Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 10:05 to 14:24
Discussion regarding a significant increase in departmental headcount, which officials attribute to rising cargo and traveler volumes requiring more frontline biosecurity staff.
Topics: Biosecurity, Public service staffing
Speakers: Tess Bishop, Speaker 5, Matthew Gson, Speaker 3, Mr. Matthew Gson, Ms. Tess Bishop
>> Okay. All right. We'll come back to that now. Come one I'm sure. Um look getting into more of the detail for additional estimates. Just uh on your portfolio additional estimates statement. Uh I'm just wondering I've looking at page 13 there's been or seems to have be this financial year a nearly 500 uh staff increase or increase in headcount of staff from 2425. Why is that?
>> Senator I'm going to invite um Miss Bishop and I think uh a couple of our corporate colleagues to the table. The increases have been largely driven by uh uh recruitment of operational staff to support um increased trade volumes. Um, and so you'll find that most of those increases have been matched by revenue. So, um, I'll ask my colleagues to add
more where they can. >> Senator Tess Bishop, Deputy Secretary Enterprise Strategy and Engagement. Um, the, um, as the Secretary did say, our cargo volumes have increased by 154%, traveler volumes have increased by 41%. And to um correlate with that growth, we have seen we have seen staffing numbers increase on the front line in particular in our frontline workforce within divisions of biocurity operations, biocurity plant and science services, biocurity animal uh animal team. And um this correlates with the important work that we are are doing on the front line to protect the border.
>> Okay. Um those percentage increases in cargo and freight. What what's the the base year and is that to this financial year or and what's the denominator or
year? >> That's uh Senator from 29 to 20 and 24 to 25 years >> from what? From what 20
>> 2019
>> oh 2019 20 >> to 20 and 24 25
>> that would have been affected by co though wouldn't it 1920 at least a
quarter of the year >> there there was impact on co so we've seen in the last um in recent years a significant uptick in our trade volumes and um importantly we've responded to that with investing on the front line.
What about what would the figures be from 1819 perhaps when you don't have a
co impact? >> Uh I don't have that one in hand senator but I can get figures for you.
>> Okay. I think that would be more relevant as a base and I'm just trying to wonder did did you sack people during co did you reduce numbers during co to to take an account of the lower trade
volumes? That was before my time um as chief operating officer, senator, but we can get data for you. And the department was a completely different configuration
at that time. >> It was the department um uh agriculture and water water and the environment at that time senator. So it is a little bit >> but you still have these bio security but how they track through would have to
take on not >> I'm just trying to come back to the point that if if I'm just wondering how much we don't really have the data on how much trade levels are actually up precoid >> and um there's no need to really build back staff I don't think because I don't think there were mass layoffs or anything of biocurity staff obviously >> there were people that might have been furoughed and the like uh or not have to do much work but they were still paid um so they're sort of there so I'm I'm still trying to wonder why there's been a 8% increase in headcount when I haven't got a good idea of exactly the trade volume.
>> I might um jump in there. Matthew Gson, chief finance officer at the department. Um so what you're seeing in the portfolio additional estimate statements, that's our actual ASL for the year, not what we were budgeted for. Uh so in 2425, we were budgeted for 6,171 ASL. Um and the reason you're seeing that staffing level lower and I think we've previously had this conversation at estimates um when the department went through the austerity measures in 23 24 our staffing levels did remain lower and we have been in a period of uh growth or moving back to what is an affordable ASL level for the department.