Year on year percetnage pay increases for APSC SES for 2013/14 to 2014/15 and 2014/15 to 2015/16
Hi APSC FOI
I’d like to make an FOI request.
I’ve been following the FOI request titled ‘Group Certificates/PAYG payment summaries of APSC SES staff - FY2013/14, FY2014/15 and FY2015/16’ here: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/g... where the APSC has refused to release information relating the amount of taxpayer funds paid to APSC SES on the basis that it might upset APSC SES staff.
The APSC’s SES group is the enforcer of the current Commonwealth Government’s policy to strip away the real wages and conditions of Commonwealth public servants. The APSC publishes the specifics of this policy including the maximum percentage salary increases that can be given by Government agencies to non-SES public servants. The APSC also publishes its own enterprise agreement which sets out the precise percentage salary increases that can be given to non-SES APSC staff. It follows that there should be no problem for the APSC in disclosing the percentage increase in the remuneration levels of its SES staff. Obviously there would be considerable public interest if it were the case that the APSC is going about its role of attacking the real wages and conditions of non-SES public servants, while at the same time granting APSC SES staff wage increases beyond that allowable under the enterprise bargaining policy that it enforces against non-SES public servants. Such information would also be an invaluable insight into the current Commonwealth Government’s views on its preferred distribution of wealth in Australian society for bosses vs workers .
Therefore, I request a document or documents (likely prepared under s.17 of the FOI Act) that details the year on year increase in remuneration (as a percentage, rounded to the nearest decimal point) paid to each of its SES staff for the financial years: 2013/14 to 2014/15 and 2014/15 to 2015/2016 as determined from the group certificates/PAYG summaries issued to those SES staff (pro-rated, to reflect full year amounts, if necessary). I’m not interested in the names of the SES officers and so I’m happy for you to de-identify those. Here’s an example to illustrate the type of document(s) I’m seeking acesss to.
Example:
Example PAYG Payment Summary Information
APSC SES officer name: John Citizen.
Total remuneration for 2013/14 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $100,000
Total remuneration for 2014/15 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $101,000
Total remuneration for 2015/16 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $103,000
APSC SES officer name: Deborah Smith.
Total remuneration for 2013/14 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $250,000
Total remuneration for 2014/15 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $260,000
Total remuneration for 2015/16 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $280,000
APSC SES officer name: Joseph Pavelic
Total remuneration for 2013/14 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $50,000 (nb. only commenced employment at APSC on 1/1/2014)
Total remuneration for 2014/15 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $107,000
Total remuneration for 2015/16 (taken from relevant PAYG payment summary): $110,000
____
Example document produced for purposes of my FOI request using data gleaned from relevant PAYG payment summaries (respectively, per the example data set out above above)
APSC SES Officer identifier: ‘APSC SES officer #1’
Year on year pay increase as a percentage (rounded to nearest decimal point):
2013/14 - 2014/15 = 1%
2014/15 – 2015/2016 = 2%
APSC SES Officer identifier: ‘APSC SES officer #2’
Year on year pay increase as a percentage (rounded to nearest decimal point):
2013/14 - 2014/15 = 4%
2014/15 – 2015/2016 = 7.7%
APSC SES Officer identifier: ‘APSC SES officer #3’
Year on year pay increase as a percentage (rounded to nearest decimal point):
2013/14 - 2014/15 = 7% (note: the officer only commenced employment on 1/1/14, therefore the officer’s total remuneration for 2013/14 has been pro-rated to reflect a yearly amount)
2014/15 – 2015/2016 = 2.8%
______
Given that the APSC has already recently collected the PAYG payment summaries of the relevant APSC SES officers (for the purposes of dealing with the FOI request referred to above) and therefore has those payment summaries readily at hand, the APSC should be able to provide the information the subject of my request quickly and with minimal effort. Should you require any clarification of my request, please let me know.
Thanks.
I Whittaker
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 for access to documents. Your request was received on 21 February 2017 and the statutory timeframe for responding to your request is 30 days from the date of receipt. This timeframe may be extended in certain circumstances. We will notify you if such circumstances arise.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about your request.
Regards
____________________________________________________
Chris Luton
Australian Public Service Commission
p : 02 6202 3571 | f : 02 6250 4437
e : [email address] | w : www.apsc.gov.au
Dear Sir/Madam
I refer to your request for access to documents relating to percentage pay increases paid to certain employees of the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC).
Although in your request you advise that you are happy for the APSC to de-identify the SES staff, there is a significantly high risk that the SES staff will be able to be re-identified from information we provide. Therefore, As your request covers documents which potentially contain personal information, the APSC is consulting the relevant individuals under section 27A of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) before making a decision on the release of those documents. For this reason the period for processing your request has been extended by 30 days in order to allow our agency time to consult with the relevant individuals (section 15(6) of the FOI Act). The processing period for your request is therefore extended to 22 April 2017.
The consultation mechanism under section 27A applies when we believe the individuals may wish to contend that the requested documents are exempt for reasons of personal privacy. We will take into account any comments we receive from the individuals but the final decision about whether to grant you access to the documents you requested rests with the FOI decision-maker.
Jo Motbey
Australian Public Service Commission
Level 6, Aviation House, 16 Furzer Street, PHILLIP ACT 2606
E: [email address]
Important: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipients only and may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure, dissemination or other use of, or taking any action in reliance upon this information is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please find attached documents related to your Freedom of Information request dated 21 February 2017.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
Level 6, Aviation House, 16 Furzer Street, PHILLIP ACT 2606
Dear FOI/Ms Clare Page,
Thank you for your decision of 24 April in relation to my FOI request of 21 February.
