.