Page 2438 - Week 08 - Thursday, 5 August 2021

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• promote job security for employees

• minimise the use of sub-contractors

• increase the use of direct employment of workers across the ACTPS

• review outsourced services and return these to direct ACT Government provision where a beneficial outcome to the community can be demonstrated.

In addition, it removed risks to the Territory including:

• being made liable for contractor failure to pay employee entitlements

• lack of compliance from contractors with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

While not a consideration at the time of the decision, the insourced model has provided significant benefits to the Government in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It enabled immediate adjustments for COVID-19 cleaning requirements in schools rather than a process that would have required renegotiation of contracts with service providers.

Since 1 February 2020, ACT government school cleaning has been managed by the School Cleaning Service. Each school is assigned an amount of cleaning hours (per night). The number of cleaning hours are based on type of school, size of school, number of students and is consistent with the approach to cleaning hours under the contractor model. In each school, a standard range of cleaning tasks are performed by the cleaners each evening and each week. Where schools are used by hirers or community groups, cleaning arrangements are changed and/or hours of cleaning added to ensure that the school is cleaned and ready for school use.

(3) The School Cleaning Service currently employs 431 school cleaners.

In addition, there are 14 individuals employed in Supervisor (12) and Network Coordinator (2) roles.

(4) Until February 2020 school cleaning was undertaken by contracted cleaning companies. Contractual arrangements outlined the services to be provided and contractors were responsible for the delivery of services and employment of cleaners. Contractors were awarded clusters of schools under contract and contracts were managed by the Education Directorate.

(5) School cleaners are employed under the ACT Public Sector Infrastructure Services Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021 which outlines the pay structure. The Enterprise Agreement is available at: https://www.cmtedd.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1280468/infrastructure-services-enterprise-agreement-2018-2021.pdf .

(6) Expenditure figures reflected in the following table from 2016, 2017 and 2018 calendar years and are derived directly from contractor payments made by schools. During transition to the insourced model, financial expenditure is reflected at a Directorate level. Expenditure figures for 2019 and 2020 calendar years are sourced from the Education Directorates’ financial management system.

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