Queensland’s public sector commissioner is to be given greater independence.
An amendment to the Public Sector Act 2022 will remove government’s ability to terminate the commissioner without grounds, elevating the role to be autonomous of the premier of the day.
“The head of the public sector should be independent of the government, able to deliver continuity to the public service and focused on accountability and transparency,” Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said. “This government values public sector workers and expects nothing less than frank and fearless advice to support good government decision making,” he added.
Under the amended legislation – which was introduced to parliament last week – the dismissal of the public service commissioner will rest with the Queensland governor. The removal of the PSC will only be possible should the commissioner engage in misconduct or has become incapable of fulfilling their duties due to illness.
Legislating to prevent no-grounds terminations is part of the government’s pre-election commitment to overhaul Queensland’s public service sector. There are also plans to end outsourced contracts for core public sector work.
“We promised Queenslanders we would deliver a government that works for Queenslanders and the first step is empowering the public sector,” Crisafulli said.
As of March this year, there were 258,012 full-time equivalent public sector employees in Queensland – up from 246,309 the year before.
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