Page 2520 - Week 06 - Thursday, 10 May 2012
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Mr Barr: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) As part of the audit of entitlements for Legislative Assembly Members Staff, I am informed the audit office identified five staff from my Office who had identified personal leave (sick leave) on their timesheets where complementary leave forms were unable to be reconciled. It should be noted that staff involved had identified the leave taken on their individual timesheets which indicated a clear intention to record their leave.
Personal leave is not subject to any financial payout at the completion of a contract, or at resignation, and the staff in question had sufficient leave credits to cover their leave. Therefore the benefit that was received that they were not entitled to was the 7% LAMS allowance for the period of their personal leave (sick leave).
(2) Names cannot be released as a result of the Federal Privacy Act. However, I can state the following: in 2009 one staff member had their leave adjusted and the amount of $175.01 deducted. The other four staff members had left the Assembly at the time of the audit and I am informed a decision was made by the Chief Minister’s Support Unit not to pursue the outstanding leave forms and, therefore, the recovery of overpayments. I am informed that decision was made without consultation and without delegated authority. Once this issue came to light, action commenced to recover the overpayments for staff who had left the Assembly – that is the $21.03, $13.06, $75.33 and $19.34. The overpayment for one staff member of $21.03 has since been recovered. That is a total of $107.73 that is still owed.
(3) Three of the staff identified were part-time administrative staff, two were advisers.
(4) I can only comment on my own office.
(5) No, the President of the Labor Party was not employed in my office during the period covered by the Auditor-General’s report.
(6) See answer (2)
Legislative Assembly—members’ staff timesheets
(Question No 2207)
Mr Coe asked the Attorney-General, upon notice, on 29 March 2012 (redirected to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services):
(1) In relation to page 6 of the Auditor-General’s Administration of employment issues for staff of Members of the Legislative Assembly performance audit report which noted that “... for the period from 1 July 2007 to 18 February 2009, Minister’s staff recorded 39 days leave in their timesheets that were not deducted from their leave balances held by the Shared Services Centre. Given the high rate of non-compliance, there are higher risks of irregularity. The failure to account for leave taken amounts to obtaining a benefit to which the employee is not entitled”, how many staff in the Minister’s office received a benefit to which they were not entitled.
(2) Which staff received a benefit to which they were not entitled.
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