Still on pay while sidelined

MORE and more Queensland public servants are on paid leave each year while being investigated for serious allegations, newly released figures show.

Amid integrity allegations, it can be revealed hundreds of public servants have been suspended with pay since the Palaszczuk government came to power six years ago, with the number of paid suspensions mostly increasing year-onyear.

It means taxpayers have paid $88m for bureaucrats to do nothing since 2015-16.

Last year, 474 public servants were suspended with pay, costing upwards of $22m.

Half of them were suspended for three to six months, but others spilt into the next financial year. But the Public Service Commission couldn’t detail how many were newly suspended each year, and how many had rolled over.

A government spokesman said the suspensions affected only 1 per cent of the public service workforce and were only issued when “allegations were serious enough’’.