Redundancy re-hires cost a fortune

SACKED bureaucrats pocketed $181 million in golden handshakes last year – yet hundreds came straight back to work in the public service.

In a revolving door of recruitment, the Federal Government rehired 752 “redundant’’ staff during 2015-16.

Despite $181 million in redundancy payouts during 2016 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.

Defence spent $53.2 million on redundancies for 571 staff at 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 them.

Taxpayers forked out $181.5 million in redundancy payments to 2210 federal bureaucrats from 17 departments and agencies during 2016.

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

The health department spent $10.7 million making 154 staff redundant.

Defence has revealed it has no idea how many of its “redundant’’ bureaucrats have come back to work 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.

“Defence does not capture such information.’’

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science spent $7.8 million on redundancies and claimed it would be an “unreasonable diversion of resources’’ to reveal details of contracts awarded to laid-off staff.

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

The Department of Environment and Energy said one redundant staffer had worked as a contractor.

Those who had worked in the public service for less than three years can be rehired immediately, but those with more than 24 years of service must wait 36 weeks to be re-employed in the federal bureaucracy.

The Australian Public Service Commission said during 2015-16, agencies had rehired 752 staff who had pocketed redundancies, the majority as “non-ongoing employees in a different agency”, but there was no data on those engaged as contractors.