House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-28 Daily Xml

Contents

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE ASSIGNMENTS

28 Mr HANNA (Mitchell) (30 September 2008). How many South Australian police and other state emergency services’ personnel have been reassigned to the Australian Federal Police for service in East Timor, the Adelaide Airport and the Northern Territory, respectively, since 1992, and what are the associated staff costs to this state in providing these services?

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing): The Minister for Police has provided the following information:

Since 1992, there has been a total of 104 SAPOL personnel reassigned to the Australian Federal Police for service in East Timor/PNG/Solomon Islands, and the Adelaide Airport.

These numbers are broken down as follows:

East Timor/PNG/Solomon Islands (2000-07)—80

Adelaide Airport (2006-07)—24

The assignments to the International Deployment Group have varied in duration, and have generally involved up to ten officers at any one time. In every case, SAPOL members have been directly employed by the AFP (on leave without pay from SAPOL) and there have been no ongoing staff costs. These arrangements were ratified in 2004 by a memorandum of understanding with the AFP which provided for the payment of an administration fee to SAPOL for each officer assigned. This fee was $30,000 in 2004 and in 2005, and was increased (by agreement) to $35,000 in 2006.

The assignment to the Adelaide Airport consists of all 24 officers at one time, for two years duration. These SAPOL members have been directly employed by the AFP (on leave without pay from SAPOL) and there have been no ongoing staff costs. These assignments are covered by a specific memorandum of understanding with the AFP which provides for the payment of an administration fee to SAPOL for each officer assigned. In the first year of deployment (2006-07) this fee was $36,000 and in the second year (2007-08) the fee is $34,000.

The total cost to SAPOL of providing five officers to the Northern Territory Police for service in remote indigenous communities was estimated to have cost $697,856 which will be recovered from the commonwealth.