I now wish to make another FOI request along the same lines as my request of 21 February for another document or documents (likely prepared under s.17 of the FOI Act) but that details the year on year increase in remuneration (as a percentage, rounded to the nearest decimal point) paid to each of its SES staff for the period FY2015/2016 to FY2016/17 . I’m not interested in the names of the SES officers and so I’m happy for you to de-identify those.
Yours sincerely,
I Whittaker
Dear Whittaker,
I write to acknowledge receipt of your request, seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the FOI Act). A copy of your request as received can be found below.
The statutory timeframe for responding to your request is 30 days from the date of receipt. Your request therefore falls due on 4 January 2018.
This timeframe may be extended in certain circumstances. We will advise you if such circumstances arise.
The department will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the amount of any such charge as soon as possible.
Should you have any questions in relation to your request please contact the FOI team by reply email.
Regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
Treasury Building, Parkes Place West, Parkes ACT 2600 GPO Box 3176, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Whittaker,
I write in relation to your FOI request dated 5 December 2017, as below.
As your request seeks access to documents containing another individual's personal information, the Commission is required to consult with those individuals, under section 27A of the FOI Act, prior to making a decision on the release of those documents.
Due to the aforementioned consultation, the timeframe for processing your request has been extended by 30 days, pursuant to section 15(6) of the FOI Act, in order to allow the Commission time to undertake such consults.
The Commission takes this opportunity to note that any comments received from consulted individuals will be taken into account during the processing of your request, as are your own submissions. However, the final decision rests with the decision-maker.
Regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
Treasury Building, Parkes Place West, Parkes ACT 2600 GPO Box 3176, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Applicant,
Please find attached a decision in response to your FOI request dated 5 December 2017, as below.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
Treasury Building, Parkes Place West, Parkes ACT 2600 GPO Box 3176, Canberra ACT 2601
Dear FOI/Ms Kerren Crosthwaite,
Thank you for your decision of 29 January 2018 in relation to my FOI request of 5 December 2017.
I now wish to make another FOI request along the same lines as my request of 5 December for another document or documents (likely prepared under s.17 of the FOI Act) but that details the year on year increase in remuneration (as a percentage, rounded to the nearest decimal point) paid to each of its SES staff for the period FY2016/2017 to FY2017/18 . I’m not interested in the names of the SES officers and so I’m happy for you to de-identify those.
Yours sincerely,
I Whittaker
FOI reference C19/424
Acknowledgement of FOI request
Dear I Whittaker,
1. The Australian Public Service Commission (the Commission)
acknowledges receipt of your request for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act), as follows:
I now wish to make another FOI request along the same lines as my request
of 5 December for another document or documents (likely prepared under
s.17 of the FOI Act) but that details the year on year increase in
remuneration (as a percentage, rounded to the nearest decimal point) paid
to each of its SES staff for the period FY2016/2017 to FY2017/18 . I’m not
interested in the names of the SES officers and so I’m happy for you to
de-identify those.
2. The statutory timeframe for responding to your request under the
FOI Act is 30 days from the date of receipt. This timeframe may be
extended in certain circumstances, and we will advise you if such
circumstances arise.
Charges
3. Section 29 of the FOI Act provides that agencies may apply a
processing charge for access to documents, where the request does not
concern your personal information. You will be advised if a processing
charges applies.
Redaction of junior staff personal information
4. Section 22 of the FOI Act provides that agencies may redact
certain material from documents where the material is deemed irrelevant to
the scope of the request.
5. The Commission’s policy is to redact the personal information,
including the contact information of public servants who are employed
below the Senior Executive level (SES). Unless you tell us otherwise, the
Commission will consider that junior agency employees personal information
falls outside the scope of your request, and entries will be redacted.
6. If you have any questions relating to your request please contact
our office via email to the above address.
Regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
Level 4, B Block, Treasury Building, Parkes Place West, Parkes ACT 2600
GPO Box 3176, Canberra ACT 2601
Important: This email remains the property of the Commonwealth and is
subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914. It may
contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you think it
was sent to you by mistake, please delete all copies and advise the
sender.
FOI reference C19/424
Dear I Whittaker
1. I am writing in relation to your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access to documents, received by the
Australian Public Service Commission (the Commission) on 15 February 2019.
2. You sought access to “a document or documents … that details the
year on year increase in remuneration (as a percentage, rounded to the
nearest decimal point) paid to each of [the Commission’s] SES staff for
the period FY2016/17 to FY2017/18.” You specified that you are happy to
receive this in a de-identified format.
3. It appears from your request that you are primarily interested in
accessing particular information, rather than specific documents. The
relevant line area has provided data relevant to your request, as no
discrete document exists.
Information provided in response to your request
4. The average increase for SES employees over the 2016/17 and
2017/18 financial years was 2% per annum.
5. As the above information appears to meet your needs, we will
treat your FOI request as being withdrawn.
6. Please contact the FOI team by reply email if you have any
questions.
Regards,
FOI Officer
Australian Public Service Commission
Level 4, B Block, Treasury Building, Parkes Place West, Parkes ACT 2600
GPO Box 3176, Canberra ACT 2601
Important: This email remains the property of the Commonwealth and is
subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914. It may
contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you think it
was sent to you by mistake, please delete all copies and advise the
sender.