The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment (OCPSE) enables the public sector to deliver great results and outcomes for South Australians.

Supporting the public sector to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic remained a priority for OCPSE during the year. OCPSE has continuously updated COVID-19 leave provisions to reflect the changing public health environment and has also matured the systems for mobilising public sector employees for essential COVID-related work, allowing employees to be nominated and trained before mobilisation.

OCPSE has supported my statutory role as Commissioner for Public Sector Employment. Keeping the Commissioner’s Determinations and Guidelines and the Code of Ethics up-to-date and available to the public sector, as well as reporting to Parliament through the State of the Sector, are just some of the activities my office performs.

The second I Work for SA – Your Voice Survey was delivered during the year to inform decisions about workplace culture and practices. Every public sector employee was invited to participate, and 39,688 did so - 15,347 more than the inaugural survey in 2018. Planning to address the most pressing issues raised by employees has now begun.

In December 2020, the Aboriginal Traineeship Program achieved its target of ongoing employment in the public sector for 100 Aboriginal trainees.

The Skilling SA Public Sector Project remans on target to achieve over 2600 training commencements by 2021-22, with more than 1600 people commencing training in key skills areas in the public sector to date, with a focus on providing opportunities for young South Australians.

OCPSE continued to offer professional learning for executives and managers through the South Australian Leadership Academy. The new Manager Essentials program was rolled out to more than 600 managers. All programs offered through the Academy were oversubscribed.

OCPSE once again delivered the annual Premier’s Excellence Awards to celebrate the outstanding achievements of public sector employees and showcase the Public Sector Values in action.

In a busy year, I am very appreciative of the efforts of my employees. We are a small office and our work impacts more than 100,000 employees across the public sector. I am confident that OCPSE is well placed to continue supporting the public sector next year.

Erma Ranieri

Chief Executive

Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment

Overview: about the agency

• Our strategic focus
• Our organisational structure
• Changes to the agency
• Our Minister
• Our Executive team
• Legislation administered by the agency

The agency’s performance

• Agency response to COVID-19
• Agency contribution to whole of Government objectives
• Agency specific objectives and performance
• Corporate performance summary
• Employment opportunity programs
• Agency performance management and development systems
• Work health, safety and return to work programs
• Executive employment in the agency

Financial performance

• Consultants disclosure
• Contractors disclosure

Risk management

• Risk and audit at a glance
• Fraud detected in the agency
• Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
• Public interest disclosure

Reporting required under any other act or regulation

• Reporting required under the Carers’ Recognition Act 2005

Public complaints

• Number of public complaints reported
• Additional Metrics
• Service Improvements
• Compliance Statement

Appendix: Audited financial statements 2020-21

Our strategic focus

Our organisational structure

Changes to the agency

During 2020-21 there was one change to the agency’s structure and objectives as a result of internal reviews or machinery of government changes:

• Public Sector Innovation Lab (transferred to the Department of the Premier and Cabinet).

Our Minister

The Hon Rob Lucas MLC is the Treasurer. His ministerial responsibilities include the public sector.

Our Executive team

Legislation administered by the agency

Public Sector Act 2009

Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995

The agency’s performance

During 2020-21, OCPSE continued to provide guidance and support to enable public sector agencies to continue service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

• a dedicated mobilisation team to lead the sector’s mobilisation efforts
• mobilisation of more than 700 public sector employees to support the Government’s COVID-19 response
• assistance to help agencies identify five per cent of their workforce to be mobilised at short notice
• guidance and resources to enable agencies to continue service delivery safely and plan the safe transition of employees back to workplaces
• updated leave provisions to support employees impacted by COVID-19.

In addition, OCPSE:

• completed the delivery of the second I Work for SA – Your Voice survey to all public sector employees
• exceeded the target of 500 managers undertaking the Manager Essentials program by over 100
• is on track to meet the four-year target for the Skilling South Public Sector Project
• secured ongoing employment in the public sector for 100 Aboriginal trainees
• coordinated the Premier’s Excellence Awards
• led the implementation of the Disability, Diversity and Inclusion strategy and plan actions
• published the Workforce Information Report – the official record of the size and composition of the public sector workforce.

OCPSE also supported the Commissioner in meeting her obligations under the Public Sector Act 2009, including:

• the Commissioner’s annual report to Parliament (the State of the Sector report)
• maintaining the Commissioner’s Determinations and Guidelines and the Code of Ethics
• undertaking investigations into employment and industrial matters.

Agency response to COVID-19

The Commissioner for Public Sector Employment continued as Mobilisation Coordinator throughout the year, a role that she was appointed to by the Premier in March 2020.

A dedicated mobilisation team was established within OCPSE to support the Commissioner. The team referred over 700 public sector employees during the year to be trained in or to fill vacancies in critical services due to the pandemic. Agencies were also assisted to identify five per cent of their non-essential service workforce that can be trained and mobilised at short notice.

OCPSE has assisted in the training and mobilisation of employees to:

• SA Health to fill roles such as project managers, contact tracers, call centre staff, exemptions officers, and administration assistance in the vaccination program and clinics, medi-hotels, home quarantine program and testing station support
• South Australia Police to process cross-border applications, work within Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), at border sites and the airport
• State Emergency Information Call Centre to answer public queries
• SA Housing Authority to assist in the operation of the Emergency Relief Centre
• Department of Human Services and the Department of Treasury and Finance to administer stimulus payments and grants.

