Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 3:04:24 to 3:08:53
The department provides an update on resolving the "cease and recommence" issue for staff, involving complex technical fixes to the Parliamentary Expenses Management System.
Topics: Government IT systems, Workplace relations
Speakers: Simon Newnham, Senator The Hon James McGrath, Senator The Hon Don Farrell, Unknown Speaker, Interjection
Thank you. I I do have some of the questions in this area that I might just shift to. Um just to get an update from the department. I'm pretty sure you know uh can I get a brief update in relation to the cease and recommence process for MOS acts staff? um as to the concerns I previously raised in this area.
>> Yeah, Senator, thank you. Thank you for the question. And I'm conscious uh this has been an issue for some time. You've raised it with us for some time. Um it has taken us longer than we would have liked to solve. What I what I can say, Senator, is we have identified a solution to the cease and recommence issue. And just um to remind there are two main goals here with the rather unique uh provision for ministerial and parliamentary staff um where they can have a day's break in their employment um but receive termination monies but also need access to the parliamentary expenses management scheme uh immediately. um uh it has taken us longer than we would have uh liked to identify a solution but that is because it is much more technically complex uh than first thought. It also challenges uh the sort of wider integrity of the data capture on that uh IT platform. Um but uh we've identified a solution. It has 16 work uh um packages if you like that need to be solved. uh recently we had made our way through seven of those and we are have a level of confidence we can solve the remaining nine. After that we'll undertake a validation process. Um and that's important senator because we want to make sure that the users i.e. ministerial and parliamentary staff um don't see any minimal if any change to their use of the the PEM system. uh and we also want to make sure like I said earlier that that the making the change in this area does not impact on the data holdings elsewhere and uh inadvertently cause greater issues than it solves. Noting that of course the many parliamentary staffers that use this system are joined by thousands of public servants uh as well and we don't want to um uh unintentionally uh disrupt uh that wider system. So we are working very hard internally and with SAP Australia and SAP India. Uh and as I said we we we we do believe we have a solution. We're working on getting that in place as soon as possible. Um it will take us into next year. We are very conscious of having this sorted out as far ahead of the next election as possible. noting that is the the sort of surge period where this comes uh to fruition most most prominently.
>> Well, on notice I I will ask for um a date uh for when this could be fixed sorry to do that to you but um it's on
notice. So
and on on notice also what immediate arrangements are available to ensure affected staff continue receiving their salary while the underlying problem is being resolved and um uh Minister will will you um commit to to fixing uh this problem or ensuring the department can fix this problem by a a a date in in
>> if you ask nicely. S
>> I >> always ask nicely, Minister. You know.
>> Yeah. No,
>> please.
>> Okay. You've asked nicely and then I will undertake to fix it. >> We are an action government. Um, Senator McGrath and so where we have a problem, we seek to resolve it.
before I um move on,