The powerful Department of Home Affairs has outlined issues with the cap on staff levels imposed by the government, speaking out against a controversial government policy.
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In the department's official submission to the independent review of the public service, the newest mega-department said agencies needed more power to control the number of staff to meet their operational needs.
The average staffing level (ASL) cap was introduced in the 2015-16 budget to control the number of staff at each government department and agency at 2006-07 levels. The main public sector union has long called for the cap to be removed, arguing it has led to a ballooning number of contractors and consultants doing work that would otherwise be done by public servants.
Home Affairs is one of few federal departments to have an official submission published on the APS review website, and gently points out the limitations of the staffing cap.
"The department suggests that providing more flexibility and devolved authority to agencies to manage average staffing levels (ASL), while remaining within strict budget parameters, would result in resourcing decisions that more optimally meet the demands of growth in workload, deliver programs with improved services, better address risks and grow revenue collection," the submission said.
Home Affairs, led by secretary Mike Pezzullo, was created at the end of 2017 and staff in the department number 14,000, with another 9000 in agencies under the portfolio.
The department recommended "greater levels of discretion" for agency heads when managing their staffing budgets.
"Options may include, for example, providing ASL ceiling dispensations to departments, or by restricting ASL ceilings to core (i.e. corporate, support and enabling) staff within agencies, while allowing greater flexibility to operational and front-line areas within agencies which are subject to fluctuations in the work growth and environment in which they operate," the submission said.
More flexibility in working arrangements was also called for in a bid to lure talent away from the private sector.
"Maintaining competitiveness in the job market will require the APS to offer both, meaningful work that rewards innovation and adaptability, and a range of flexible working arrangements."
The submission did not address pay rates when attracting talent but suggested a single approach across the public service for pay and conditions to "allow for agencies to better attract and retain the right people by providing attractive development opportunities, and facilitate more seamless transfer of APS employees across agencies for the purposes of increased collaboration through mobility".