OCPSE has also provided policy advice to help agencies manage their workforce during the pandemic, including guidance and resources on safe service delivery and the transition of employees back to physical workplaces.

The Commissioner’s supplementary determination was also continuously reviewed to ensure the appropriateness of leave provisions for employees impacted by COVID-19.

Agency contribution to whole of Government objectives

Agency specific objectives and performance

Corporate performance summary

Corporate services are provided to OCPSE by the Department of Treasury and Finance under a Service Level Agreement.

In addition, OCPSE undertook its own initiatives to improve performance and culture, including:

• new intra-office communication tools such as the OCPSE Forum, monthly newsletter from the Commissioner, Virtual Catch-Ups and Intranet
• a common project management methodology and tools
• establishment of the OCSPE Wellbeing Working Group
• disability awareness training to staff delivered by JFA Purple Orange.

Employment opportunity programs

OCPSE actively ensures our workplace is inclusive and reflects the diversity of the South Australian community.

As of June 2021:

• 68.33 per cent of OCPSE workforce were women
• 75 per cent of OCPSE executives were women
• 6.67 per cent of OCPSE employees identified as Aboriginal
• 3.33 per cent of OCPSE employees declared a disability.

Agency performance management and development systems

Work health, safety and return to work programs

*number of claimants assessed during the reporting period as having a whole person impairment of 30% or more under the Return to Work Act 2014 (Part 2 Division 5)

**before third party recovery

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/work-health-and-safety-and-return-to-work-performance-ocpse

Executive employment in the agency

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/executives-in-the-office-of-the-commissioner-for-public-sector-employment

The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment has a workforce information page that provides further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.

Financial performance at a glance

The following is a brief summary of the overall financial position of the agency. The information is unaudited. Full audited financial statements for 2020-21 are attached to this report.

Consultants disclosure

The following is a summary of external consultants that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for the work undertaken during the financial year.

Consultancies with a contract value below $10,000 each

Consultancies with a contract value above $10,000 each

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/consultants-engaged-by-the-office-of-the-commissioner-for-public-sector-employment

See also the Consolidated Financial Report of the Department of Treasury and Finance for total value of consultancy contracts across the South Australian Public Sector.

Contractors disclosure

The following is a summary of external contractors that have been engaged by the office, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for work undertaken during the financial year.

Contractors with a contract value below $10,000

Contractors with a contract value above $10,000 each

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/contractors-engaged-by-the-office-of-the-commissioner-for-public-sector-employment

See also the Consolidated Financial Report of the Department of Treasury and Finance for total value of consultancy contracts across the South Australian Public Sector.

Risk and audit at a glance

As at 30 June 2021, the OCPSE Risk and Performance Committee comprised:

• Ms Yvonne Sneddon, chair (Independent) (Resigned 03/05/21)
• Ms Kathryn Presser, chair (Independent) (Appointed 03/05/21)
• Ms Eva Balan-Vnuk (SA Government)
• Mr Anthony Mackay (SA Government)
• Mr Chris McSporran (SA Government) (Resigned 30/06/21)
• Ms Kim-Sherie Summers (SA Government)
• Ms Shelley Willsmore (SA Government) (Resigned 29/10/20)
• Ms Jane Booth (Independent) (Appointed 29/10/20)
• Ms Rosina Hislop (Independent) (Appointed 29/10/20)

Fraud detected in the agency

NB: Fraud reported includes actual and reasonably suspected incidents of fraud.

Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud

OCPSE is committed to the prevention, detection and control of fraud, corruption, maladministration and misconduct in connection with its activities.

As an attached office to the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF), OCPSE has adopted DTF’s Fraud and Corruption Prevention Policy and Fraud and Corruption Control Strategy.

The main elements of the Control Strategy are:

• governance and ethics
• awareness and training
• fraud prevention
• detection and investigation
• monitoring and reporting.

More specifically, DTF’s detection, control and prevention strategies include:

• relevant financial policies and procedures
• documenting fraud risks in a departmental risk register
• appropriate segregation of duties
• review of transaction reports
• review of management reports
• external audits
• review of internal controls post an incident
• financial year end declarations process
• fraud and corruption awareness training for new and existing employees.

The Control Strategy also requires serious or systemic offences against OCPSE and/or the South Australian public sector to be referred to the Office for Public Integrity (OPI) or inquiry agencies to investigate.

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/fraud-detected-in-the-office-of-the-commissioner-for-public-sector-employment

Public interest disclosure

Number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018:

7

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/whistleblower-disclosures-in-the-office-of-the-commissioner-for-public-sector-employment

Note: Disclosure of public interest information was previously reported under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 and repealed by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 on 1/7/2019.

Reporting required under the Carers’ Recognition Act 2005

Nil to report.

Number of public complaints reported

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/public-complaints-received-by-the-office-of-the-commissioner-for-public-sector-employment

Service Improvements

Government agencies including OCPSE participated in the Mapping Customer Pain Points project, led by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. The project has made recommendations to the public sector and individual agencies to improve customer experience of government services. OCPSE is considering the recommendations relevant to it.

Compliance Statement