‘Redundant’ bureaucrats back on the job

RETRENCHED bureaucrats pocketed $181 million in golden handshakes last year — yet hundreds returned to work in the public service.

The Federal Government rehired 752 “redundant’’ staff in 2015-16.

Despite $181 million in redundancy payouts to 2210 staff on the grounds they were no longer needed, the federal public service still swelled by 1600 employees — or by 2323 including the military.

The Defence Department alone spent $53.2 million on redundancy payouts to 571 staff, who pocketed an average payout of $93,170 — including 20 senior officials paid an “incentive to retire’’.

The Australian Taxation Office made 493 staff redundant last year, at a cost to taxpayers of $42.7 million.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s department spent $6 million to lay off 101 bureaucrats — then awarded contracts to two of the staff it had made redundant.

Immigration and Border Protection spent $17.7 million sacking 205 staff and the Department of Human Services laid off 240 public servants, at a cost of $16.7 million.

The Department of Health spent $10.7 million making 154 public servants redundant.

The Defence Department has revealed it has no idea how many of its “redundant’’ bureaucrats have returned as contractors or consultants.

“There is nothing to prevent an employee who is being made redundant from taking up employment with a company contracted to Defence,’’ it has told a Senate committee.

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science — which spent $7.8 million on redundancy payments — also claimed it would be an “unreasonable diversion of resources’’ to reveal details of contracts awarded to laid-off public servants.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet revealed two staff made redundant “have carried out work for the department as contractors’’.

Public servants made redundant are paid two weeks worth of salary for every year of service, up to a total of 48 weeks’ pay — on top of long service leave and unused holiday pay.