I refer to Premier's Memorandum 98-31 issued on 13 October 1998 concerning the Role of the New South Wales Public Sector in the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games Volunteer Program. The Memorandum provided the policy and guidelines for the management of leave during the Games and in particular the leave entitlements for those public sector staff who were selected by SOCOG for its Volunteer Program.

Since that Memorandum, Cabinet has considered other significant impacts that the Games will have on public sector agencies. These impacts will mainly affect those agencies charged with the responsibility of providing services to the Games such as transport, security and health, but will also impact on the service delivery of all other agencies to some degree. Cabinet has now approved in principle of two initiatives affecting the operations of Government agencies covering service delivery and staff reassignment.

Service Delivery
This covers the development of strategies by agencies regarding the delivery of Government services during the Games period, including if desirable, variations to those services.

There is an immediate need for all agencies to assess their anticipated operations during the Games period by investigating the impact of the Games on the demand for services. These services include both Games commitments and all other services. The assessment should indicate the level of service considered necessary to meet these demands.

The assessment may also identify ways in which the agency can rearrange its operations to line up with the strategies developed by the Olympic Roads and Transport Authority (ORTA) in its Travel Demand Management strategy. For example, such strategies could include temporarily relocating workers to areas away from Olympic transport corridors or compressing the working week to minimise disruption to Games related traffic flows and reduce congestion whilst still maintaining the required level of service.

Effective management of travel demand will be essential to ensure the successful operation of the transport system. ORTA has released its Travel Demand Management strategy and is seeking strong support from government agencies and the private sector in managing travel demand. Copies of this strategy are available from ORTA (contact Ms Linda Hannah on telephone number 02 9298 3502).

Some parameters that agencies may wish to consider for reshaping business operations are:

Strategic Decisions

• Make early plans for necessary changes to operations.
• Develop a publicity campaign of these changes.

Communication

• Redirect mail to outer regional centres.
• Install information on-line (telephone or internet).

Customer Service

• Extend or shorten expiry dates on licences, registrations, application dates, etc, without penalty.
• Deliver services at other suburban/regional centres.
• Confirm arrangements for services delivered including services to older persons and people with disabilities. 

Financial

• Postpone the collection of fees and charges.

Where the service delivery plan identifies an impact on an agency's financial position, the endorsement of the agency's Minister and the Treasury will need to be obtained before strategies are implemented.

The Games period coincides with the school vacation period, which has traditionally meant that some staff have been granted leave for child minding and other family commitments. Those agencies which need to implement leave arrangements to ensure the delivery of services during the Games are to give particular consideration to the needs of staff with dependent school age children and other related responsibilities.

The agency's service delivery plan is to take into account the impact on regional communities.

From these service delivery plans it should be possible for each agency to then assess the need for additional staffing or the availability of staff for reassignment to other agencies.

Staff Reassignment
This covers the reassignment of available public sector staff to other agencies to ensure the delivery of the Government's commitments to the Games and other services during the Games period, subject to establishing:

• the capacity of the agency to reassign staff;
• the necessary mechanisms for reassignment;
• the clear delineation of cost responsibilities involved in staff reassignment between agencies; and
• the employment conditions to apply to reassigned staff.

It is recognised that the impact of the Games on service delivery will be mixed. Some agencies will experience either a reduction in service demand or little impact. Others will experience a significant increase requiring a substantial increase in staff resources.

A number of agencies delivering Games commitments will receive support from SOCOG's Volunteer Program or from their own long-standing volunteer groups.

The public sector employs a large number of staff within the Sydney CBD. It is expected that these staff will provide the principal source of a reliable, committed and multi-skilled workforce underpinned by a well established human resource management infrastructure within agencies.

The opportunity to reassign public sector staff to areas of identified high need is considered an efficient use of resources to meet Government commitments over the short but intensive period of the Games.

Principles for staff reassignment

The principles covering staff reassignment are:

• All staff reassignments within or between agencies must be cost neutral to the Government's budget.
• Assessment of the agency's need for additional staff is to be based on the agency's service delivery plan for the Games.
• The lending agency is to remain responsible for meeting the cost of the salary or wage and related overheads of the reassigned employee during the period of reassignment.
• The agency receiving the employee is to be responsible for any marginal costs associated with the reassignment, including such costs as overtime or shift allowances paid to the employee for work undertaken during the period of reassignment.
• Reassignment is to be for short periods.
• Staff nominated for reassignment are to be released to enable essential training by the receiving agency.
• The conditions to apply to a reassignment are to be established in full consultation with the unions.
• The agency receiving the reassigned employee will be responsible for defining the skills necessary for the task.
• The reassigned employee will be drawn from those who have expressed an interest and have agreed to the reassignment.
• Selection of the most suitable employee will be the responsibility of the agency receiving the employee.
• The principles of access and equity are to apply.
• The type of work that staff may be reassigned to may be associated with either Games commitments or other Government services.

Industrial Relations Matters

The broad employment arrangements for staff reassignment will be discussed with the Labor Council and public sector unions and further advice will be provided.

Template
A template has been developed to assist agencies identify issues and areas of operation that will have a service demand at the time of the Games. The template will enable the agency to plan services to meet this demand as well as provide the necessary information to establish staffing issues such as the number of staff available for reassignment to other agencies. The template is attached for your information.

Workforce Planning Group
Implementation of Cabinet's decision is the responsibility of a Workforce Planning Group comprising representatives from the Premier's Department, the Treasury, the Olympic Coordination Authority and ORTA.

To enable a coordinated generic approach to agency service delivery and staff reassignment, each agency is requested to nominate a single point of contact for liaison between the agency and Premier's Department. The information needed is:

Agency:
Contact name:
Position title:
Work address:
Telephone number:
Fax number:
email address:

This information should be provided to Lucy Brotherton, Olympic Coordination Authority, Level 36, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney by 31 July 1999. Ms Brotherton can be contacted on telephone number 02 9228 3157, facsimile number 02 9228 5551 or by email at [email protected].

For further information concerning these matters, please contact David Clark, Manager, Project Management, Public Sector Management Office on telephone number 02 9228 3531.

C Gellatly
Director-General