Page 3613 - Week 09 - Thursday, 23 August 2018
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Government—contractors
(Question No 1620)
Mr Coe asked the Treasurer, upon notice, on 3 August 2018:
(1) What were the average payment waiting times for individual contractors engaged by the ACT Government on casual or short-term employment contracts in (a) 2015-2016, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-2018.
(2) What practices you have implemented to improve payment waiting times for those employed by the ACT Government on casual or short-term contracts, (a) when were these practices implemented and (b) how effective have they been at reducing wait times.
(3) Are there targets for payment waiting times for individuals employed by the ACT Government on casual or short-term contracts; if so, (a) how does the Government determine the target, (b) how frequently it is reviewed and (c) what the target wait times were during (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, and (iii) 2017-18; if not, why not.
(4) Are there national benchmarks or guidelines in relation to payment time frames for individuals employed by the government entities on casual or short-term contracts; if so, how does the ACT Government compare to other jurisdictions; if not, does the ACT Government consider the practices of other jurisdictions when determining the priority of payments and internal policies.
Mr Barr: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) The average payment waiting times for an initial payment to individual contractors engaged by the ACT Government on casual or short-term employment contracts are as follows:
(a) 2015-2016 – 18 days;
(b) 2016-2017 - 20 days; and
(c) 2017-2018 – 20 days.
After this initial period individual contractors engaged by the ACT Government on casual or short-term employment will be paid fortnightly in arrears, subject to a correctly rendered time sheet being received.
(2) Shared Services works closely with Directorates in respect to deadlines when submitting timesheets. Where there are deviations from established deadlines, for example during Christmas, communication via email is sent to all ACT Government employees. Shared Services is not aware of any systemic concerns with regards to timeliness of payments.
(3) No. Shared Services looks to make payments within established pay cycles and enterprise agreements.
(4) No. Shared Services looks to make payments within established pay cycles and enterprise agreements. When developing and reviewing internal procedures and processes, benchmarking and best practices within other jurisdictions are considered.
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