Question On Notice No. 855 asked in the Legislative Council on 18 August 2022 by Hon Martin Aldridge
Question Directed to the: Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and ICT; Medical Research; Volunteering
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
I refer to the Department of Productivity and Labor Reform Circular to Departments and Authorities No. 2 of 2001 titled Paid Leave for Emergency Service Volunteers. For each Department, Agency or Government Trading Entity under your portfolio, I ask:
(a) how do you inform your employees of this policy; and
(b) for the past two financial years:
(i) how many employees have requested paid leave as an emergency service volunteer;
(ii) how many employees have had a request refused;
(iii) how many total hours were granted; and
(iv) how many total hours were refused?
Answered on 21 September 2022
(a) DFES provides this information to all staff and registered emergency services volunteers via the DFES Volunteer Hub, and to employers of volunteers through the Employer’s Guide to Employing Emergency Services Volunteers.
(b) (i)-(iv) This detailed information is not readily available and would require considerable time to collate and prepare, which would divert staff away from their normal duties. It is not considered to be a reasonable or appropriate use of government resources to provide this information, noting that this question has been asked to all Ministers for all Government Departments, Agencies and Government Trading Enterprises.