Public Service Employees

In reply to the Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (24 July 2019). (Estimates Committee B)

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer): The following information is provided on behalf of all ministers:

The FTE count at 30 June 2019 will be published in the Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment's Workforce Information Report for 2018-19, which will be released later this year.

As previously advised, 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.

The total FTE levels and total employment cost for each year of the forward estimates can be located within Tables 2.9 and 2.6 respectively of the 2019-20 Budget Statement. FTE reductions associated with the savings measures announced in the 2019-20 budget are summarised in Table 2.10 of the 2019-20 Budget Statement, with details of the measures at the agency level provided in the 2019-20 Budget Measures Statement.

The FTE reductions are however notional and based on estimates of how the savings across the forward estimates may be delivered. Chief executives have the flexibility to deliver the savings in the manner that best suits the needs of the business. As a result, the actual level of FTE reductions over the forward estimates may vary. What is important is that agencies manage within their overall budget allocation.

In respect to the question on TVSPs, the government does not have a TVSP target for FTEs. TVSPs are only one means by which an agency might reduce its FTEs. Agencies can deliver FTE reductions and savings by not replacing people who have taken up other employment, retired, or otherwise have separated from the agency. The TVSP budget itself is not set at the agency level. Instead a central budget allocation of $60 million has been included in 2019-20 as a provision to assist agencies in meeting the cost of TVSPs to the end of December 2019.