Output 3: Employment-related services and functions

Quantity
1) Timely and accurate completion of employment-related functions including organisational and individual casework.

Note:
Organisational casework comprises SES employment decisions and machinery of government changes.

Individual casework comprises: reviews of actions, including promotion decisions, fee–for– service activities, whistleblowing and APSLMAP.

Requests from Agency Heads seeking the Commissioner’s endorsement of SES selection processes before executing promotion or engagement actions were dealt with expeditiously. Such requests were generally considered and responded to within one working day of receipt in the Commission. In relation to requests for agreement to proposed SES retirement arrangements under section 37 of the PS Act 1999, all cases were handled within the timeframes sought by agencies and the employees concerned.

The Commission prepared and executed the necessary legislative instruments to give effect to administrative re-arrangements resulting from machinery of government changes within the particular timeframes set by the Government and by individual agencies.

Some of these activities are discussed in the Report of the Merit Protection Commissioner.

The MPC has self-imposed target completion times for reviews of actions and promotion decisions. During 2002–03 57% of review of promotion decisions were completed within 6 weeks, with the average time for all promotion reviews being 6.6 weeks. The average completion time for all other reviews of action was 10 weeks. The target completion times were set some 15 years ago under the Public Service Act 1922 and have been reviewed this year to better reflect the review of action processes introduced by the PS Act 1999 and the complex nature of most reviews.

Fourteen cases were received by the PSC this financial year. Two of these cases met the criteria for investigation. APSLMAP ceased operation on 31 December 2002. Clients in the program at that date continued to be managed in accordance with the program provisions and the APS Commission continued to provide a career advising service to agencies on a full fee-for-service basis through the Regional Services Groups

The fee-for-service work undertaken for the PSC and MPC continued to increase this year primarily due to an increase in the number of Independent Selection Advisory Committees and Joint Selection Committee work undertaken.

Quantity
280 organisational instruments and 880 new individual cases.

A total of 208 organisational instruments were completed during the year. This year’s estimates were based on previous experience. The level of activity in these areas is driven by Government and agencies and it is, consequently, difficult to predict precise numbers from year to year.

The Commission completed a total of 969 individual cases.

Price
Average of $2,400 per organisational instrument and $5,700 per individual case.

The average price per organisational instument was $3,700, an increase from the estimated price. This was due primarily to an increased number of complex activities.

The cost per individual case was $6400, an increase from last year. This is due to a range of reasons but primarily the fact that some activities were larger and more time consuming and/or more complex than anticipated.