External workforce costing SA Government $969,000 a day, says Business SA

SOUTH Australia’s 100,000-strong public service is paying just shy of $1 million a day to hire an external workforce, latest figures show.

• Public servants told to meet less, work harder and respond quickly

SOUTH Australia’s 100,000-strong public service is paying just shy of $1 million a day to hire an external workforce, figures show.

Analysis by The Advertiser shows the Government spent $969,000 a day on consultants, contractors and temporary staff in 2016-17, hired on top of its 81,388 full-time employees.

The $343 million spend was attacked as “extraordinary” by Business SA chief executive Nigel McBride, despite the cost remaining steady in recent years.

The Government spent $310.9 million on contractors and temporary staff in 2016-17, including agency nurses, IT professionals and private legal practitioners.

A further $43 million was spent on external consultants — a large slice of which the Government says was spent on delivering its $550 million energy plan.

South Australia has one of the country’s most bloated public services, according to 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. It shows 15.7 per cent of all full-time employed South Australians worked in the state’s sector, well above the national average of 12.4 per cent.

The Government defended the external workforce spend, saying they were used across government “for a wide range of reasons”.

Business SA chief executive Nigel McBride.

But Mr McBride said the external workforce spend was “extraordinary”, given the public service payroll costs the state $8.3 billion each year. “Why on earth does this state that seems to be so endowed with public servants need such a big external workforce. It’s hundreds of millions of dollars we’re paying on top,” Mr McBride said.

“You would have thought that when we have one of the biggest public sector workforces in the country pro rata that they would be competent enough to not need to spend almost a million dollars a day on external staff.”

“I think the long-suffering small business owners and mums and dads would say this is extraordinary.”

A Government spokeswoman said consultants, contractors and temporary staff were used to cover staff shortages or assist with temporary projects.

“The ability to use consultants, contractors and temp staff means the Government doesn’t need to hire unnecessary permanent staff,” the spokeswoman said.

The public service moved to cut down on its use of external lawyers this week, with a directive from Department of Premier and Cabinet chief executive Don Russell telling employees they must have a “clear purpose” when seeking legal advice.

“Public sector agencies must only seek legal advice or enter into other consultancies where required and/or appropriate,” the memo said.

Mr Russell also ordered staff to cut down on “unnecessary” and “inefficient” meetings in a bid to boost productivity.